April 2023

Arip&Werip was founded based on the personal experience of CEO Shim Hyun-bo. ¡°I had the chance to meet with elderly people who were struggling to work. I could tell that it had greatly decreased their self-esteem. Arip&Werip was founded to create a world where the elderly could feel like they were a part of society.¡±

Closing the Gap

Arip&Werip understands the urgency behind restoring the elderly¡¯s lost self-esteem. The company wants to increase awareness so that the public recognizes the elderly as a part of society and can therefore help them find employment. ¡°There isn¡¯t really a way for old and young people to properly communicate with one another. The only way they can do that currently is through the media. However, the media often focuses on reporting negative stories, so each generation will inevitably have misunderstandings and prejudices towards others. I thought we needed a place where open communication could help resolve the misunderstandings between generations and begin to break down barriers.¡± That was how Arip&Werip¡¯s social brand ¡°New Year Market¡± was created.

New Year Market sells items that have been designed and produced by the elderly. The brand mainly sells stationery items such as stickers, cards, postcards, clip pens, coasters and notebooks. For example, positive phrases handwritten by the elderly for the younger generation were turned into stickers with sayings such as ¡°You¡¯re young,¡± ¡°Find what you like to do,¡± and ¡°You will do well wherever you go.¡± The stickers received a very positive response from young people who found them to be fun and exciting despite their somewhat bulky and simple designs. The items focus on the bright and witty aspects of the elderly unlike many social enterprises that only focus on shedding light on the darker side of the issue.

The items sold by New Year Market are created through the effort of young and old workers. These workers have been able to work in harmony as they have had the opportunity to easily share their thoughts and opinions regardless of the generational gap. They talk together as though they are part of a family, which has led to a consensus that transcends generations. Designs and phrases that come from this harmonious workplace are showcased through the items the workers create. New Year Market¡¯s strength is the creation of items that encompass the past and present.

New Year Market has gone beyond creating jobs for the elderly by establishing the ¡°New Year Counseling Center¡±, a platform that promotes communication between old and young people. The New Year Counseling Center collects concerns left online or at an offline pop-up store by people in their twenties and thirties. The center passes the concerns on to people in their seventies and eighties who then have the chance to leave words of support and advice based on their own life experience. The sincere concerns and affectionate advice shared through the New Year Counseling Center were turned into a book called Just Live Your Life Because That Life is Yours.

1. Youth and senior staff pose together after closing the pop-up store
2. A senior staff member is drawing a design.

The Key to Communication

Arip&Werip has largely created two types of jobs through New Year Market. The first is copyright revenue through creative work. Arip&Werip provides the necessary space, materials and instructors to help the workers make their creations, but the copyright revenue goes to the elderly workers who create each piece. The company has also created jobs by employing older workers on a part-time basis to help package the manufactured goods.

Recruitment is done through the welfare center. This allows the company to place a higher priority on the elderly who are in urgent need of care or employment. Arip&Werip sends five to eight requirements to the welfare center, and the center selects employees from a list based on the requirements. A social worker for the welfare center conducts a face-to-face interview with a person from the list to find the right match for Arip&Werip. One of the most important factors the company considers is whether the person has the passion to work and the will to work with a team. This relationship was formed over five years ago.

There are currently 16 elderly people who work for Arip&Werip either full or part time. They have experienced many changes as time has passed. ¡°Our older workers often tell us how they feel more energetic and how much they look forward to days when they get to draw. They have so much laughter and energy compared to when they first started. It¡¯s rewarding to see such changes. We are trying to develop a model that will allow elderly workers to go beyond design and packaging and directly participate in production in order to provide them with more employment opportunities.¡±

Shim emphasized once again that the most important thing for those who want to help solve the employment problem for the elderly is to focus on continued interest and communication. Even a great idea or job model will fail if it does not encourage the elderly to actually participate. Shim¡¯s advice, based on experience, is to promote constant communication with the elderly who want to work.

Employment for the elderly is a challenge faced by all. Arip&Werip has created a clever way to step up and accept the challenge.

3. The cover of ¡®Just Live Your Life Because That Life is Yours¡¯
4. A publication signing event