New Founders of Seoul Series
In the “New Founders of Seoul” series I interview people I know in Seoul, who have started their own businesses. I was curious to hear about their motivation, their challenges and what kept them going. Whether you are looking for inspiration to start your own business or want to know how it is to start one in Korea, your questions will be answered in this series.
SeoulShare: More than a business- A community
If you landed on this page, chances are high you already know SeoulShare. But you might not know the story behind it! For this article I interviewed Iggy (he/him), founder of SeoulShare. From all the businesses I have on my list I chose SeoulShare first because it holds a special place in my heart. During my Working Holiday year in Korea I met really amazing people, made good friends and had unforgettable experiences all thanks to SeoulShare. Even now, after my return to Germany, I get the chance to continue my passion, writing, and on top of that about my other passion, Korea. For that I am very grateful.
In case you do not know what SeoulShare is and does: SeoulShare is an organization that creates different kinds of events in Seoul. There are a big variety of offers- creative (like drawing, knitting and photo walks), physical (like running, hiking, dancing), educational (like archery classes, language exchanges), or simply social (like boardgames, pubcrawls, parties). Seoulshare is a space where all kinds of people come together to connect. Everyone is welcome. It is for the people, by the people- meaning that all events are organized by volunteers, who use their time and skills to create amazing experiences. Most of the events are free and run on donations. Everything behind the scenes is also managed by voluntary helpers: HR, PR, Marketing- everything works because of the passionate helpers. Amazing, right?
“SeoulShare brings people together to encourage mutual understanding of each other and build a healthy and meaningful relationship with each other.” – SeoulShare
Iggy of SeoulShare’s Story
You might have met Iggy at one of the events of SeoulShare, and even if not, you have probably heard of him. He is the person who started SeoulShare all by himself. After he had stayed in China for 8 years and built a home there, he was forced to stay in Korea after what was supposed to be a quick visit for the Holidays, because of the COVID-lockdown. Since he had distanced from his former friends, he felt lonely. But instead of just giving up, he decided to do something about it: he matched his desire to meet new people with his love for the outdoors and created a walking group. Since indoor activities were restricted, there was high demand and the group grew quickly. As the regulations of the pandemic were slowly lifted, he expanded beyond just outdoor events to meet a wider range of social needs. This led him to officially start SeoulShare, which now offers a variety of events and has high diversity of members. Iggy soon realized that this business was nothing he could do on his own and took on the help of volunteers. Up until today he is amazed by the passion of the helpers. To him, that is SeoulShare’s essence and what SeoulShare means to him: connecting through the passion and being passionate about connection.
Apart from the external challenges, Iggy also faced internal hardships during the course of SeoulShare’s development. For him, it was, and still is, not easy to balance his different areas of life. Since he does not make any profit out of SeoulShare, he also needs to juggle his job as a tour guide as well as his private life. How he deals with it? He says that it’s important to just keep at it. To him, keys are consistency and persistence.
“Don’t overthink it, just do it! And keep doing it!” – Iggy
The big vision is to become the largest online and offline international community that covers everything about Korea, for people living in and traveling there. SeoulShare Offline would provide them with real-life event experiences, chances to interact with locals, and travel services such as guesthouses. SeoulShare Online would provide travel information, and travelers can ask questions and share information about Korea. That includes exclusive content that is created in SeoulShare Spaces and distributed through the SeoulShare App. To get there the focus needs to be put on monetization. Prioritizing that is one of the biggest challenges for Iggy:
“The top priority is to earn enough money to sustain the community. We need to create a structure that can secure sufficient funds to provide reasonable compensation for the hard work of event organizers and management staff. That’s how SeoulShare can survive and grow. At the same time it is essential to preserve the core values of SeoulShare as a genuine community. Balancing financial success with staying true to our values is definitely a tough challenge, but it’s exactly what makes this journey so rewarding.” – Iggy
Right now, Iggy is happy with living in the moment and enjoying SeoulShare’s progress. He is grateful for the team of helpers that play an essential role in carrying and developing the business. He is amazed by the interesting ideas and feels like there is always something for him to learn through it. Our latest success was the creation of official SeoulShare merch. These goodies are perfect as souvenirs to carry into the world. If you want any, let us know!
Also, we have a lot of cool, new events planned, like for example our Halloween Party. Join us on a spooky night filled with live performances, a costume contest, creative drawing and face painting as well as photo opportunities with a professional photographer! Head over to our MeetUp to sign up – quickly because spots are limited. Stay up do date by following our Instagram, where we post our schedule, important updates and capture our events.
Iggy looks into the future with optimism and is open to any possibilities that might come up. I am also looking forward to the future of SeoulShare and hope that I can be part of it in Seoul again soon.
Are you in Seoul and are looking for people to connect with? Do you have a skillset you would like to share with the team or a cool idea that you would like to host as an event? Do you share our vision and want to become our partner? Contact us and be part of the family 🌸💕
