The Power of Together": How Anseong City's Social Solidarity Economy Week Is Reshaping Its Local Economy

Every year during the first week of July, two significant dates quietly appear on the calendar — ones that most people overlook. July 1st is Social Enterprise Day, and the first Saturday of July is International Cooperatives Day. Anseong City in South Korea has been bringing these two occasions together, and this year marked the third annual Social Solidarity Economy Week Ceremony, held under the slogan “The Power of Together, The Value of Anseong.” On the surface, it might sound like just another local government event — but look closer, and you’ll find some genuinely substantive initiatives that could meaningfully shift the direction of the regional economy.

Why Does Social Solidarity Economy Week Fall in July?

July 1st was designated as Social Enterprise Day by South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency. Every year, a full week of events is organized around this date to raise public awareness of the value that social enterprises bring to communities. Add in International Cooperatives Day — always on the first Saturday of July — and the first week of the month naturally becomes a nationwide “Social Solidarity Economy Week.” In 2026, the national Cooperatives Day event was held on July 2nd at the COEX Magok Convention Center in Seoul, themed around “Co-prosperity, Solidarity, and Shared Growth.” Against this backdrop of national momentum, Anseong stepped up to host its third annual ceremony and made its presence felt.

What Happened at Anseong’s 3rd Social Solidarity Economy Week Ceremony

Flying the banner of “The Power of Together, The Value of Anseong,” the city organized the third edition of its Social Solidarity Economy Week Ceremony to jointly commemorate Social Enterprise Day and Cooperatives Day. Looking back at the 2025 event, over 70 executives and employees from social enterprises, cooperatives, self-sufficiency companies, and community businesses across Anseong gathered in one place. The program featured celebratory performances, commendations for outstanding contributors, and a talk concert — all designed to help participants explore concrete ways to practice mutual support, solidarity, and collaboration. This year’s ceremony continued in the same spirit, creating a space for frontline workers to share their achievements and encourage one another.

Anseong’s Social Solidarity Economy by the Numbers

Anseong City is currently home to 146 active organizations operating across the social solidarity economy spectrum — including (pre-certified) social enterprises, social cooperatives, community businesses, self-sufficiency enterprises, and consumer cooperatives. These organizations provide jobs for vulnerable populations and use business models to tackle a wide range of local challenges. In 2025, that number stood at 128, meaning roughly 18 new organizations joined the ecosystem in just one year. And it’s not just quantitative growth that stands out — the quality has improved as well. Since establishing its Social Economy Support Center within the Citizen Activity Integrated Support Unit in 2021, Anseong has consistently used the social solidarity economy framework as a tool to solve community problems in ways that traditional public services simply can’t.

Growth in Anseong's Social Solidarity Economy Organizations

What’s New in Anseong’s Social Solidarity Economy for 2026

This year’s newly announced initiatives signal that Anseong is ready to go beyond conventional support programs and take things to the next level. Planned programs for the first half of the year include a workplace environment improvement project for social solidarity economy enterprises, a job creation support program for (pre-certified) social enterprises, and a social insurance premium subsidy program. Also in the pipeline are entrepreneurship education programs to discover startup ideas that address local social issues, a fair trade promotion initiative, and a social economy community marketplace project.

Perhaps the most compelling addition is a brand-new model being introduced this year. In the second half of 2026, Anseong plans to pilot a “social prescribing” integrated care model through its regional social solidarity economy activation project — alongside a local asset-building initiative and a social solidarity economy expo. Social prescribing is a practice that goes beyond medical treatment, connecting residents to community resources and collective activities to support their overall well-being. At a time when demand for care services is surging due to an aging population and the rapid rise of single-person households, Anseong’s move to develop and test a pilot model is a genuinely forward-thinking step.

Why “The Economy of Together” Deserves Your Attention Right Now

Jobs for vulnerable workers, fair trade, integrated community care — the social solidarity economy is often labeled simply as “the good economy,” but in practice, it’s better described as a local economic ecosystem designed to keep money circulating within a community rather than leaking out of it. The fact that Anseong has sustained this week-long annual ceremony for three years running and cultivated an ecosystem of 146 organizations isn’t just a social welfare story — it’s a strategic investment in the economic vitality of the region itself. During Social Enterprise Week, a rich lineup of events unfolds nationwide: policy forums, entrepreneur storytelling concerts, and public participation campaigns. The online sales support platform e-store 36.5 even offers discounts of up to 50% on social enterprise products. Worth remembering: simply buying products from local social solidarity economy organizations is itself a way to participate in — and strengthen — this ecosystem.

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The Power of Together”: How Anseong City’s Social Solidarity Economy Week Is Reshaping Its Local Economy