kangmi: learning korean

Call for help

Freecycle is one of those ideas that is so simple I wonder why I didn’t think of it myself. Each Freecycle network provides an online place for people who have something they no longer want (and don’t wish to either throw it away or sell it) to give it away to someone who does want that thing. Every transaction must be completely free...no strings attached. No money, no trading. That’s the simple beauty of Freecycle. Deron Beal, head Freecycler, says:

“While part of the mission of The Freecycle Network is about keeping good stuff out of landfills, the other part is fostering local gifting communities. Money is not allowed for a reason. It’s about letting go and helping others and ourselves in the process without any expectation of reciprocation.”

I’ve been part of the Freecycle movement for almost a year now. In the early days of my zeal, I set up the Seoul Freecycle Network (in addition to several groups local to me), intending to develop it further. In fact, I’ve been planning to move it over to Yahoo! Korea for a couple of weeks now...인선’s done the translation (although I’ve been updating some of the English, so some revision is necessary) so that all files would be in both Korean and English, thereby ensuring at least some expat participation. I’m also the new group approver for South Korea.

There have been a number of new registrations recently and several just this evening. At least two people have referred to an article about Freecycle, but I’m not familiar with the article (I have reason to believe that the article may have been in both the Korean- and the English-language press, but I could be wrong. Your confirmation (with links) would be welcome). In addition, I’ve had a request for a new Freecycle group in Daegu. So somehow Freecycle fever is taking hold in Korea. That’s excellent news, but I’m not nearly as prepared as I’d like to be.

Which is why I’m here asking for your help. I need several things:

- A group of volunteers who are willing to help make the transition from Yahoo! to a Korean site that hosts groups. It need not be Yahoo! Korea. However, it should be a site that permits foreigner registration, and Yahoo! Korea fits that bill. For the time being, all Freecycle groups are on Yahoo!...that just happens to be where it started. In the future, Freecycle will have its own site. I don’t know how conducive it will be to languages other than English, so I expect that Korean sites could remain off the new site for a while.

There are logistical issues that need to be decided before making this transition, however. Seoul is a big city (both in area and population), and it would probably be far more useful to have a Freecycle network in each 구 (this goes for Daegu as well...I’ve placed his approval on hold for the moment, but will want to discuss this with him this weekend). Freecycling could continue on the Seoul Freecycle Network while this particular issue gets ironed out.

In addition, there may need to be some adjustments to adapt Freecycle to a Korean context. I haven’t identified any adjustments yet, but I’m keeping my eyes open.

- You might not be interested in helping out, but you might know a Korean or expat who is. Please send them my way.

- Bilingually, Korean and English are obvious choices. However, should someone passionately wish to include another language, you may volunteer.

It’s important to note that I don’t have to remain in charge of this effort. I’ve just successfully handed off my first group and am working on my second. In addition, the head Freecycler has decreed that group owners have to live in the areas in which they have Freecycle networks, and I’m clearly not in Seoul. However, I’d love to remain involved for a while. Freecycling is close to my heart, and the fact that it can double as a big language project doesn’t hurt.

There is much, much more that is spinning around in my head right now, but these are the basics. Please if you or someone you know can help. 

Posted by kangmi on October 29, 2004 at 10:36 PM2 comments