In Korea’s Cultural Memory, There Is a Long Tradition of Solidarity
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. ...