A speaker delivering a presentation at the Insight Lecture .(Photo by Milly)  The grand festival of social economy enterprises in Incheon, the Incheon Social Economy Expo , was held from September 26 to 28 at the Incheon Imagination Platform .   Related post: Highlights from the 2nd Incheon Social Economy Fair On the first day of the event, right after the opening ceremony on the 26th, a special insight lecture was held. Seongjun Lim , Director of mysc (Merry Year Social Company), a consulting and impact investment firm specializing in social innovation , presented practical strategies for how social enterprises can survive and grow. Many social enterprises and intermediary support organizations listened attentively with great interest.   In this article, I’d like to summarize the key points from Director Lim’s presentation on how social enterprises can build a sustainable business model.   The Meaning of Social Value and Impact   Social enterpris...

The 2nd Incheon Social Economy Fair (Photo by Milly)    A Celebration of Social Economy in Incheon   From September 27 to 28, the 2nd Incheon Social Economy Fair was held at the Incheon SangSang Platform . The fair featured a wide variety of programs, including an opening ceremony, insight competition, awards for outstanding social value enterprises, talk concerts, and case presentations from businesses that had benefited from support programs. Visitors also enjoyed the lively Social Plus Market , where they could purchase products from social economy enterprises.   The venue was bustling with 31 sales booths, 18 experience zones, and 10 promotional booths, along with one-day classes and consultation spaces. With so many hands-on programs, the fair was full of energy and participation.   Opening ceremony of the 2nd Incheon Social Economy Expo (Photo by Milly)  A Special Encounter: Cafe Grandma   Among the many booths, I stopped by Cafe ...

Coffee beans I purchased and gifts I received at the Social Value Festa.(Photo by Milly)  Coffee Beans I Found at the Festa   On August 25 – 26, I attended the 2nd Korea Social Value Festa at COEX in Seoul, and there was one product I was determined to buy: coffee beans. I grind and brew coffee every morning, so I go through a lot of beans. The Festa was the perfect opportunity to try a variety of beans and buy them at reasonable prices.   The beans I purchased were from Beautiful Coffee, one of Korea’s leading fair-trade coffee brands. Their production involves women and young people who are often marginalized, and they follow environmentally conscious fair-trade practices. In Korea, coffee is often served in disposable plastic cups, but Beautiful Coffee runs a “Bring Your Own Cup” campaign to reduce unnecessary packaging.   Personally, I prefer coffee with low acidity, chocolatey notes, and a full body, and Beautiful Coffee’s beans met my expectations p...

I attended the "2025 Collective Impact Creation Forum" at this year’s Social Value Festa. The photo shows the scene at the event.(Photo by Milly) On August 25 – 26, the 2nd Korea Social Value Festa was held at COEX in Seoul, featuring various sessions. Among them, I attended the “2025 Collective Impact Creation Forum” session, which presented why collaboration is important for social economy and social innovation enterprises. In today’s post, I will review what I learned from this session.   “Collaboration” is a keyword I have emphasized multiple times on my blog. Climate crisis, low birth rate and aging population, regional extinction, and growing inequality are just some of the social problems that need to be addressed, and individual companies or organizations cannot fully tackle them alone. Therefore, in recent years, Korea’s social economy, social innovation, and social impact sectors have emphasized “collective impact,” and many discussions are held on how to implem...