[INTERVIEW] Millennial seeks to bridge generation gap through social enterprise

People at social enterprise Arip&Werip pose during last year's pop-up store event for its platform, New Year Market. Courtesy of Arip&Werip

By Lee Gyu-lee

Korea's aging population has emerged as one of the major social issues of the country, and one that grows more concerning with every year because of the plummeting birth rate. The population aged over 65 is projected to hit 46.4 percent in 2070 from last year's 17.5 percent.

Sim Hyun-bo, the founder and CEO of social enterprise Arip&Werip / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

With this growing age imbalance, a generation gap has become inevitable, increasingly widening the barriers between the younger and older generations.

And this was the mission that Sim Hyun-bo, the 32-year-old founder and CEO of social enterprise Arip&Werip, took on when he started his company that offers jobs to underprivileged elderly people.

"When I first developed this business, I thought to myself that it would be great if there can be better communication between the generations. There are various reasons (for lack of communication). When we think of the elderly, we often envision self-centered seniors on the subway, but they are not usually like that in real life," the CEO told The Korea Times, during a recent interview.

An elderly employee at Arip&Werip draws paintings. Courtesy of Arip&Werip

"And for elders, it's not easy to have chances to interact with younger people because of the gap between the generations. So although no one has spoken or tried to stir conflict, the misunderstandings just simply accumulate, raising further barriers between generations."

Found in 2017, Arip&Werip brings together elderly people who make a living off of collecting cardboard and recyclable waste to make hand-drawn artworks, from handicrafts and decorative stickers, and sell them on its platform, New Year Market. The imperfect drawings and squiggle handwriting of quotes offering a piece of elderly advice ironically hit the right note with trendy Millennials and Gen Z consumers.

It currently works with 17 elderly employees, seven of which are responsible for designing and drawing art to put on products, and the rest who work part-time wrapping the products. Along with the platform, the social venture takes in donations and sponsorships from other corporations to deliver supplies and goods to the elderly through local social welfare foundations.

Some of the products designed by the elderly employees at Arip&Werip / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

The company has also collaborated with various big-name brands, like cosmetics company Skinfood, phone carrier SK Telink and tech giant Kakao, offering hand-written designs created by its elderly employees.

Based on its name, meaning "raise me and raise us," the company strives to establish a foundation for the older generations to be brought back into the community and valued.

Drawings by elderly employees of Arip&Werip / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

"The elders I met along the way had pretty low self-esteem. And many of them were living alone. So I started this company because I felt we needed something to bring them together and help them find psychological stability within that community," he said.

"As one of the ways to break down the barriers (between generations), I thought of the project platform called New Year Market. And on here, we directly convey the stories of the elderly as realistically as possible."

He added that authenticity plays a key role in helping them connect with the younger generations.

"We use handwriting and such as it is. There are times the elderly express themselves a bit harshly, like 'Wake up. Why bother worrying about these?' But, on the other hand, they also give warm and comforting messages," Sim said.

"By showing these frankly and using them as a means of communication, (younger people) come to understand different aspects of grandparents, like 'they can be quite cute' or 'it's not impossible to connect with them.'"

A calendar made with the paintings of Arip&Werip's elderly employees / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

Below is an excerpt from Sim's interview with The Korea Times. It has been edited for clarity and readability.

Q. You worked in education and sports marketing for about three years before starting your own company. What brought you to find this social enterprise?

I started to think I want my work to have more value. So I looked around for issues around me, but I couldn't find much. Then, I came across the concepts of social enterprise and social economy, and coincidentally, I learned that my grandmother, who lives nearby, is picking up wastepaper. When I asked her why she was doing it, she said it was a side job.

But for some of her friends, it had become a means of livelihood. And this sparked a thought in me to make a change. I started to research (the topic) deeper and gathered information to go through a process of developing it into a business. I learned that it wasn't a mere issue that can be solved through charity and donations. I found the company because I wanted to bring improvements to this.

The New Year Market's pop-up store opened last year / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

A senior employee is packaging the company's products / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

Q. What is the philosophy behind this business?

The biggest philosophy and core value we hold in our brand, New Year Market, is that the drawings the elderly created may have typos, wobbly lines and imperfect grammar but we use them as they are in our products.

An essay written by elderly employees of Arip&Werip / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

These individuals have lived through 70, 80 or 90 years of their life using these typos and incorrect spellings. So this is our way of showing them our respect for their time and it's only meaningful if we make their work directly into products. If we alter them or correct them by making changes, I felt that would undermine the essence of it. So our philosophy is using the original work or drawing, which is paying respect to the generation.

Q. You not only offer jobs to the elderly waste collectors but also go out to schools and other organizations to educate people on the social economy.

When I first started Arip&Werip, I always had in mind that we needed to improve people's perceptions of elderly waste collectors. The way people look at them is often negative and unpleasant, thinking of them as poor, I was also one of them to think that way.

A card deck with elderly people's drawings / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

However, as I researched and met the elderly in person, I realized that they are just doing the absolute best they can (in life). So, I felt something needs to be done to change such misconceptions. They are not doing this because they simply enjoy it, but rather, they are giving their utmost effort on the very edge of their lives. So I wanted to introduce a different angle to see them.

Q. It's been five years since you launched this company. Moving forward, what direction do you plan to gear this business into?

(Our company) was originally about giving new jobs to replace those collecting waste. But now, it's changing to new jobs for just the elderly. While maintaining the New Year Market, we initiated the launch of Arip&Werip 2.0. As a small startup, the five-year mark holds significant meaning for us. So, we formed a taskforce and plan to focus on creating new job opportunities for the elderly.

After elderly individuals retire, they need to be taken care of with welfare but the reality in our country doesn't quite align with that. And there are also many of them who don't want to fall into that welfare category because they believe they are relatively healthy and still capable of doing something valuable. And this creates a significant gap … So providing working opportunities to the elderly who want to work has become our new mission.

Stickers with handwritten quotes by elderly people / Courtesy of Arip&Werip

We believe that working is quite an important factor for elderly people to live more energetically. So we are doing this because we feel we can contribute to helping those seniors to continue working and improve their quality of life.

Q. What motivates you to keep going?

I do get exhausted at times as a human. But regardless, the reason and motivation that keeps me going is the elderly individuals we meet with every week. (The senior employees) would say they missed us and would come to the office even on the days they are off. They started to open up (to us) like calling us when having coffee or passing by the office because they thought of us.

They still say they can't sleep the night before because they are looking forward to coming to our meetings. And I feel that's the weight of the responsibility that comes with the work that my members and I have been carrying out. So seeing these makes me acknowledge that I'm on the right track and becomes the source of my motivation.