[Life Chapter 3 Business] Helping 5060 Generation Find Hobbies... Leisure Platform for Seniors 'Rosh Korea'

Hyun Jun-yeop, CEO of Roche Korea, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] “Why is there no cultural and leisure platform for the 50s and 60s generation?”

‘Rosh Korea,’ established in August 2020, started from this question. CEO Hyun Jun-yeop (40) began to take an interest in senior issues after seeing his 60-year-old mother living alone feeling lonely. Leaving behind eight years in the securities industry, he pondered how active seniors could enjoy a happier life. As a result, he realized the lack of content and community spaces for the 50s and 60s generation and decided to start a business to address this.

Rosh Korea currently operates ‘Siso,’ a lifestyle platform for active seniors. The name Siso, meaning ‘Seniors are precious,’ introduces cultural, leisure, and hobby-related content for the 50s and 60s generation online. Furthermore, offline, it offers various classes ranging from cultural experiences like art walks and music salons to photography and interior design, allowing the 50s and 60s generation to accumulate special experiences. There are over 30 types of classes alone. CEO Hyun said, “The number of classes will continue to increase,” adding, “We currently hold 100 to 150 classes per month.”

Rosh Korea, which provided various services for the senior generation in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, opened another space last month in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu. Named ‘Onyu House,’ this is a complex cultural space for the 50s and 60s generation, with the first floor as a caf? open to everyone and the second floor arranged as a one-day classroom. CEO Hyun explained, “‘Onyu’ means ‘50s and 60s generation’ and also ‘a space where you can experience something new today.’ We provided various services in Eunpyeong-gu, such as digital education and shopping assistance, and seeing positive responses from customers gave us confidence that these services could help their lives. So, wanting to meet more people, we opened this space in Samcheong-dong, a place frequented by the 50s and 60s generation.”

Hyun Jun-yeop, CEO of Roche Korea, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 29th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The senior generation can enjoy various experiences here, from one-day classes like drawing lessons to community activities such as book clubs, according to their preferences. Especially, the class outcomes are often exhibited throughout Onyu House. Passing through the coffee-scented first floor and going up to the second floor, customers’ artworks are displayed on the walls. Behind the building is an atelier space, which also held an exhibition of senior generation paintings last month. CEO Hyun said, “This is a community space connected by taste and hobbies rather than age,” adding, “We continuously provide leisure activities that move the hearts of the 50s and 60s generation through various content.”

As word of mouth about the service spreads, sales are also on the rise. CEO Hyun said, “Currently, about 500 people apply each month,” adding, “In January this year, sales were only about 4 to 5 million KRW, but recently sales have reached about 30 to 40 million KRW.” He said, “We have registered an app on the App Store and are uploading related content, and October will mark the official start,” adding, “In the future, I hope our app will be installed on all devices of those aged 50 and above.”

Below is a Q&A session.

- Was there a special reason that made you interested in the senior generation?

▲ All 11 team members, including myself, either live separately from their parents or have special memories with grandparents. I currently have a mother living alone. Because she lives apart from family, I often saw her feeling lonely, somewhat disconnected from the flow of the world. The government supports economically and physically vulnerable groups well, but loneliness and isolation for those who are not vulnerable can only be helped by family. We established the company to solve this problem.

- Why did you set the target group as the 50s and 60s generation?

▲ Many people suddenly have more free time starting in their 50s and 60s due to retirement or children leaving home. Most want to engage in cultural or leisure activities during this free time, but we judged that leisure content for the 50s and 60s generation is lacking. Welfare centers mainly serve those in their 70s, cultural centers focus on people in their 40s, and clubs are mostly for people in their 20s and 30s. The 50s and 60s generation have time and willingness to participate but are excluded because there are no welcoming communities or content. That’s why we devised content for the 50s and 60s generation.

- What differentiates your classes from those offered at welfare centers?

▲ Welfare centers often aim to provide experiences to many people at low prices. Usually, one instructor teaches several dozen students, and students go home immediately after class. We believe that customers attend classes not only out of a desire to learn but also with the expectation of meeting people with similar interests. Therefore, we focus on both community and education.

- What services did you mainly provide before?

▲ In the early stages, we launched services for the 70s generation exposed to loneliness and isolation. We provided digital education services, believing that digital skills would help them solve problems independently in a lonely society. We also offered companion services and daily life assistance. However, these services were used only once or twice as events and were insufficient to directly solve loneliness and isolation. Ultimately, the best solution was to propose ways to spend leisure time well when free time increases and to encourage actual outdoor activities. So, we began focusing more on cultural and leisure services.

- What role do you want to play for the senior generation?

▲ Our mission is to create a world where Korean seniors can play well, learn well, and age well. Our vision is to build an ecosystem to create a world without loneliness and isolation. Usually, when people think of active seniors, they imagine financially well-off individuals, and I also thought this image matched active seniors. However, meeting various customers changed my perspective. I think an active senior is someone who does not give up when facing problems and continuously seeks solutions independently. Our role is to help these independent customers solve problems when they encounter them.

- As the aging speed accelerates, the silver industry is gaining attention, but there are still criticisms that services for the senior generation are not diverse compared to other advanced countries. What do you think is the reason?

▲ There are quite good systems provided by district offices and welfare centers for economically and physically vulnerable groups. However, beyond that, it is an area the government cannot cover. Cultural and leisure services for middle-class parents cannot be supported by the government, so companies or families must take care of them. For the industry to develop, there must be potential, but the silver industry is inherently difficult because seniors often do not spend money on themselves. Also, few companies seriously consider what seniors want, and even if services for seniors are launched, feedback does not come as quickly as with younger generations. Therefore, even with various attempts, it takes six months to a year or more to receive feedback. It requires persistence to wait for this period, and most face difficulties here, so development is hindered.