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CoverStory
to help the needy. Under Professor
to. Some Web sites are more specific
donations having reached its highest
Kang Yang-koo’s suggestion, fines are
whileothersaremoregeneral.Byusing
at $270.3 million in 2008 compared to
collected from latecomers, and donated.
thesearchfunctionsprovidedbytheWeb
recent years. Many people are finding
Both professors hope that students will
sites,Koreanscanfindtheorganizations
alternative measures to circumvent
mature from their experiences, and be
thatservicetheircauses.Somedonating
budgetconstraintstobringdonatinginto
keen on reaching out to society even
Web sites are also making creative use
their lives. Though the sum they donate
aftergraduation.
of the Internet to help them raise funds.
maybeless,theycontinuedtheirefforts
Besides students-led initiatives, many
They provide a myriad of choices to
to donate more often by adding unique
young working adults are also reaching
Koreans, letting them select the ways
andcreativewaystoit.
into their pockets. Park So-yeong, a
they wish to donate. On some sites,
Park Eun-jin, a university student,
non-regular worker, donates a symbolic
donors are even empowered to decide
donates an amount equal to her taxi
8,800 won monthly. The “880,000-won
how their contributions will be used.
fare if she arrives for her appointment
generations,” where youths can mostly
AccordingtoScottOki,aphilanthropist
on time. This has helped her in not
expecttoearnonlysuchanamounteven
and former Microsoft Executive, donors
only making it to her appointments
with a school diploma, is becoming a
will contribute more if they can witness
punctually, but also given her a sense
reality. Park, personally facing gloomy
the impact on the lives of people their
of self-worth as she became motivated
prospects, wishes to reach out a helping
choicesaremaking.
to change her habits to help others. “It
handtoothersinsimilarcircumstances.
Moreover, online donation sites offer
struckmethatthemoneyIwasspending
“Inaway,IcouldsayI’mdonatingnow
increased transparency, revealing the
on my cab fare due to my laziness
notforanyoneelsebutformyself.When
donors’ contributions and names while
could actually help so many people
Isay‘formyself,’Irefertothehappiness
updating the total amount received
who could spend the money on much
I feel when I see that there’s this bit I
frequently. On the main page, how
more meaningful things such buying a
can do to combat the “880,000-won
the donated money is being spent and
textbook,”shesaid.
generation.” I also feel it is a form of
distributed is also stated clearly. This
According to Leftovers Love Sharing
investment for my future as I might just
addressescriticismsofaccountabilityas
Community, there is an increase in
betheonewhorequirethishelp.”
wellassoothesfearsofabuse.
small individual donors committed to
Plagued by financial instability due to
Unsurprisingly, the Community Chest
sharing their tight family budget with
thesinkingeconomy,theseyoungadults
wasabletocollectmorethan4.7billion
children despite the sliding economy.
shouldbeapplaudedfortheircontinuous
won from online donations. In the case
The number of individual donors who
monetary support for charitable causes.
of the Beautiful Foundation, netizens
pledgedtodonatebetween5,000wonto
It is only through their commendable
are credited with donating more than
30,000wonpermonthhasincreasedby
helping spirit even in trying times that
10 billion won. Web donation have
20percentin2008from2007.
noblecausescanfindfinancialbackers.
integratedintothedonationculturewith
While their contributions may seem
almostallmajorcharitableorganizations
small, “small” donors are sincere in
accepting such donations. Meanwhile,
helpingtheneedy.AstheKoreansaying
Online-DonationSinksItsRoots
The once foreign term, “online-
Koreansemboldenedthroughthewealth
goes,“tenspoons,onebowl,” evenwith
donation,”isbringingafreshdimension
of knowledge and options granted by
harsh conditions causing income to be
of donation culture to Korean society
the Web are more forthcoming in their
highly unstable, Koreans still take pride
today. Recently, CNN showcased Korea
contributions as they seek to make a
in sharing with the less fortunate. The
asoneofthefirstcountrieswiththemost
meaningfuldifference.
point is not the size of wealth but the
developed form of online-giving which
willingnessofthedonorthatdetermines
isbothuniqueandefficient.Thisdigital
howmuchthepoorcanreceive.“Small”
RiseofFrequentSmallDonors
sharing culture is revolutionary, with
Unfavorable economic circumstances
donors stretch the limits in how much
everythingaccessibleinjusttheclickof
have imposed financials difficulties on
theycangivetosociety.
a mouse, making it fast and convenient,
Koreans today. Yet, even such rough
servingasabonus.
economic headwinds are unable to
The donation sites allow anyone to
douse the fire of giving inherent in
searchforthecausetheywishtodonate
Koreans’ spirits with the amount of
OCTOBER 2009

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