CREATING POSITIVE CHANGES VIA APPS

[Anchor Lead]

Interest in social impact is rising in the ICT sector. Mobile applications that seek to bring positive social changes through donation or social contribution are also gaining attention.

[Pkg]

College student Lee Ho-yeong likes to walk. There is an application that she turns on whenever she walks. It's a platform that counts the steps and converts them into cash points, which are then donated to a good cause. She can take part in various campaigns, such as prosthesis donation or support for victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

[Soundbite] LEE HO-YEONG(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "What's so easy about it is that just an ordinary activity of walking with a mobile phone leads to donation."

The application accepts donations in small amounts and boosts its transparency by connecting the donor directly with the recipient.

[Soundbite] JANG TAE-WON(CEO, BIGWALK) : "Corporate contributions are coordinated with a user's number of steps. Donation themes vary according to campaign."

Children who couldn't even write their names now learn writing and math in their own language. This is a self-learning app activated on a game platform. The children use donated tablet PCs that are powered by solar energy. This local project resulted in high learning performance.

[Soundbite] LEE SU-IN(CEO, ENUMA) : "I thought digital technology or mobile apps could address current social issues and help underachieving children."

An application that connects blood donors with recipients was among the contents with positive social influence chosen at this year's Google Play Awards. With investments rising in so-called "social impact" tools that seek to fix social problems such as poverty, disease, and isolation of people with disabilities, the associated market is projected to grow to over 400 trillion won by 2020.