Inside Korea’s Social Impact

  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.   ...

“Social and Solidarity Economy,” a term increasingly seen in promotional materials. In South Korea, a shift in terminology usage is becoming visible.(Photo by Milly)    I have previously written a post outlining the differences between the terms “social economy” and “social and solidarity economy.”   In that earlier piece, I focused mainly on comparing the two concepts — how they differ conceptually and in what contexts each term has been used.   👉Related post The Shift in Terminology: From “Social Economy” to “Social Solidarity Economy”   What I want to write about today is not another attempt to redefine these terms. Rather, this post is a declaration of which term I will choose to use in this blog going forward.   The term “social economy” has played an important role in Korean society. It has functioned as the language of policy and institutions, and as a bridge connecting the public sector and the market. It has allowed social enterpri...

 South Korea’s social economy has grown rapidly over the past decade, largely through government-led support systems. A key turning point came in 2012, when the United Nations designated the year as the International Year of Cooperatives. In the same year, South Korea enacted the Framework Act on Cooperatives, laying the legal foundation for cooperative development. Since then, cooperatives in Korea have continued to grow steadily.   This article features an interview with Lee Gi-dae, a leading expert in the Korean cooperative sector. Lee currently serves as Deputy Director of the Research Institute affiliated with CoopBiz Cooperative, Chairperson of Dream Sharing Social Cooperative, and General Committee Member of the Policy and Institutional Committee of the Korea Social and Solidarity Economy Association. He is also actively involved in SE-ACT (Solidarity Economy in Action), which has been introduced previously on this blog. For clarity and consistency, he will be refer...

A file distributed by a cooperative: The social and solidarity economy, which must generate both value and profit, may face short-term challenges, but it is meaningful because it can help ensure the long-term sustainability of society.(Photo by Milly)    In Korea, the social economy is still viewed through a wide range of perspectives. Among them, the business-value perspective understands the social economy not as simple welfare work or civic activity , but as a business model that solves social problems and creates social value . This viewpoint highlights that social economy organizations can generate sustainable economic outcomes while contributing to local communities and addressing social issues.   👉 Combining Social Value and Economic Profit   As I have explained several times on this blog, social economy organizations aim not only to generate profit but also to solve social problems and maintain economic stability at the same time. For example, a s...