1) Three people opened Bin-Zib, an alternative housing community in Seoul, by renting an apartment with $120,000 in key money deposits and loans. 2) Bin-Zib is based on principles of hospitality, autonomy, egalitarianism, and sharing. Members share living costs and key money deposits. 3) Bin-Go was established as a cooperative fund to expand these principles. It provides loans to Bin-Zib houses and other communities, aiming to ultimately make capital extinct by sharing all profits with people worldwide.

1. Bin-Zib,
an alternative community for
autonomy, sharing and hospitality
-Research Lab Bin
1. A brief history of Bin-Zib

2. The mid section of Seoul
)
3 people opened Bin-Zib by renting an apartment
with $120,000 key money
($40,000 co-fund + $80,000 loan from a bank

3. Key money system of South Korea
월세
Monthly rent
Key money
+rent
Key money
Deposit
보증금
월세
rent
월세
$10,000
$900
Deposit
월세
rent
$50,000
$500
deposit
월세
$100,000
rent
0
• Contract by a year or two
• Key money is returned at the end of contract
• $100,000 key money = $1,000 monthly rent
(12% interest per a year)

4. “Bin-Zib is a house that is open to all.
We composed Bin-Zib because we believe that houses should
not be owned. We believe if there is any profit generated by
money, it has to be shared with everybody in the world.
By opening a house to everyone, by sharing money with others,
we can live together. (….)
We hope that we can expand Bin-Zib, the praxis of sharing,
from the house to the town, and to the whole world.”
(From Bin-Zib’s website, 2008)

5. Sharing the key money
“It was possible for all of us to live
relatively in a decent residential
environment with such a small amount
of money because we didn’t aim to
Make profit while share key money and
resources.” (Bin-Zib, 2013)
How lovely it is that
I can live with only
$200 for a month!!!
Share of the expenses
(monthly interest of loan + living cost)

6. 아랫집
2008년 2월
3월
4월
5월
6월
빈집
7월
8월
9월
10월
11월
12월
2009년 1월
2월
3월
4월
5월
6월
아랫집
7월
8월
9월
10월
11월
12월
2010년 1월
2월
3월
4월
아랫마
5월
을
6월
7월
8월
9월
10월
11월
12월
2011년 1월
2월
3월
4월
아랫집
5월
6월
7월
8월
9월
10월
11월
12월
2012년 1월
2월
3월
4월
5월
5월
6월
7월
8월
9월
10월
11월
12월
윗집
옆집
가파른
집
참길음
집
빈농집
앞집
빈가게
하늘집
공부집
팔당집
만행
까페해
방촌
해방채
계단집
작은집
끝집
살림집
해방촌
연구소
구름집
마실집
옥상집
주요 사건
Opening party Feb.2008
The second Bin-Zib Oct.2008
빈마을회의 시작
Bin-Maul meeting April.2009
윗집
빈마을금고 논의
참길음
집
옆집
Bin-Go Mar.2010
건넛집
1차 재배치
빈고 시작
Bin-café Oct. 2010
빈농집
2차 재배치
앞집
하늘집
빈고 총회
3차 재배치
빈가게
낭만집
House manager meeting Sep.2011
작은집
공부집
집사회의
Co-op café Oct.2011
팔당집
만행
까페
해방촌
해방채
아듀 파티
계단집
작은집
끝집
살림집
해방촌
연구소
구름집
마실집
옥상집

7. 2. The principles of Bin-Zib

8. Hospitality
No rule to be a new member,
multiplying Bin-Zibs, re-assembling houses,
village festival, etc…

9. Autonomy, egalitarianism
Regular meetings within / between houses,
meeting of Bin-Go,
various DIY activities, collective studies,
workshops, co-op café, etc…

10. Sharing
Mutual aids, gift, co-fund, sharing the key money and places
solidarity with other social movements,
solidarity fund Bin-Go, etc…

11. 3. Bin-Go,
고[go] means fund/bank in Korean
a co-op of people who oppose capitalism

12. A solidarity fund, Bin-Go
“We have to expand the common step by step to make capital extinct,
to reduce our reliance on monetary relationship.” (Bin-Go, 2010)
(1) Funding money + Granting loan to each Bin-Zib
(2) Adjusting the “share of expenses” between houses accordingly
(3) Granting loan with small interest to members
(4) Solidarity with other social movements and other like minded
communities

13. “We believe that capital should be extinct ultimately.
But how it becomes possible? Can we share the profit
generated from my capital with other people?
Can I use the key money for my house to the common
place for people? Can I invest my money not for interest
but for other value? Can I willingly give money to a friend
who need it and forget about that?”
(Bin-Zib, 2010)

14. “If a person shares the 12% profit generated from his key money
with all people in the world, the profit will become infinitely
closer to zero. The praxis will turn key money from the capital
into the common. Bin-Go aims to share each member’s profit
with people of the world by multiplying Bin-Zi” (Bin-Go, 2013)

15. How should communists invest their money?
Investors
Communities
-Every person has capital or debt in
capitalist society
-Need spaces for activities
-How to avoid being a part of the
globalized speculative capitalism?
-Is donation an alternative?
-How to occupy bank and
transfer it?
-Can we make a different flow of
money?
Alternative investment?
-Differences of power and capital
between members
-How to be independent from the capital?
-How to make solidarity with other
communities?
-What if there is profit?
-How to reduce individual’s risk in case the
commune becomes spoiled or ruined
Alternative financial system?

16. The system of Bin-Go
Investors
Communities
=
 Investment for communities’ space
 Sharing the profit
 Escape from being a bearer of capital
 Investment as praxis of anti-capitalism
withdraw
investment
Speculative
capital
Anti-capitalism
income
3%
 Realization of an alternative value
 Opportunities of learning democracy
 Retaining openness and stability
 Diminishing of inequality between
each member’s capital
interest
6%
loan
12%
Bin-Go
Expansion of
The common
Key money
Mutual aid

17. Solidarity fund, Bin-Go in 2013
-143 members, $230,000 assets
-Using more than10% profit for building solidarity
with other social movements
-Granting loan for 8 Bin-Zibs, one café,
4 other communities’ key money
-Small grant for individual members

18. “All profits will be used for expanding the common land
and networking different flows of money.
Investors cannot get any interest from their co-fund
at least in forms of money but it can be told that our
interest from the investment/ praxis will be the common
and friends” (Bin-Go, 2013)

19. The expansion of the Bin-Zib’s experiment
Sharing a place and key money within members a house
Widening the sphere of sharing money to the village
by establishing Bin-Go
Creating different flow of money by sharing whole profit with others

20. A map of the Bin-Village
Welcome to Bin-Zib!!