![A letter written by the grandmother from Nangok-dong to staff at Seoul's Yeongdeungpo Station. [Korea Railroad Corporation]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/14/news-p.v1.20260914.60b4e8a31c0c4150b84c6072e481f167_P1.jpg)
In 1978, a poor woman hesitated at a train station, unable to afford a 500-won ticket for her young son. The stationmaster told her it was all right and let them board. Forty-eight years later, now an elderly woman, she has not forgotten that act of kindness.
On Aug. 26, an elderly woman in her 80s visited Yeongdeungpo Station in Seoul and handed staff an envelope containing 5 million won ($3,710) in cash along with a handwritten letter, according to Korea Railroad Corporation's Greater Seoul West Division.
"I am trying to repay a very old debt," she wrote. "In October of 1978, I came to Yeongdeungpo Station on a local train from Jeongeup. My child was an elementary school student at the time, and because I had no money, I bought only my own ticket — my child had none. All we had was a single token. I pleaded with the stationmaster, and he was kind enough to let us go. As I bowed and turned to leave, I made a vow: 'I will repay this before I die.' It is very late now, and this is far too little, but please accept even this small amount. I have been grateful all these years. — Grandmother from Nangok-dong."
Her letter was full of spelling mistakes, but every word was pressed with sincerity. The young son she held by the hand as they boarded the train that day later died while battling illness.
After receiving the letter, Yeongdeungpo Station staff posted a reply addressed to "Grandmother from Nangok-dong" on the station's notice board on Sunday. "Thanks to the courage, warmth and deep emotion you brought to Yeongdeungpo Station that day, we have been living each day as if it were a gift," the staff wrote. "We have never gained such a profound realization in our lives."
They added that her letter had prompted them to reflect on the spirit with which they should approach each customer as station workers. "We will not forget the heart you showed us," they wrote. "We will become people who pass on warmth and good memories to others."
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