Seoul National University Hospital, a place where they mend bones and occasionally minds, announced with all the fanfare of a wizard unveiling a new spell that they’ve received 100,000 XRP tokens from one Kim Geo-seok. This isn’t your average ‘found a tenner in the sofa’ kind of donation-it’s worth a cool 210 million won ($145,000). And get this: it’s his second crypto gift to the hospital, following a bitcoin donation last November. Clearly, Kim’s not just good at investing; he’s also a master of the ‘one-upmanship’ game.
Kim’s crypto philanthropy is like a troll under the bridge of traditional giving, quietly revolutionizing how South Koreans part with their hard-earned won.
From War Orphan to Financial Sorcerer
Kim’s story starts with the kind of drama that would make even a Discworld novel blush. At four, the Korean War shuffled his family like a deck of cards, leaving him at an orphanage on Jeju Island with a face that told a story of partisan attacks. After returning to Seoul, he became the ultimate odd-jobber, proving that if life gives you lemons, you can at least try to sell them on the street corner.
At 19, he climbed Namsan Tower-yes, the same one Netflix fans drool over in KPop Demon Hunters-and declared he’d own a home among the glittering buildings below. Spoiler alert: he did. But not before teaching himself investing by devouring financial newspapers like they were going out of fashion. Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch became his invisible mentors, though we suspect they never sent him a thank-you note.
Success, as they say, is a straight line with more twists than a mountain road. Kim once lost his house to a bad stock bet, proving that even wizards can misplace their wands. He spent five winters as a hotel security guard, saving seed capital with hands so frozen they could double as ice sculptures. Eventually, he rebuilt his portfolio and joined the ranks of investors who actually know what they’re doing.
In a May 2025 interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, Kim dropped this gem: “Spending money wisely matters more than earning it. And those who know how to give are the truly wealthy.” Clearly, he’s been reading the ‘How to Sound Wise’ handbook.
A New Way to Give (And Make Headlines)
At 79, Kim has given a cumulative 1.27 billion won to the hospital alone. That’s enough to make even Death take notice. Beyond the hospital, he’s funded free clinics at Red Cross hospitals and given to the Community Chest of Korea. He’s like a one-man charity army, but with better financial advice.
Kim kicked off his high-value philanthropy in 2018 through the Community Chest of Korea. Last year, he became the first individual member of the Red Cross “Super High-Value Donors Club,” because why stop at being just ‘high-value’? His total pledge to the Red Cross stands at one billion won, funding free clinics for uninsured workers and multicultural families. Take that, tax deductions!
When South Korea’s Financial Services Commission finally allowed nonprofits to liquidate crypto donations in mid-2025, Kim was quicker than a wizard spotting a sale on spellbooks. His one-bitcoin gift to the Red Cross in August 2025 became the country’s first recorded individual crypto donation to a nonprofit. Since then, he’s repeated the gesture four times across two institutions. Both Seoul National University Hospital and the Red Cross convert his crypto gifts to fiat immediately via Upbit, because even philanthropists hate volatility.
‘I Hope This Becomes as Ordinary as a Troll Under a Bridge’
At the March 9 ceremony for his latest Red Cross donation, Kim shared a wish simpler than a dwarf’s taste in jewelry: he hopes crypto-based giving becomes so common that it stops making headlines. Because nothing says ‘success’ like becoming boring.
Hospital director Kim Young-tae called the donation a meaningful example of digital-asset philanthropy. He said the funds will support the hospital’s development fund and its children’s medical center. Because even hospitals need a bit of magic now and then.
Kim Geo-seok still dreams of becoming Korea’s greatest individual donor. At 79, the war orphan-turned-investor shows no sign of slowing down. After all, why retire when you can keep making headlines and changing lives? Now that’s what we call a life well-invested.
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2026-03-27 10:54