Despite its prosperous economy and active civic movements, Korea still has a long way to go when it comes to making donations common and routine.

The season of giving is back. From the sound of Salvation Army bells ringing on snowy streets to photos of young volunteers busy delivering coal briquettes to low-income neighbourhoods, the spirit of sharing is alive across South Korea.

In December and January, Koreans donate around 70% of the yearly total of charitable funds, goods and services given back to society.

The country has seen dramatic growth in the amount of donations in recent years.

A variety of channels and tools for giving have been developed by a growing number of charity organisations and community leaders.

Philanthropists have the option of giving money, goods or in-kind resources such as their time, skills or knowledge.

Kim Joon-ho, a computer engineering professor at Dong Seoul College, is one of many philanthropists developing tools to promote giving, particularly through small contributions.

In May, Kim founded “Mirinae”, an online-based network of restaurants, cafes and flower shops that accept payments from their customers for future patrons who cannot afford to pay. “Mirinae” means paying in advance in Korean.

At a Mirinae member restaurant, anyone can have a free meal that has already been paid for by anonymous customers.

The system was inspired by the “suspended coffee” movement, which started in Naples, Italy, about 100 years ago.

So far, over 120 local businesses have joined the network. Kim says that the amount of interest has exceeded his expectations.

“I wished to have about 10 businesses involved. I’ve learned that there are many warmhearted people in Korea,” he said.

“I hope this project will give momentum to community-based social services and (help people) ... realise that even small changes can have an effect on our society.”

Despite its prosperous economy and active civic movements, Korea still has a long way to go when it comes to making donations common and routine, experts say.

The country’s tradition of bequeathing wealth to children, a lack of engagement by the rich and a deep public distrust of charity organisations have hindered efforts to foster a charitable environment, they added.

Figures show that, compared to many other countries, the country’s culture of giving is still in its infancy.

Korea, the world’s 10th-largest economy, placed 45th among 146 countries listed in the World Giving Index 2012, released by the UK-based Charity Aid Foundation.

“The size of individual donations in Korea remains relatively small compared to other advanced countries because many wealthy people are not bothering with donations. They are hesitating,” said Jun Hyun-kyung, manager of the Centre on Philanthropy at the Beautiful Foundation.

In a survey conducted by Statistics Korea, 54.8% of respondents said the best way to improve our culture of giving would be for leaders and rich people to step up their efforts to practice noblesse oblige.

About 20% of respondents called for reinforcing transparency in the distribution of charitable funds.

The low amount of tax deductions for donations is a big problem, Jun pointed out.

“The country does not have enough tempting benefits to make the rich open their purses,” she said, adding that earlier this year the Finance Ministry further downsized existing tax benefits to increase tax revenue.

Along with insufficient tax benefits, another factor that discourages the rich from giving is the lack of social acknowledgement.

“The number of rich Koreans has been growing. But no one is applauding them and speaking highly of their decision to share their wealth. The rich are not trained to make changes,” Jun said.

The nation’s first private nonprofit foundation was established in 1939 by the founder of Samyangsa, now a local noodle maker.

The organisation aimed to support aspiring students by offering education opportunities and better life environments.

The number of nonprofit foundations increased even after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Soon, though, the government began putting limits on charity organisations and restricting the giving of private donations to influential figures in the community.

“In 1949, the Korean government established a law to control donations, as part of its efforts to protect citizens from having their assets and money swindled from them by corrupt officials of local governments and small villages. The law and the tradition of limiting the role of private donations was in effect until 1997,” Jun said.

But with the emergence of civil society in 1999 and the early 2000s, the government started to loosen its control over the charity sector. The number of charity organisations in Korea surged around this time.

Three years ago, the health ministry, under the Lee Myung-bak government at the time, actively promoted a sharing campaign in the private sector, partly inspired by “The Giving Pledge” initiated by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

The two US entrepreneurs have urged other American and international business leaders to donate half their personal assets within their lifetime. As of July 2013, 115 billionaires have signed up, including some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the world, with pledges so far topping US$500bil (RM1.6 trillion).

“The Korean government started to promote philanthropic funding at that time because it realised that the giving sector could serve as an alternative (in helping) to meet a growing demand for public welfare,” Jun said.

The government will play a role as a mediator or an invisible hand to encourage leaders to return their fortunes to society as a force for good, an official commented.

“I believe that the power moving the US society forward is its deeply rooted culture of giving. Korea has a lot to learn,” said Koh Chi-bum, director of the Division of “Nanum” (Sharing) Policy. The ministry is planning a nationwide campaign to promote charitable bequests next year.