The Cherry Photo and Donation Kiosk installed at Cherry's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul
On the 27th, I visited the headquarters of the donation platform 'Cherry' on Teheran-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Two screens, one black and one white, at the entrance caught the attention of visitors.
The black screen "Donation Kiosk" (32-inch) allows users to easily donate by selecting the donation amount, entering their mobile phone number, and paying by credit card just as they select the menu at a restaurant. Donations can be made from a small amount of 1,000 won to 30,000 won with just one touch. "The machine has increased accessibility to donations for those who want to donate but don't know how," Cherry CEO Lee Soo-jung said. "Usually, you need to enter your resident registration number to receive a donation receipt, but you can get an electronic donation receipt from the National Tax Service just by entering your mobile phone number."
The scene where the reporter takes a picture using "Cherry Photo" with Lee Soo-jung (left) CEO Cherry.
"The white screen on the left, Cherry Photo (21 inches), has been created as part of Funation, a combination of fun donations. Just like Life Four Cut, which is known as a sticker photo machine, if you take a sticker photo (4,000 won or 5,000 won), 20 percent of the photo price is automatically donated under your name. After hearing the explanation of the machine from CEO Lee, the reporter took an instant photo with him. I took four pictures, but the picture quality was clearer and better than I expected."
CEO Lee said in an interview with the Kookmin Ilbo, "Donation kiosk and Cherry Photo, which were designed to be fun and easy to donate, are receiving favorable reviews from donors." Currently, five donation kiosks have been installed nationwide, including Kyungpook National University's UNICEF Yanolja. Six Cherry Photos have been installed at the Sejong National Arboretum, Cotyard by Marriott Sejong, and Handong University, and 14 are being custom-made. In the case of Cherry Photo, it is operated by donating to a donation organization designated by the organizer who installed the camera.
CEO Lee, who operates the IT company "E4Net," developed the application "Cherry," which is a donation platform based on blockchain, for the first time in Korea in 2019. Nearly 400 donation organizations are registered in the application, allowing them to donate in various ways. The biggest advantage of Cherry, a "donation shopping mall" that introduces blockchain technology, is that it can check the details of donations.
According to a 2021 donation-related survey by Giving Korea, nearly half of the respondents (45.4%) cited 'lack of financial means' as the reason for not donating. Following this, responses related to distrust in charitable organizations (33.7%), lack of interest in donating (14.3%), and not knowing how to donate (5.5%) totaled 53.5%.
Lee Soo-jung, CEO of Cherry, explains the "pernation" that can be done on the application "Cherry."
Citing the statistics, Lee stressed that although the financial factors of the donor cannot be addressed, the transparency of the sponsorship amount and the method and accessibility of sponsorship that make it fun and fun can be addressed. For this reason, Cherry has held more than 2,100 campaigns, including "Walking Campaign" and "Dance Challenge," in which anyone can easily participate in donations. Is that why? More than half (56 percent) of Cherry users are from the MZ generation.
'Cherry Photo' installed at the Sejong National Arboretum.
Cherry Photos is not only an optimal tool for short-term missionary teams to use in overseas missionary sites where photography is precious, but can also be used as a springboard for independent missionary work. Mapo Church in Seoul will use "Lee Dong-sik Cherry Photos" for short-term missionary work to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia next month and Chiang Mai, Thailand in November. Jeon Won-young, head of the mission department, said, "I will visit universities and local schools in Mongolia and Thailand, respectively, and I think I will get closer and like it if I take a picture with the next generation I meet locally. It will also help to carry out the missionary program."
'Cherry Photo' installed at Handong University.
Na Hye-sun, a Cambodian missionary who was sent to school and BAM (business as a mission) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2006, said, "We expect that local young people will also help them become self-reliant if they use Cherry Photos to work in college and have difficulty living."
"Many missionaries are engaged in various BAM (Business as Mission) works, including agriculture, and starting a mission requires not only basic knowledge but also a certain amount of capital," she said. "On the other hand, Cherry Photos can be started as soon as a camera is ready. It can be used as a tool for self-reliance missionary work according to the needs of missionary sites."