RESCENE and Fandom REMINE Donate ₩50 Million for Geoje Flood Recovery
Girl group RESCENE has once again shown that its bond with Geoje Island is more than a marketing story.
On August 19, 2026, the five-member act donated ₩50 million toward recovery efforts in the South Gyeongsang Province city, delivering the funds jointly under the name of their official fandom, REMINE.
The gesture comes just days after record-breaking rainfall battered the region, triggering a fatal landslide and widespread flood damage — and it cements RESCENE’s status as one of the most community-connected acts in K-pop’s newer generation.
A Disaster That Hit Close to Home
The donation follows one of the worst rain events Geoje has experienced in years. Torrential downpours fell across Busan and South Gyeongsang Province over the Liberation Day holiday weekend, with cumulative rainfall in Geoje reaching roughly 944 millimeters between August 15 and the morning of August 18.
On August 17 alone, the city recorded 124.5 millimeters of rain in a single hour — the highest one-hour rainfall total since local observations began.
The consequences were severe. A landslide tore into the first floor of an apartment building in Geoje’s Okpo-dong neighborhood, killing one resident and injuring others.
Roads, public facilities, and homes across the city sustained heavy damage, and South Korea’s prime minister issued an emergency directive ordering fire, police, and local government agencies to mobilize every available resource for rescue and recovery work.
It was against this backdrop that Geoje City’s government, led by Mayor Byun Gwang-yong, announced on August 19 that its official promotional ambassadors, RESCENE, had stepped forward with a ₩50 million contribution earmarked for both emergency relief and longer-term recovery for displaced residents.
Why Geoje, and Why RESCENE
RESCENE’s connection to Geoje isn’t a corporate sponsorship dressed up as sentiment — it grew out of an unplanned viral moment. The group’s leader, Woni, is a Geoje native, and in March 2026 a casual clip from her personal YouTube channel changed the trajectory of the group’s public profile.
In the video, Japanese member Minami, dressed in playful “gyaru” street-fashion style, shouted the now-famous phrase “Geoje, yaho!” as a greeting nodding to Woni’s hometown. The clip spread rapidly online, racking up millions of views and spawning a nationwide meme.
The moment did more than boost the group’s visibility — it built a genuine narrative around RESCENE as underdogs breaking through without the backing of a major label.
Riding that momentum, the group’s single “Love Attack” reverse-charted back onto the Melon TOP100 later in the year, and RESCENE earned its first music show trophy on July 14, 2026, with the follow-up track “Pretty Girl.”
Geoje City took notice of the goodwill the viral moment generated. In May 2026, local officials formally appointed RESCENE as the city’s official promotional ambassadors — one of three such roles the group holds alongside similar appointments in Goyang and Gyeongju (the latter tied to member Zena, who hails from the city and is nicknamed the “Shilla Princess” by fans).
As ambassadors, members visited local landmarks such as Deokpo Beach to help promote tourism in the area, turning what began as an internet joke into an ongoing civic relationship.
That relationship had already produced charitable action once before the floods. In July 2026, member May donated ₩10 million to Habitat Korea in REMINE’s name, fulfilling a pledge the group had made when “Love Attack” first cracked the Melon TOP100.
The August flood relief donation, then, is best understood as the latest chapter in a pattern of goodwill rather than an isolated PR gesture.
Fans Followed the Group’s Lead
REMINE’s involvement in the latest donation wasn’t limited to lending its name to the group’s contribution. According to reporting on the fandom’s activity, REMINE members organized their own grassroots fundraising effort for flood-affected communities across South Gyeongsang Province, independently gathering close to ₩40 million through a dedicated donation page hosted by the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association.
Combined with contributions from RESCENE’s advertising partners, total funds raised in connection with the group and its fanbase for Geoje relief efforts approached ₩100 million.
That kind of fan-driven mobilization has become an increasingly familiar feature of K-pop fandom culture, but the speed and scale here stood out: the fundraising campaign spread across social media and online communities within days of the flooding, with fans actively sharing donation links and encouraging participation even as recovery operations in Geoje were still underway.
Part of a Broader Wave of Celebrity Relief Donations
RESCENE and REMINE’s contribution arrived alongside a broader wave of celebrity and idol-driven relief efforts responding to the same disaster.
Actress Lee Sung Kyung, known for consistently donating following past wildfires and floods, gave ₩50 million to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association on August 18 to support recovery in Geoje and other flood-hit areas of southern Korea — her second such donation in recent memory, following an earlier ₩100 million contribution.
Other K-pop acts and entertainers have historically stepped up during South Korea’s flood seasons as well; past disaster responses have seen groups such as ENHYPEN and (G)I-DLE make comparable six-figure-won donations through the Korean Red Cross and similar relief organizations.
What distinguishes RESCENE’s response is the specificity of the connection. Unlike many celebrity donations that respond to national disasters in general terms, RESCENE’s gift is tied directly to a place its members have publicly embraced — a city where one member grew up, where the group holds an official ambassador title, and where a fanbase has spent months amplifying local tourism content.
For residents of Geoje, the donation reads less like a distant celebrity gesture and more like a promise being kept.
What the Funds Will Support
City officials indicated that the ₩50 million contribution will go toward comfort payments and recovery support for residents displaced or otherwise affected by the flooding, alongside broader infrastructure and facility repair needs created by the storm damage.
Given the scale of destruction — flooded homes, damaged roads, and the fatal landslide in Okpo-dong — local authorities have signaled that recovery will likely take weeks, with funds like RESCENE’s donation helping bridge the gap before larger-scale government reconstruction support is fully distributed.
A Story That Resonates Beyond the Numbers
For an industry often criticized for treating fan loyalty as a purely commercial relationship, the RESCENE-Geoje story offers something more grounded: a girl group whose regional ambassador role emerged organically from a meme, whose fanbase has repeatedly translated affection for the group into tangible community support, and whose members have now backed that support with real financial commitment during an actual emergency.
The ₩50 million donation may be modest compared to some of the larger celebrity contributions reported during this flood season, but its context — an idol group’s hometown, a viral moment turned civic partnership, and a fandom that organized its own parallel fundraiser — gives it a resonance that pure donation totals don’t fully capture.
In conclusion :
As Geoje continues its recovery from one of the heaviest rainfall events in its recorded history, RESCENE’s gesture stands as a reminder of how modern K-pop fandom, when it forms around genuine local ties rather than manufactured campaigns, can translate into meaningful, immediate support for communities in need.
Where You Can Donate
Readers moved by RESCENE and REMINE’s example who want to support Geoje and South Gyeongsang Province flood recovery directly can do so through the following officially recognized relief organizations:
- Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association — South Korea’s only government-designated organization authorized to collect and distribute donations for domestic natural disasters, and the organization RESCENE’s fandom REMINE used for its own fundraising page. English donation info: relief.or.kr/eng | Korean site: hopebridge.or.kr
- Korean Red Cross — A long-established humanitarian organization that regularly channels celebrity and public donations toward Korean flood and disaster relief. English donation info: redcross.or.kr/eng/eng_help/help_donation.do
- Geoje City Government — For those who prefer to give directly toward local recovery efforts, the Geoje City official website lists current disaster relief and community support initiatives. geoje.go.kr
As always, verify any donation page’s URL directly before entering payment information, and be cautious of unofficial fundraising links circulating on social media.
Disclaimer
kpopfam is an independent news and fan community platform. We do not collect, process, hold, or handle any donations, funds, or payments on behalf of RESCENE, REMINE, Geoje City, or any of the organizations listed above, and we do not profit in any way from readers choosing to donate. The donation links provided in this article are shared for informational purposes only, point to third-party organizations that are solely responsible for their own fundraising activities, and are not endorsements or guarantees of any kind. kpopfam is not affiliated with RESCENE, The Muze Entertainment, REMINE, Geoje City, Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, or the Korean Red Cross. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and use their own judgment before making any charitable contribution.
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