What “challenge” means to Maker Kim Hyun-kyung, who has successfully launched three funding campaigns over the past five years
Last Updated: July 1, 2026
You’ll find out by reading this post.
- Maker Kim Hyun-kyung has successfully completed three personal funding campaigns over the past five years—all without flashy Rewards.
- She earnedthe support of her supporters by sincerely conveying the power of collective effort—things that can’t be done alone but can be achieved when people come together.
- As this example shows, in funding, consistent sincerity—rather than special qualifications—is the greatest force that moves supporters’ hearts.
The doors to wadiz funding are open to everyone, with no special qualifications or requirements. Maker Kim Hyun-kyung, an ordinary person who enjoys doing small acts of volunteer work, has realized her own dreams by successfully launching three funding campaigns over the past five years. Do you have a dream you’ve secretly wanted to achieve—or a dream for which you’ve longed for people’s cheers? Today, this story will give you the courage you need.
“President Kim,” Maker Kim Hyun-kyung, who spreads the joy of giving
Maker Kim Hyun-kyung (right) and her family
Q. Hello! Please introduce yourself.
Hello, I’m Kim Hyun-kyung, and I’ve run funding campaigns on wadiz. While my role as a mother—giving birth and raising a child—takes up a significant part of my life, I still introduce myself as Kim Hyun-kyung. I’ve also had the nickname “President Kim” since I was a child, which stands for “communicating with the public to inspire and be inspired.”
Q. What kinds of funding campaigns have you run on wadiz?
I first planned a wadiz funding campaign in 2018.Under the name “The Shimmering Project,”I launched a funding campaign to support children with leukemia and pediatric cancer. Thanks to 79 supporters at the time, I was able to successfully carry out a wig-making initiative—something I couldn’t have done on my own. Later, in 2020 and 2022, I organized funding campaigns to commemorate my children’s first birthday celebrations. Hoping my children would grow up to be people who understand the joy of giving, I made donations—together with our supporters—to organizations supporting single mothers and infants, as well as organizations supporting children with cancer, to celebrate their first birthdays.
Q. Is there a specific reason why giving has become such an important value to you as a maker?
Sharing has been an important value to me ever since middle school, when I earned the nickname “President Kim.” I found great fulfillment in seeing the people around me become happier and lead better lives because of me. As a college student, I was so dedicated that I participated in 50 extracurricular activities, including overseas volunteer work and mural painting. I’ve also been consistently donating my hair and giving blood ever since then. I believe in the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” I think that if I strive to be a good person first, warm-hearted people will naturally gather around me—just as I met my supporters through the wadiz funding campaign.
Why I Chose to Launch a wadiz Funding Campaign Instead of Donating Personally
Q. Why did you decide to launch funding on wadiz instead of donating personally?
To be honest, in my 20s, I sometimes felt a bit smug about volunteering and doing charitable work on my own. The more activities I took part in, the more my younger university peers would seek me out. As I started my career, I realized I was just one member of society, and from then on, I became more interested in projects I could do with others rather than alone. It was around that time that I discovered Wadiz was already the number one crowdfunding platform in Korea at the time. Since credibility is crucial for donation projects, I thought it was a place that could lend credibility to me as a person, so I decided to take on this challenge. It was a turning point that allowed me to move beyond my previous small-scale volunteer work and provide larger-scale support.
A funding campaign planned to celebrate the first and second birthdays of my children
What I realized while running this funding campaign was that positive influence can spread like a relay. A close friend told me that after hearing about my first funding campaign—which supported wig production—she started donating her own hair. My second funding project—a donation project to celebrate my first child’s first birthday—came about because my husband encouraged and supported the idea. Thanks to the positive impact of that project, I was able to make a donation through wadiz for my second child’s first birthdaythis year as well. I love funding because it makes me feel like I’m just “Kim Hyun-kyung”—not “Mom Kim Hyun-kyung.” Of course, my last two campaigns were tied to my children’s first birthday celebrations, but I believe I was able to do them precisely because I’m a parent. When you’re raising children, things often don’t go your way. Amid all that, funding became a way for me to maintain my self-esteem.
wadiz supporters who believed in the power of an individual—not a company or a brand
Q. Since this was a funding campaign run by an individual, I imagine you must have had some concerns.
While preparing funding led by an individual, I was often anxious about whether people would show interest or if the funding campaign would succeed. When I was preparing for my first funding campaign, I was actually quite reckless—I went around visiting leukemia associations without any concrete plan, declaring that I would donate money and my hair. I had to be prepared to cover all costs out of my own pocket if the funding campaign failed. So, at times, I realistically lowered the funding goal to a level I could actually afford.
The funding story emphasized the positive influence of our supporters
But the more I did that, the harder I tried to pour my heart into the funding story. I tried to concretely express the power of what we can achieve when people come together—including our supporters—even though I couldn’t do it alone. Especially with the first birthday donation project, being a mother myself allowed me to express phrases like “It takes a village to raise a child” with even greater sincerity. That sincerity resonated with our supporters, and we were able to successfully complete the funding.
Contrary to my worries, I was truly grateful that supporters not only empathized with my cause but even wanted to participate in the project without receiving any rewards. Once you become an adult, opportunities to help others and share what you have—like buying Christmas seals every year when you were a student—gradually become fewer and fewer. It was very rewarding to see that the funding campaign I organized served as a meaningful opportunity for my supporters to give back as well. I think they trusted me even more because this was a personal funding campaign where I shared every detail, from the progress to the material costs.Far more people than Ihad anticipated understood the purpose of the project. It was a heartwarming funding journey—one supporter even offered words of cheer, saying they were excited about my child’s future.
You can definitely succeed with wadiz funding on your own
Rewards—such as calligraphy pieces and postcards—that I prepared with great care for every funding campaign
Q. Do you have any advice for those considering personal funding campaigns?
If you’re someone who, like me, wants to try running your own funding campaign, I’d say don’t let comparisons with other campaigns intimidate you or make you feel ashamed—just go for it. I even considered calling off my funding campaign because I thought the rewards I’d prepared looked relatively modest. But in the end, I pulled it off. Even if you run funding with the minimum goal, failure is just an experience, and success gives you a great portfolio—so I hope you’ll find the courage to give it a try. We live in an era where tastes are incredibly diverse. There are definitely people on wadiz who will appreciate your project, so just give it a try. Wadiz is a platform that makes taking on new challenges easier. Moving forward, I plan to continue doing what I can as “Kim Hyun-kyung, the person” through wadiz, while leaving my own unique mark along the way. I’m thinking not only about the donation and funding campaigns I’ve run so far but also new projects like publishing an essay collection. It would be wonderful if my journey could have a positive influence on others.
Listening to Maker Kim Hyun-kyung’s story, I realize that what matters most in personal funding isn’t flashy rewards, but how honestly you convey “why you’re doing this.” If you, too, have a cause you want to support or a challenge you want to take on, you can launch your own funding campaign on wadiz—even on your own. It’s okay if it’s not perfect—don’t hesitate to get started. If you’re a maker currently participating in the “Find Your Supporters Through Funding” campaign and launching a supporter or fan-based funding campaign, you can enjoy a 90% discount on fees. wadiz is here to help make that first step toward changing the world a little easier.
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