KATHMANDU: The Um Hong Gil Human Foundation has welcomed its new Country Director for Nepal, as the organization prepares to build on nearly two decades of supporting the country’s underprivileged communities in health and education.

During a formal event, UHGHF advisors welcomed Kang Daeseok and bid farewell to outgoing Country Director Park Hee Dong. The advisors expressed their hope that the foundation would continue to play an active role in its humanitarian work across Nepal.

“I will try my best to further expand foundation activities in Nepal,” Kang said. Earlier, Kang served as a consular at the Embassy of Korea in Nepal. Park, in turn, thanked all advisors for their continued support and guidance, adding that he had come to regard Nepal as his second home.

Advisors present at the event included former minister Gangalal Tuladhar, entrepreneurs Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa, Tendi Sherpa, Ang Dorji Sherpa, Mahendra Kanta Mainali, Phintso Ongdi Lama, Raju Shrestha, and other UHGHF representatives.

The foundation was established in 2008 by Captain Um Hong Gil, a South Korean mountaineer and philanthropist. Captain Um first visited Nepal in 1985 for a mountaineering expedition in the Himalayas. Since then, he has visited the country more than 100 times to support Himalayan communities.

He first scaled Everest in 1988. Now 65, he is the first person to climb 16 peaks above 8,000 meters, the famed fourteen 8,000-meter mountains, plus Yalung Kang (8,505m) and Lhotse Shar (8,383m), a mission he completed in 2007.

In 2024, Um made the first ascent of Jugal-I (6,591m), marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Nepal.

Through his foundation, Um has built over 20 schools across the country. In recent years, he has visited Nepal four to five times annually to oversee humanitarian work. His "Human Schools" span districts including Sankhuwasabha, Taplejung, Gorkha, Dhading, Lumbini, Banke, Surkhet, Dailekh, Kathmandu, and Solukhumbu. The foundation has also built a hospital and a monastery in the Everest region.

His humanitarian efforts expanded further after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, during which he actively contributed to rebuilding homes and monasteries in affected areas.

In recognition of his contributions, the Government of Nepal awarded him honorary citizenship in 2020.