Center on Philanthropy - The Beautiful Foundation

SPRING 2021 | VOL. 2 ISSUE 1

The Korean word for spring is Bom (봄, 見) which means ‘to see.’ It is a word that captures hope for a new season and a new beginning. We hope that this spring, you will all be able to see many new beginnings in your life and your surroundings.

Interview with Professor Hun Park, New Director of The Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation

Professor Hun Park of University of Seoul is the new director of The Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation. Under his expertise in laws related to giving, policy changes that contribute to the advancement of philanthropy are looked forward to. In this interview, Director Park talks about his appointment as director and his relationship with the Center that began in 2003. He also shares about what he hopes to achieve for the advancement of philanthropy during his tenure.

COVID-19 and Nonprofit Organizations in South Korea

During the first wave of widespread COVID-19 outbreak in Korea from February to May 2020, nonprofit organizations throughout the country responded in an efficient and timely manner. Quickly setting up systematic fundraising schemes, they aligned the donations and allocations for funds to be distributed in real-time and handled the crisis in the swiftest way.

But while the fundraising and support programs for COVID-19 response were performing well, how the nonprofits’ existing programs were faring under the pandemic as well as how to estimate the changes they had undergone and, ultimately, how nonprofits should respond to them were questioned.

This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on South Korea’s nonprofit sector soon after its outbreak in early 2020. A survey was initiated to examine the economic and operational situation of nonprofit organizations amidst the pandemic, and the results used as basic data in planning short- and long-term support and shared with the relevant institutions such as the government, private sector, and foundations.

Overcoming the Pandemic by Staying Connected

The Beautiful Foundation co-founded the Jirisan Small Change Support Center with social cooperative Jirisan Eum in 2018 to find new actors for change and promote public interest activities in the Jirisan region. We give you a full report of the Center’s efforts to remain hopeful and overcome COVID-19 last year.