"Profitable Dung"... UNIST Professor Jaewon Cho Publishes New Book "Dung-Backed Currency: Spreading from the Low Places"

The “Dung Revolution”: Rewarded with Digital Currency
Toward Basic Income and Economic Democracy

A book proposing an economic paradigm that utilizes dung as a resource was published on July 4.

Jaewon Cho, a professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering at UNIST (President: Jongrae Park), has published "Dung-Backed Currency: Spreading from the Low Places."

Cover of the book "Dung-Backed Currency: Spreading from the Low Places".

This book introduces an economic model that reexamines the interaction between humans and nature in the digital era. It is based on the Science Walden research project at UNIST, which combines science, art, and the humanities.

The core of the book is a paradigm shift that treats dung as an economic resource. Professor Cho explains the concept of value creation and reward through the use of dung.

Focusing on experiments conducted in the Guyoung-ri area of Ulsan and on the UNIST campus from 2019 to 2021, the book explores the social feasibility of dung-backed currency.

Dung-backed currency is a system in which people are rewarded with digital currency for their contributions to energy production, water conservation, and fertilizer generation by defecating. This goes beyond the concept of local currency, opening up the possibility of developing into a tax-free basic income system. It can also create social value, such as funding for unification or scholarships for war orphans.

Part 1 of the book emphasizes that dung is not waste, but an important resource that embodies the interaction between humans and nature. It analyzes economic and social value in a scientific and rational manner, and depicts the process of reclaiming human value even in times of despair.

Part 2 delves into cases where dung is used as an energy source and fertilizer, and provides an in-depth discussion of the dung-backed currency experiments. The possibility of realizing basic income and economic democracy is also discussed in this section.

Jaewon Cho UNIST Professor.

Professor Jaewon Cho said, "This book presents an economic vision for the age of digital and quantum computing," adding, "It delivers a message to enhance the interaction between humans and nature, and I hope that public participation will lead to social miracles."