Empathy Guesthouse
Safe and friendly Empathy Guesthouse, the leading accommodation in the region, is a social enterprise in Daegu that dreams of social innovation through local tourism and international exchange.
* 20% of profits made at Empathy Guesthouse is used to support resettlement programs for North Korean defectors.
Empathy Guesthouse is a social enterprise in Daegu City that uses 20% of its profits to support North Korean defectors. Our founding organization is the Center for North Korean Defectors, which began to support the local resettlement of North Korean defectors in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions in 2003. From those beginnings, we gradually stemmed into a guesthouse and travel company because we were captivated by the power and stories that come from “travel”. The people at Empathy value people to people meetings and new friendships. Won’t you come and experience the warm and genuine “jeong” of Daegu?
What is a Social Enterprise?
A social enterprise refers to a company that sells or produces goods or services as a means to raise the local community’s quality of life by providing jobs or social services to vulnerable members of society. In Korea, the Minister of Employment and Labor authorizes and certifies companies as social enterprises according to the Social Enterprise Promotion Act.
About Empathy Social Enterprise for Exchange, Development, and Sustainability (SEEDS)
Empathy Guesthouse hopes to be a part of the efforts to bring tourism to the Daegu region, and utilize international exchange to develop Daegu into another main hub in Korea. Our Empathy Guesthouse family includes those who love to travel, those who are interested in unification and peace on the Korean Peninsula, and most of all, those who dream of making the world a better place through people-to-people exchanges.
☞ Empathy Guesthouse of Empathy SEEDS : History
1 .June, 2013 Empathy Guesthouse opens at Jongro2-ga 15 Jung-gu, Daegu
- September 2014 Certified as a preliminary social enterprise by the Daegu Metropolitan City
- October 2014 Jung-gu (Central District) is awarded the Employment and Labor Minister’s award for “the operation of a good guesthouse working towards the revitalization of downtown cultural tourism” at the Job Competition of Local Governments.
- January 2015 Surpasses 10,000 guests since opening of Empathy Guesthouse
- October 2015 Certified as a “Unification Type” preliminary social enterprise
- November 2015 Certified as a social enterprise
- December 2015 Opens Empathy Dongseongro Guesthouse
☞ Future of Empathy SEEDS Empathy Guesthouse
- Growth and development in to a professional tourism company encompassing both accommodations and travel company
- Lead in the creation of job opportunities for the socially vulnerable, and support youth entrepreneurs in their start-up efforts
- Giving back to society by supporting North Korean defectors and others with 20% of profits
Empathy Guesthouse 