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...

Korean countryside, photographed by me. (Photo by Milly)  Social innovation in Korea is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, it has long been embedded in the everyday lives of Korean people. Its roots lie in the culture of “community.” Traditionally, Korean society had a strong culture of mutual aid and cooperation among neighbors. What we now call “social innovation” was already being practiced in various forms within these traditional community structures. Some representative examples of traditional Korean community practices include Gye, Dure, Hyangyak, and Pumasi. Gye : A system in which a group of people regularly contribute a set amount of money to a collective fund, which is then distributed to members in turn. It served as a grassroots financial tool for those without access to formal banking. Dure : A cooperative labor system in which villagers helped each other with farming, especially during busy agricultural seasons. It was essential to the functioning of rural communities...