Last week’s meeting between President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea was an historic moment full of firsts — the first trilateral summit among these three nations, the first time Biden hosted foreign leaders at Camp David and the first time South Korea and Japan put aside their historical grievances in such a major, visible way. South Korea has centuries of reasons to mistrust Japan, but the nation seems to hold the U.S. in high esteem, the way a younger sibling might admire and emulate a protective older sister — and one who brings good snacks. (Many now-staples in South Korea were introduced by the U.S. armed forces, like ham and SPAM.)
That spirit of goodwill and shared learning between South Korea and the United States extends into the philanthropic arena. South Korea’s largest community impact charity/donor intermediary, Community Chest of Korea (CCK), for example, founded its most visible program by taking inspiration from the robust U.S. civil society described by Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1840 book “Democracy in America.”
As I recently wrote, South Korea’s post-war economic “miracle” allowed it to make an unprecedented shift among OECD nations from aid recipient to international donor. While I see Korea’s quick commitment to philanthropy as aligned with its communitarian ethos — and as opposed to our own hyper-individualism — CCK blends its vision of 19th-century U.S. collective action with some distinctly Korean elements. We reached out to CCK’s fundraising manager, Heesuk Ryu, Assistant Fundraiser Byeolji Kim, and Global Partnership Manager Hyejoo Yoo to get some better insight into how this organization works. We met by Zoom, the three of them sitting together at a long, shiny wooden table in a stylish conference room with vertical wood paneling, a calm professional space that made me miss the orderly efficiency of Seoul. Yoo translated.
Raising and distributing funds for change
Community Chest of Korea both raises and distributes funds, and focuses on catalyzing positive change through citizen participation. Launched in 1998 — a decade and a half before South Korean singer Psy hit global stardom with his danceable tune “Gangnam Style” — it supports Koreans who would otherwise fall through the cracks of existing public and private services. In 2022, CCK raised $593 million toward this goal, more than two-thirds of that coming from corporations and the rest from private individuals. It disbursed $548 million across eight broad areas: basic needs, education and self-reliance, healthcare, social care, mental and emotional health, reducing cultural disparities, improving community participation, and improving housing and environmental protection.
One current focus is former foster youth, a relatively new but urgent concern. “This issue has been just rising in recent years,” the team told me. As with foster youth in the U.S., South Korean foster kids often age out of the system without the resources needed to become independent adults. CCK provides them with scholarships and job skills training.
CCK goes about its mission through a variety of programs and communications channels, many of which are hard to imagine working in an American cultural context. Take its cute, cuddly mascot called YeolmaeDoongi, which exists as an emoji and a smiling, red-petalled flower plush toy that looks much like the stuffed animals you can buy in train stations throughout the country.
While CCK works with major corporations, including Samsung, Hyundai and Hana Financial Group, to create and implement CSR programs and act as role models for other companies, it also operates a variety of programs to inspire giving from everyday citizens in various sectors. These giving programs include “Good Shops,” “Good Families,” “Good Workplaces” and “Good Gifts.” In 2022, nearly 800,000 kids, office workers celebrating their first paychecks, and social workers who won prize money from contests gave through Good Gifts alone.
I first heard of CCK through its first major giving club, the Honor Society, a kind of public roll-call of top donors inspired by de Tocqueville. Begun in 2007, the Honor Society inducts those who commit to giving at least 100 million South Korean won (just over $75,000) over a five-year period. Since 2008, it has grown from six members to more than 3,000 today. In Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, 13 members of an arts and culture group joined on the same day, a notable example of the power of positive peer pressure in Korea. “The Honor Society plays a vital role of inspiring Koreans to be part of charity,” Yoo said. “A member’s giving story introduced [through a] local/national newspaper attracts lots of readers’ attention and makes them think about joining the club.”
CCK also encourages giving through its similarly earnest, public-facing, freestanding “Love Thermometer.” The Love Thermometer is part of CCK’s annual year-end “Hope Sharing Campaign,” which focused in 2022 on promoting community safety, supporting families in crisis, and social care, education and self-reliance in the wake of COVID. The installation has a “mercury” bar that rises one degree every time CCK achieves 1% of its fundraising goal. The 2022 campaign reached its goal of $336.3 million within 47 days, and the thermometer peaked accordingly at 110 degrees Celsius.
Extending the club to the U.S.
Though its focus is on South Korea, CCK has an expanding footprint stateside. Working in partnership with United Way of Greater Los Angeles, CCK launched a U.S. branch of its Honor Society in Los Angeles in 2018 (L.A. is home to 350,000 ethnic Koreans). This was designed as a way for Korean Americans to contribute to both countries — each U.S.-based Honor Society member’s KRW 100 million donation is split between the U.S. and Korea. Kevin S. Kim, chairman of Bank of Hope USA, was the first U.S. inductee, followed by Ki-hwan Ha, chairman of L.A. Korean Chamber of Commerce and Don Lee, chairman of Active USA. “It is considered as one of the best practices in giving to have collective impact across the countries,” Yoo said.
Plans for the future include launching a high-roller version of the Honor Society for people who give KRW $1 billion ($750,000) or more. (So, still more accessible than the Giving Pledge.) So far, 15 donors have expressed interest in this group and/or have already given that much, including Si-hyuk Bang, chairman of the entertainment company HYBE, who donated KRW 5 billion (about $3.76 million) in 2022 to support former foster youth.
CCK is very involved in creating programs for these bigger donors through its version of a donor-advised fund. As the CCK team told me, “We understand that in America, charities like CCK set out projects and raise funds. In Korea, we try a different approach. Once we receive the funds from the high-net-worth individuals, we set up a program only for the donor. If the donor wants to donate to a school or focus on girls only, we set up a program focusing on girls.” In this way, CCK is cultivating bigger donors through what sounds to me like a lot of very hands-on work, but worthwhile effort if it furthers a culture of big-won giving in this still relatively newly affluent country.
And, as a fan of adorable Korean consumer products myself, I have to wonder if recipients of those scholarships for former foster youth also get a free YeolmaeDoongi plushy?
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