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...

  In this blog, I have previously mentioned the development and role of cooperatives in Korea. In today’s post, I would like to write about how cooperatives can play a role in solving social problems and introduce several examples.   📌Cooperatives Are Not Just Business Organizations   Most people think of cooperatives simply as business organizations. This is also the case in Korea. Rather than pursuing only individual profit, some people establish cooperatives as a way of doing business that pursues shared benefits and collective values.   On the other hand, there are also cases where cooperatives are established in order to run businesses that aim to solve social problems. For example, socially disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities or older adults may form cooperatives and run businesses together, allowing them to continue sustainable social activities.   In addition, cooperatives are sometimes highlighted as a direct way to ad...

  Cooperatives are organizations formed by their members. Naturally, they operate on the principles of solidarity and cooperation among members while engaging in market activities and addressing social problems. However, although they take the form of cooperatives, many operate similarly to small social economy enterprises. Because of this, individual cooperatives often face limitations in terms of market influence.   For this reason, the importance of cooperation between cooperatives has been increasingly emphasized in Korea. When cooperatives collaborate, they can carry out joint projects, organize collective purchasing, and respond more effectively to policy issues. Through such cooperation, cooperatives can gradually grow and strengthen their impact.   Scene from the Vision Declaration Ceremony of the Inter-Sectoral Cooperative Federation for People with Developmental Disabilities, founded in 2023.(Photo by Milly)  👉In the Past, Institutional Barriers Li...

  Korea may be a society where experiences of solidarity and cooperation run especially deep. For generations, people have relied on one another, solved problems together, and met shared needs through collective effort.   I believe this spirit lives on in Korea’s cultural memory. And today, it reappears in what we call the social and solidarity economy.   In this article, I explore how Korea’s long tradition of cooperation has evolved into its modern social and solidarity economy.   Is the Social and Solidarity Economy a Foreign Concept in Korea?   When I first began working as a journalist covering social impact, I had a question: Is the social and solidarity economy — cooperatives, social enterprises, community enterprises, self-reliance enterprises, and social ventures — an imported idea?   In its early development, many explained that the model was inspired by European examples and later adapted to fit the Korean context.   ...