Korean Bus Driver Saves Foreign Student’s Life, Goes Viral In Two Countries
A South Korean bus driver went above and beyond the call of duty to help a passenger who was in desperate need of it.
Lee Si Young, a 54-year-old bus driver in Yongin (a city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area), jumped into action after a Chinese international student fainted on her bus. After stopping the bus, Lee went over to personally check on the student, who was pale and sweating.
In just three minutes, Lee managed to drive to the nearest hospital. She said she carried the unconscious student, “without a second of hesitation, as if I were her mother,” all the way up to an emergency treatment clinic on the fourth floor. There, the student–who doctors diagnosed with low pressure caused by not eating for days–received life-saving treatment. Without it, according to one doctor, she would have died.
In addition to saving the student’s life, Lee also paid her hospital bill. The Dankook University student, who later expressed her gratitude to Lee, reminded Lee of her own two daughters, who are both college-age. “My daughters might suddenly faint and collapse like this one day,” Lee said.
To thank Lee, the student’s family sent her a red pennant banner that read in Korean and Chinese, “Thank you for saving my life in a time of crisis.” In China, these banners are tokens of appreciation as well as symbols of honor and respect that were once reserved for soldiers and doctors. The gift moved Lee to tears, and the entire saga made headlines in both Korea and China.
Love and kindness are borderless. I wish this bus driver all the best.
— Netizen’s comment, via The South China Morning Post
