The Social Economy and an Integrated Approach to the Localized SDGs in Seoul: Interrogating the Evidence

One of the leitmotifs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is its integrated approach: an insistence on the indivisibility of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), necessary to bring a long-missing element of coherence to development policies and actions across multiple dimensions. The social economy (SE) shines in this respect, because of its inherently integrated approach: one of its distinguishing features is the combination of economic, social and often environmental concerns. Given the rapid growth of SE in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s strong commitment to both SE and the SDGs, this Brief reviews unique empirical evidence gathered in Seoul which reveals how well SE is working to realize its potential to implement the SDGs in the balanced and integrated way they were intended.

UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs aim to improve the quality of development dialogue. They situate the Institute’s research within wider social development debates, synthesize its findings and draw out issues for consideration in decision-making processes. They provide this information in a concise format that should be of use to policy makers, scholars, activists, journalists and others.