Suggesting The Direction of Korean Art and Culture Social Enterprises through Foreign Country's Cases

This paper aims to find the sustainable model of Korean social enterprise in art and culture sector by comparing Korean social enterprise with cases in other countries. Social enterprise models such as cooperatives have... [ view full abstract ]

This paper aims to find the sustainable model of Korean social enterprise in art and culture sector by comparing Korean social enterprise with cases in other countries. Social enterprise models such as cooperatives have existed in Korea for a long time, but the term “social enterprise” became widespread after the establishment of Social Enterprise Promotion Act in 2007. Since 2007, Korean government has provided financial support to newly formed social enterprises. It was structurally difficult to maintain social enterprises without government money because the government supported 100 percent of the wage. Korean social enterprises tend to focus on creating jobs or providing social services for the disabled and the elderly. The art and culture sector is relatively vulnerable in Korea. Various public activities related to culture and art sector can create a synergy effect to both performance organizations and alienated cultural groups.
The purpose of this paper is to compare key elements of art and culture sector between Korea and other countries and find the way to apply Korean model. I mainly adopt case studies as a research method of the paper. The cases of other countries’ social enterprises may suggest way to develop and success for social enterprise in Korea. The theory of Social Enterprise Typology by Kim Alter explains the organizational types of social enterprises based on its level of mission. I will analyze each type of social enterprises in art and culture sector. If there are any differences in art and culture sector between the social enterprises of Korean and other countries from the typology, I wonder what elements make them different and what current issues are. To find out factors and current issues, I will look into cases of social enterprises.
Through this process, I can figure out some factors in successful social enterprises in art and culture sector. It implies Korean social enterprises and entrepreneurs should have more innovative minds and the role of Korean social enterprises should not be limited to only the creation of new job opportunities and the expansion of social services.