South Korea is often described as a “rapidly developed country.” Compressed economic growth, digital transformation, a highly educated population, and strong state capacity are frequently used to characterize Korean society.   However, alongside this rapid development, South Korea now faces a range of complex social challenges: population aging, gaps in care services, regional decline, excessive concentration in the capital region, and the climate crisis. These issues have reached a point where they can no longer be effectively addressed by the market or the government alone. It is precisely at this moment that cooperatives and the social economy in South Korea are gaining renewed attention as important alternatives.   Drawing on the previously published interviews with Korean cooperative expert Lee Gi-dae, this article explores the context in which cooperatives have developed in South Korea and why they are being discussed today as a meaningful response to stru...