SEOUL– Two Austrian nurses, known for their longtime devotion to helping patients in South Korea, have written to President Moon Jae-in in response to his recent personal message and gifts for them, Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday.
Moon delivered his message of gratitude and the gifts of Korean red ginseng and blankets to Marianne Stoger and Margaret Pissarek on June 23 via South Korea’s Ambassador to Austria Shin Chae-hyun.
Moon visited Vienna the previous week for summit talks with his Austrian counterpart but could not meet the Catholic nuns, as they live far away from the capital.
Stoger sent a handwritten reply and postcards to the president and first lady Kim Jung-sook via the ambassador, Moon’s office said.
She conveyed Pissarek’s message as well, adding that their hearts are in Sorok Island, where they worked for more than 40 years to help people with Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. They returned to Austria in 2005 due to their own health problems. They both are now in their 80s.
Source: Yonhap News Agency