Inside South Korea’s Social Impact

  During my time covering the field as a journalist, I once learned about a unique social characteristic of South Korea’s Jeju Island. Jeju is one of the regions in the country with the richest body of research and real-world cases regarding “the commons.” While the commons in many other regions often exist primarily as intangible relationships or cultural practices, in Jeju, they frequently take tangible forms — such as village community pastures or communal forests — registered as official assets of the village or community and actively managed in practice.   When I first encountered the term “the commons,” its meaning did not immediately resonate with me. Simply knowing its dictionary definitions, such as “shared assets” or “common resources,” made it difficult to grasp the dynamic reality on the ground. However, through repeated reporting and study as a journalist in the social impact sector, I came to realize how crucial the commons are for safeguarding our daily live...