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Issue/WT Notices

[Mar. 07, 2012] WT Newsletter #4- Social Enterprises of Korea 1. Create a Real Forest by Planting Trees on Your Smartphone

[Mar. 07, 2012] WT Newsletter #4- Social Enterprises of Korea 1.


Create a Real Forest by Planting Trees on Your Smartphone


Trees planted on an application will be brought to life by an NGO.


Mar. 07 News Cheonji

http://www.newscj.com/news/articlePrint.html?idxno=120625




▲ Hyung-Soo KIM, CEO of Tree Planet


Social enterprises work toward creating jobs for the disadvantaged, in pursuit of social values. There are more than 500 social enterprises in South Korea. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has supported social enterprises, calling them ‘Seoul social enterprises, since 2010. More attention was drawn to the project when Seoul Mayor Won-Soon PARK presented new ways to develop and improve Seoul social enterprises.


A new smartphone app which allows users to plant virtual trees is gaining popularity. Users can grow trees by planting seeds in the ground, watering them and applying fertilizer. They also get to name their own trees. Once the virtual trees are fully grown, the user’s mission is completed and the NGO plants an actual tree with the same name. The trees are planted in various locations, including South Korea, Mongolia and Africa. Eventually, a forest will be created through the smartphone app.


The app was created by Hyung-Soo, KIM, president of Tree Planet, an accredited Seoul social enterprise. Although Kim did not start his business as a social enterprise, 70% of its profits are contributed to the public. What's more, the planting of trees helps prevent global warming and protect nature.


Under the Social Enterprise Promotion Act (No.20141), social enterprises are categorized into different types according to the organization’s objective, which must include providing jobs and social services. The majority of social enterprises are engaged in the education and welfare field. However, Tree Planet has taken a different path. It is categorized as an ‘innovative social enterprise,’ meaning its objective is to change the society through a private-initiated business generated from an innovative idea. Tree Planet now stands in the spotlight as a pioneer of a new type of social enterprise.


The app is available online for free. So where do the profits come from? The profit-making structure is simple: Items in the game are used as commercial advertisements, including water pumps, sunlight and fertilizer imbedded with corporate logos. This allows participating corporations to advertise indirectly. This yields benefits for the corporations as well. By putting their advertisements on Tree Planet, they can advertise and contribute to society at the same time, which is more efficient than planting trees themselves.


Seventy percent of the advertising fees goes to the NGO to plant trees around the world. Users later receive a photo and information on the location of the tree by email. The other 30% of advertising profits is used for web development, server management and labor costs.



▲ Trees planted on Tree Planet, a smartphone app, will actually be planted in Korea, Mongolia and Indonesia. (Photo credits: Tree Planet)


Tree Planet was established in September 2010. Kim conceived the idea when he was discussing the environment with another solider while serving in the military. He had been interested in the environment since his high school years, and he loved trees.


"I filmed an environmental documentary to change people’s perception on deforestation in Korea when I was in high school. But I bumped into limitations. The media influences people, but often the influence does not last. It does not lead people to take action. People did not plant trees after watching Tears of the Amazon.”


He started thinking about ways to make people to plant trees in order to slow global warming. Eventually, he put his ideas into practice. He partnered with some friend he had met during his military service and hired a designer. The initial capital came from the prize money he won at the 2010 Small Venture Enterprise Competition.


Tree Planet was selected as the official app of both the G20 Seoul Summit and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It also won the Social Venture Asia Competition and received the 3rd prize at the Global Social Venture Competition held in San Francisco, USA last year.


Currently, 250,000 people are using this app, and 50,000 trees have been planted so far. Two hundred trees have been planted in Jakarta Children’s Forest in Indonesia, and an additional 1,500 trees were planted in the DMZ between South and North Korea. This creates an average value of 1,792,000 won each year. Furthermore, 50,000 trees planted in the UNCCD Hanwha’s Sun Forest create an average annual value of 60 million won.


Last February, Tree Planet signed an agreement with Gangnam district to build an urban forest. Following the event, Tree Planet launched a new edition which contains Gangnam district in its program. Virtual trees planted in Gangnam will be converted into real ones by volunteers on March 30th.


Kim is planning to plant 200,000 trees in Mongolia this year and to release a tree planting game on Facebook this coming July.


“By seeing virtual trees turning into real ones, the users will have their perceptions and thoughts on the environment changed. These changes in individuals will propel them to change the world. Every year, a forest about the size of England is lost. I will continually plant trees and create forests. Don't you think it would be great if more than 100 billion trees were planted in the next ten years?”


Translated: by Dong-Min SHIN

Edited: by Rachel Soul LEE, Patrick Ferraro