University professor discovers strength of street paper model in Korea

Lee Chang-kook

Earlier this year, Lee Chang-kook, Emeritus Professor at Chung-Ang University in Korea bought a street paper for the first time in his life. He was so impressed that he wrote about it in the Korea Times.
Reflecting on his experience of buying a copy of The Big Issue Korea, he describes his initial doubts about making the purchase. But after talking to vendor Yim Heung-shik and reading the magazine, he was hooked:

"During my conversation with Yim I found him surprisingly smart, cheerful and sometimes even humorous. More than anything else, he was grateful for and proud of being a seller of the magazine."