Kim Ji-yun, a 12-year-old being treated for leukemia, meets the boy band Cravity at Starship Entertainment in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 15.MAKE-A-WISH KOREA
A 12-year-old girl being treated for leukemia met the K-pop boy band Cravity at Starship Entertainment's offices in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Saturday, where she practiced choreography and filmed a dance video with the nine members.
Make-A-Wish Korea, a nonprofit that grants wishes to children living with critical illnesses, said Sunday that it had arranged the meeting for Kim Ji-yun. Meeting Cravity in person was the wish she wanted most.
Kim was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, in November 2024 and has been in treatment since.
She became a fan about two years ago, after first coming across member Hyeongjun. She has followed the band's music, performances and videos ever since, and on hard days at the hospital they gave her strength.
Her favorite song is "Spring, with You," which expresses the members' affection for their fans. Kim said she drew particular comfort from one lyric: "Even if I wither and dry, you are my spring."
Kim asked the members about their performances and activities when they met Saturday. She practiced choreography with them, filmed a dance challenge video and handed over letters and gifts she had prepared.
"Cravity's music and videos kept me going even on the hard days of treatment," Kim said. "I was so happy that I got to meet them in person, dance with them and talk with them. I want to hold on to today's memory for a long time and get healthy so that one day I can go to a Cravity concert."
Kim Ji-yun, a 12-year-old being treated for leukemia, meets the boy band Cravity at Starship Entertainment in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 15.MAKE-A-WISH KOREA
The members gave her a letter, gifts, signed autographs and posed with her for photographs.
"We were very grateful to hear that Ji-yun drew strength from our music," Cravity said. "We hope the time we spent smiling, dancing and talking together will remain a happy memory. We sincerely support Ji-yun as she stays healthy and continues pursuing her dreams."
The HD Hyundai 1% Sharing Foundation and Starship Entertainment sponsored and supported the event. Make-A-Wish Korea was founded in 2002 and has fulfilled nearly 6,000 wishes for children with critical illnesses, including leukemia, brain tumors and lymphoma.
"For a child with a hard-to-treat illness, a wish is a precious experience that lets them dream freely about the things they love and picture their future again in the middle of a long course of treatment," said Song Young-dae, secretary general of Make-A-Wish Korea.
BY RHEE ESTHER [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
