Inside Korea’s Social Impact

  In many countries, social impact is primarily driven by non-profits, social enterprises, and the public sector. Korea is not very different. In fact, when explaining social impact to those unfamiliar with the concept, many people tend to think of it as an area centered on public services or welfare.   However, the reality is slightly different. While it is true that social impact carries a strong public nature due to its mission of addressing social problems and achieving social goals, a closer look reveals that general corporations — especially large companies — also play a significant role in the development of the social impact ecosystem.   That said, the way corporations engage has evolved. In the past, corporate involvement often took the form of donations, one-time social contribution activities, or ESG being included as part of a broader business strategy. Recently, however, more companies are approaching social contribution with a long-term perspective, ...

  In my previous post, I explored the role of newsletters in Korea’s social impact sector.   <Read the previous post> The Power of Newsletters in Connecting the Social Impact Ecosystem   Among the examples introduced, one of the most representative is Orange Letter, a leading newsletter in the field.   Orange Letter is a weekly newsletter that curates information across the social sector — including nonprofits, social enterprises, social ventures, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. It covers job postings, news, educational programs, events, and fundraising campaigns. Most of its content is gathered through community submissions and compiled into a structured format.   Since its launch in June 2018, the newsletter has been consistently delivering updates from the social impact sector for eight years. It now has approximately 25,000 subscribers.   The newsletter is published by My Orange, an impact-tech startup. O...

  In a previous blog post, I introduced a learning group that I participate in called Social Peer Learning (SPL). We had another SPL meeting on February 28, and in this post I would like to share some of the key ideas discussed during that session.   👉Read related articles A Monthly “Social Peer Learning” Gathering: A Learning Community I Am Part Of The topic of the session was “Corporate Social Responsibility and the Social and Solidarity Economy.” We discussed why corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are important for the social impact sector.   🌞The Situation of Social Impact Organizations in Korea   What distinguishes social impact organizations from conventional businesses is that their primary goal is to address social problems. Because of this mission-driven nature, many social impact organizations tend to be relatively small and often face limitations in terms of resources.   As a result, questions about long-term sustainability...