Explain what "gye" is in English.

## The English you can speak, 12 Dec 2009

There's something called a "gye" in Korea. A gye is a rotating money club comprised of a set number of people. Each member pays a equal amount to pool of money every month. At the start of each period, one member is entitled to take the whole pot. The order in which you collect your payout is determined when the gye is formed. People who get paid later in the rotation get a little more as an incentive. In other words, you would get paid the most if you the last on payout list. These calculations are all managed by the gye-joo, the one in charge of the gye. People do gyes for various reasons ranging from traveling to ranging capital for business. This rotating credit system not only serves financial purposes but also social ones.

# A pool of people, money, or things is a quantity or number of them that is available for an organization or group to use.

# If you have pots of money, you have a lot of it.

# A payout is a sum of money, especially a large one, that is paid to someone, for example by an insurance company or as a prize.

# If something is an incentive to do something, it encourages you to do it.

## Extra Topics for Study Groups

1. If you have had an experience joining a "gye", please tell us how it was.

2. Why do people engage in "gye?"

3. What are the benefits of joining a "gye?"

## My opinion

I think a "gye" is originated from "품앗이", which is a tradition to exchange their labor instead of paying money in the old days. So, if someone need a big cash, other people gather it and give him. After that, he who takes the whole pot and the others continuously paid a equal amount to pool of money every month. The last person who takes the money get paid the most because he waits for a long time to get his turn. My mom also participated in a "gye" when I was 6 or 7 years old. I didn't exactly remember, anyway my mom went to some place every month to send in the money with me. I thought the bank is the best place to keep it up. But the interest of "gye" is higher than the public bank. In my case, I usually save the money every month to travel abroad. It's kind of "gye"