Dunamu Donates $5.4 Million Over Five Years With Korea Student Aid Foundation

Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Tuesday it has donated a total of 7.51 billion won ($5.4 million) over the past five years with the Korea Student Aid Foundation to broaden support for young people and foster future IT talent.

Dunamu signed a business agreement with the Korea Student Aid Foundation in 2021 for the Blue Lighthouse Dunamu Scholarship Program and contributed 7 billion won ($5.0 million). It provided an additional 450 million won ($323,000) in 2023, bringing the program's total funding to 7.45 billion won ($5.4 million).

That funding supported a credit recovery assistance program for vulnerable young people from 2022 through 2024. Under the program, 7,317 people under age 39 who had consistently repaid student loans received debt support of up to 2 million won ($1,440) each.

Of that total, about 2,942 fully repaid their student loans with Dunamu's support. Including those who used the assistance and then paid off their remaining balances on their own, 3,499 people in all were relieved of their loan burdens.

Dunamu also ran a digital education support program. It said it provided digital learning devices worth a combined 1 billion won ($719,000) to 1,250 university students from vulnerable groups.

The company is also continuing a blockchain talent development program. Using registration fee proceeds from its Upbit D Conference, or UDC, Dunamu is operating a scholarship program for university students seeking careers in IT and blockchain. The program paid a total of 60 million won ($43,000) in living-expense scholarships over the past two years.

Dunamu also held a scholarship certificate award ceremony for the 2026 Blue Lighthouse Dunamu UDC Scholarship at the Korea Student Aid Foundation's Seoul office on May 21.

"We hope this scholarship will serve as a meaningful stepping stone for students who will lead the future technology industry," Yoon Sun-joo, Dunamu's chief brand impact officer, said. "We will continue to grow alongside future talent and work to ensure that technology creates positive change in society."