"Leave My Body to Science," Said the 'Volunteer Queen of Uiryeong' in Her Final Wish. She Rests in Peace After 3 Years [Warm and Fuzzy]

[Financial News] Gong Do-yeon, affectionately known as the 'Volunteer Queen of Uiryeong' for more than 50 years of service to neighbors in need, completed her final act of kindness by donating her body for medical education and research after her death.
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 17th, Gong and her husband, the late Park Hyo-jin, were cremated together on the 14th at Jinju Crematorium Park in South Gyeongsang Province. Their ashes were placed side by side that same day in the Life Respect Room at the College of Medicine of Gyeongsang National University, where they will be kept for the next 30 years.
Gong died on Sept. 13, 2023, at the age of 82. In accordance with her final wish, which was to "leave my body to the medical school," her family donated her body to the College of Medicine at Gyeongsang National University.
Her husband, Park, who died in 2022, had expressed the same wish during his lifetime and also donated his body to the university. The couple's bodies were used for anatomy classes for medical students and for faculty research until the end of last month.
Kang Yoon-sik, dean of the College of Medicine at Gyeongsang National University, said body donation is "a noble act of sharing that greatly supports medical education and the advancement of medicine." He added that "the deceased's wish became a precious foundation for training medical professionals."
Gong, who spent more than 50 years volunteering and was known as the 'Volunteer Queen of Uiryeong,' married at the age of 17 and moved into a tent house. In a life where even daily meals were hard to secure, she helped with farm work at other people's homes and carried bundles on her back to sell goods. She often stayed up all night knitting. Because she knew the pain of poverty better than anyone, she began caring in earnest for neighbors in need in her 30s, when her own circumstances improved somewhat.
From her 30s, Gong served as head of the Saemaul Women's Association. She helped install a village water supply and improve roofs. In 1985, she bought 225 square meters of land and donated it to Uiryeong County for residents who lacked medical facilities. Songsan Health Clinic was later built there.
To express gratitude for her good deeds, residents even erected the "Mother of Love" statue at what was then Songsan Elementary School in 1976.
Gong regularly donated scholarships and contributions to help neighbors. She also shared farm produce she grew herself and the money she earned from selling goods with people in need.
For her steady acts of kindness, Gong received more than 60 commendations and was awarded the Order of Civil Merit, Pomegranate Medal, in 2020.
In her "Volunteer Diary," where she recorded moments of service over many years, she wrote: "Those who have never experienced poverty will not know its pain and hardships. As the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way. If you have a strong determination to live better, I believe there will surely be a way. I want to help so that my neighbors do not have to feel the sorrow of having nothing."
Her eldest daughter, Park Eun-sook, recalled, "For my mother, volunteering was as natural as preparing three meals a day for her children." She added, "She cared for and supported so many people, just as if they were family." She went on to say, "I would be grateful if people remember my mother for a long time."
Oh Tae-wan, governor of Uiryeong County, said, "She spent her whole life practicing sharing for her neighbors and completed her life through service until the very end." He added, "We will remember her unwavering love for her community for a long time."

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