Inside Korea’s Social Impact

  In the previous post, I explained how social impact is embedded in the cultural memory of Koreans through traditional practices such as Gye and Dure.   👉Read related articles In Korea’s Cultural Memory, There Is a Long Tradition of Solidarity   Today, I would like to take a closer look at the culture of Gye and discuss why it can be seen as having evolved into modern social finance.   When people think of finance, most tend to think of banks. I am no exception. Whenever I needed to deal with financial matters such as savings, deposits, or loans, I usually relied on banks. In fact, many people naturally assume that finance begins with banks. Some may also think of investment institutions.   However, if we look a little deeper, we can see that Korean society has long had a form of community-based finance centered on relationships. This is what I introduced in the previous post as Gye.   What is “Gye”?   Gye has taken various fo...

The  Korea Social Value Solidarity Fund  is working to create a financial ecosystem that supports the growth of social economy enterprises. (Source: Screenshot from the Korea Social Value Solidarity Fund website)   Why Social Finance ? Traditionally, finance has focused on maximizing profits. However, as social issues like climate change , inequality , aging populations , and regional decline intensify, there is a growing global movement to use capital to address these problems. Amid this shift, the concept of Social Finance has emerged. What is Social Finance?   When I first heard the term social finance, the first question that came to mind was “How is it different from conventional finance ?”   The answer is straightforward. Social finance is not just about generating profit; it aims to simultaneously solve social problems and expand social value.   In other words, social finance considers both financial returns and social/environmental impa...