After the world financial crisis in 2008, there was a bigger need for eco-friendly aspects and dissemination of smartphones, so the sharing economy appeared which meaning is collaborative consumption. It changes the preexistence concept of things, from possession into sharing. Namely, it is the economy wherein collaborative consumption, using products and sharing them with many people, is the basic root. It has the opposite meaning of the preexistence economic system. So, it does not mean that someone wants to earn money. This means that someone does spontaneous behavior to benefit not only for himself but also for other people. Nowadays, the market value of it has approached around 400 billion won only in China. American news magazine, "Time", selected sharing economy as one of the ten ideas which can make the world different in 2011.

▲ The development of rising a world sharing economy

With the sharing economy as a sudden rise in the social aspect, it has a bright as well as a dark side. In terms of advantageous points, we can anticipate a decrease in useless waste. The sharing economy can save resources by borrowing things and services, so the price burden gets lower. Also, as mentioned above, the development of IT tech makes people approach the sharing economy conveniently. In the past days, people had to undergo a process which was to check the schedule and do a phone call to make a reservation. However, in sharing economy, wherein various IT techs can check the situation easily, the reservation is surely made simple. This is the reason why the sharing economy is a beneficial field in the fourth industrial revolution. However, it has a disadvantage, too. The person in charge may be unclear. If one group purchases something jointly, it generates a problem especially when the manager who takes care of their products and services is vague. So, the sharing of products can be used carelessly and recklessly.

▲ A poster showing the meaning of sharing economy

Today, sharing economy emerges as the solution to the destruction of the environment and lack of resources. Like the other technologies, our purposes and clear use can determine its success or failure.

January 30th, 2020

by Kim Dae-hwan