This is the first in a three-part series covering the visits of collaborative consumption influencers to South Korea.
Collaborative consumption has had quite a boom in South Korea since Seoul, the country’s capital, declared itself to be “Sharing City.” Creative Commons Korea organized an online portal called “Sharehub” that serves to educate and inform citizens about the Sharing City, share news about the sharing economy and provide a directory of sharing services. And recently several collaborative consumption pioneers have visited South Korea and met CCKorea activists.
In August, Rachel Botsman, a global leader of collaborative consumption, visited South Korea to deliver a keynote speech at Smart Cloud Show 2013 on the future of collaborative consumption. Collaborative consumption is a new business trend in South Korea, and was a main topic of conversation at the conference, including speakers such as Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb.
A day before the show, two Collaborative Consumption Global Curators and Creative Commons Korea activists met with Rachel to discuss the sharing economy, with a particular focus on car sharing companies, such as Lyft.
Many new startups from accommodation sharing to experience sharing have begun to emerge in South Korea over the last two years. It’s still early to discuss its success, but startups seem to be growing faster than ever, and local governments and organizations are actively moving to expand collaborative consumption in multiple areas.
See the full review on ShareHub