Meanings of Giving:Hometown Love Donation Campaign in S.Korea

In 2023, South Korea launched the "Hometown Love Donation Campaign" to promote balanced regional development by allowing individuals to donate to municipalities of their choice. The Campaign enables citizens contribute to areas outside their residence, offering tax deductions and thank-you gifts in return. This initiative evolved from the 2007 "hometown tax" idea, which faced early challenges over tax revenue concerns. Over time, it transitioned from a tax-based to a donation-based model, fostering stronger relationships between donors and local governments.

The Campaign aligns with Marcel Mauss’s theory of gifts, which highlights how giving and receiving create networks of moral obligations and strengthen community ties. The Hometown Love Donation Campaign embodies this principle by facilitating exchanges that range from altruistic gestures to actions driven by personal interests, based on the needs of the communities involved. As a result, the Campaign is expected to take diverse forms in different local areas

This study aims to explore how local governments, the recipients of these donations, portray and engage with the Hometown Love Donation Campaign. While much research has focused on donor motivations, less attention has been given to the strategies local governments use to build relationships with donors. This study seeks to address that gap by analyzing promotional materials from local governments-such as advertisements, texts, and media like songs-to understand how they communicate the value of the Campaign. Through qualitative content analysis, the research aims to uncover how local governments frame the concept of donation and the strategies they employ to engage the public and promote sustainable donation practices.