Inside Korea’s Social Impact

  As I have mentioned several times on this blog, Korea’s social and solidarity economy has grown through government support, corporate funding, and institutional design. However, the atmosphere has recently begun to change. As both the government and practitioners increasingly emphasize sustainability and self-reliance, small-scale experiments aimed at achieving social impact while securing organizational sustainability are becoming more visible. Before building a single “perfect model,” many people working in Korea’s social impact sector tend to jump directly into the field and test small experiments first.   Why Small Experiments Matter in Solving Social Problems🌲   Perhaps the same is true in other countries, but Korea is currently facing a wide range of social challenges. These include a super-aged society, regional extinction, the climate crisis, and digital transformation. Many of these problems are deeply interconnected, and the speed at which they are ev...

  These days, whenever I look for news or information related to social impact in Korea, one thing stands out: the annual schedule of events. Of course, forums, seminars, and policy discussions take place throughout the year, but from May to October — when the weather becomes warmer — large-scale events such as expos and festivals begin in earnest. Recently, many events scheduled for 2026 have started confirming their dates and venues one after another. Around this time every year, I find myself thinking, “The season of gathering is beginning again,” and I have even developed a habit of marking major event dates on my calendar.   Because these are large-scale events, most of them are held offline. People gather, meet one another, and connect. Organizations promote or sell their products, while academic conferences and policy discussions are also held. There are many kinds of activities that can only happen when people meet in person, and every time I attend one of these ev...

As generative AI rapidly spreads around the world, the number of cases utilizing AI across various sectors in Korean society is also increasing. This trend can also be confirmed through research. In a report published in April 2026 by the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), titled “The Digital Divide in Generative AI from the Perspective of AI Inclusion: Awareness, Usage, and Utilization,” it was explained that both awareness and usage rates of generative AI have increased significantly.   Then how much, and in what ways, are nonprofit organizations in Korea using AI? Recently, a series of studies on AI utilization within the nonprofit ecosystem has been released. In this article, I would like to introduce these recent studies and explore how Korean nonprofit organizations are using AI.   🌿AI Is Spreading Rapidly Across Korea’s Nonprofit Sector   Recent studies show that the use of generative AI is rapidly expanding within the nonprofit f...