Cover photo by Rawkkim
By Minjung Chung, Researcher, Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation
Philanthropy in the Republic of Korea has been expanding over time, with origins dating back to the support provided by the Foreign Voluntary Agency to war victims. Since then, it has diversified into regional development projects and overseas initiatives throughout the late 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, charitable donations and volunteer work have made remarkable progress in areas that can be called core features of democracy and civil society.
According to the National Tax Service Statistics of Giving in Korea, the total amount of giving in 2021 was 15.6 trillion Korean Won (approximately USD 130 million), which only includes officially reported donations that obtained tax benefits. Considering inflation rates, the amount of giving increased significantly in individual donations, and slightly in corporate donations. Although there was a slight drop in 2020, the amount increased by approximately 6% in 2021, making it the largest increase in 10 years. Considering the high inflation rates in Korea, this increase is particularly significant.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, twice the amount of donations for disastrous situations such as large forest fires was collected, as reported by Giving Korea 2022. This shows that donation behaviour by the general public for the benefit of others and for a better society has continued, even in difficult economic and social situations. Participation in giving also increased in 2021, compared to 2019.
Participation in Giving (%)
Source: Giving Korea 2022
Observing donation behaviour based on the value of social solidarity or cooperation, one may question whether conflicts actually exist in Korean society. In response to such questions, Giving Korea 2022 aimed to find the relationship between donation behaviour and factors that are currently identified as sources of conflict in Korean society, such as generation, gender, and political ideology, to examine whether donation behaviour varies along these factors.
Giving Korea 2022 subdivided the characteristics of donors and their behaviours into different types to discuss the differences that appeared between them. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the giving participation of Millenials and Generation Z, and it has been pointed out that their donation behaviour is temporary and tends to change the target depending on their personal interests. This trend is not suitable for the fundraising strategy of non-profit organisations that aims for donors who make regular monthly donations through account transfers. Therefore, organisations need to quickly catch up with the trends and change their fundraising strategies, so as to not fall behind.
This is why Giving Korea is trying to keep track of the ever-changing giving culture. Since non-profit organisations are unavailable to keep an eye on their current work and trends at the same time, researchers should keep on sharing these insights with organisations.
New and diverse forms of giving and fundraising in Korea
New vehicles of giving are rising in Korea. While cash donations were previously the norm, there has been a rise in fandom donations1, Face-to-Face (F2F) donation pledges2, in-kind donations, and even non-traditional assets such as cryptocurrency, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This shift not only indicates an increase in the standard of living in society but also highlights the efforts of non-profits to diversify their activities to secure resources, leading to greater participation in philanthropy.
In line with this trend, the fundraising field in Korea is making the best use of digital media. As a result of the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, non-profit fundraising organisations have shifted their focus to daily issues beyond the pandemic. According to Giving Korea 2022, the top three ways of making donations are point and miles donations3, regular and temporary donations to NPOs, and donations through social media. This result shows that donations should be made in an ‘easy and non-burdensome way’.
At the same time, fundraising methods are showing a trend towards strengthening digital channels. Even before the pandemic, major fundraising organisations were investing heavily in digital transitions, but the trend has accelerated in recent times, with more and more organisations, including small project groups, adopting digital fundraising methods and strategies.
Additionally, new fundraising methods using online platforms such as the metaverse have emerged. Most events, seminars, and forums now offer a virtual option. As almost everything has become digitised, this efficient way of fundraising may result in more donations from both individual and corporate donors. By providing more options to donors, it may easily and effectively encourage people’s participation in better philanthropy.
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1. Fandom donation is created by fans for stars. Celebrities engage in philanthropy for their image, so the fans in online communities donate to influence the positivity of fandoms.
2. Like street cash donations, non-profit organisations set up fundraising campaigns on the street to raise not cash donations but a pledge for donations.
3. Point and miles donations allow people to use their unused loyalty points or miles, collected from using credit cards or participating in online communities, to make a tangible impact and support social issues they care about.
Minjung Chung is a researcher at Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation (Republic of Korea). Her research focuses on trends of philanthropy in Korea and how to promote a giving culture for philanthropy to thrive. She is also responsible for exploring the current state of philanthropy in Korea.
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