Raise Hope Campaign

Surviving One Month with the Legal Minimum Living Cost

For the whole month of July 2004, the PSPD and the Beautiful Foundation held a “Surviving a month with the legally-set minimum living cost – Raise Hope Campaign.” The campaign was prepared for the purpose that the general public would actually experience the living condition if only living with the legal minimum cost of living. Moreover, their opinions based on first-hand experience were desired to be reflected when the actual measurement of minimum cost of living is conducted by the government.

The legal minimum living cost was introduced in 1999 for protecting people’s minimum living condition and ensuring an adequate healthy and cultural lifestyle, and it is reviewed every 5 years while each year it is tuned only reflecting inflation rate. The legal minimum living cost is a social welfare system which the government provides benefits for people who cannot sustain the adequate humane lifestyle on their own. It is even more significant since it is also used as a standard for a grant or benefit for the aged and the disabled.

The current minimum cost of living, which was set back in 1999, is insufficient to manage an appropriate healthy and cultural lifestyle. Especially for the last five years the minimum living cost has marginally tuned by reflecting the inflation rate. Consequently, the people’s living condition who rely on the minimum living cost granted by the government could not enjoy a healthy and cultural lifestyle but become poorer than before.

This year(2004), the first actual measurement of minimum living cost is taking place. The Raise Hope campaign is designed to publicize the seriousness of poverty issue of the Korean society and to put effort to narrow down the gab between the increase rate of the legal minimum living cost and the increase rate of the living cost of the general household.

There were several different activities in the Raise Hope campaign. One of them was “surviving a month in Hawolgokdong” where is one of the poorest areas. The participants stayed in this area for a month and struggled to survive only with the legal minimum living cost. 11 campaign participants volunteered at local daycare and charity center delivering meals to the neighbors during the daytime while they researched for the local people’s budget and lifestyle during the evening time. Everyday they recorded own journals and house-keeping account book. “Relay Experience” allowed participants to experience the living condition for one day at Hawolgokdong with the least amount of money for food. “Surviving a month at my home” let the participants to try living with the least amount of budget at their own home.

The participants for “Relay Experience” campaign include the general public and some of the members of the National Assembly(congressmen) and various policy makers including the members from the central committee for protection of people’s living condition. Although it was only a day, participants were able to observe the reality of poverty area and realized the problem of the current minimum living cost system. Their reviews were shared with many people. The review of the participants of “Surviving a month at my home” who lived under the minimum budget for food shared their experience on the Internet and pointed out how unrealistic the current system is.

After a month of the Raise Hope Campaign, the PSPD held a conference that participants analyzed their experience and suggested solutions to improve the current system. Additionally, the PSPD also submitted a alternative bill and actively lobbied to reform the law for protecting people’s minimum living condition. The PSPD analyzed and presented the assembly’s records of the Central committee for protection of the living condition. The PSPD urged the National Assembly the realistic adjustment of the minimum cost of living.

Although a month is a short period of time, it was enough to let participants realize that the legal minimum living cost just allows people to barely survive day by day. It is impossible to maintain either healthy or cultural lifestyle. It was also proved from the survey results which the residents of Hawolgokdong completed. Increase of the minimum living cost cannot solve the whole problem of poverty but realization of the minimum living cost can be the beginning of fundamental improvement.

* As of 2009, the actual measurement of minimum living cost is reset every 3 years.