[Life Act 3 Companies] 'Kind Kiosk' Easy for Seniors to Learn... Shin Jun-young, CEO of CareU, "Digital Literacy Education is Important"

Smart Care Company for Seniors 'CareU'
"Major Issues in Old Age: Poverty, Illness, Loneliness"
"Must Go Beyond Content Development for Seniors... Education Is Important"

Shin Jun-young, CEO of CareU, is being interviewed at the Gyeonggi Anyang Startup Support Center on the 17th. / Anyang - Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The office of 'CareU' located in Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do presents a different scene from typical offices. While it shares common features such as yellow Post-it notes stuck on computer monitors and piles of documents, kiosks (unmanned terminals) commonly seen in restaurants are placed throughout the space. Around these kiosks, various papers of unknown origin, such as train tickets, movie tickets, and cafe receipts, are piled up.

Founded in 2014, CareU is a company engaged in various activities to bridge the information gap for digitally vulnerable groups such as the elderly. The kiosks installed in the office are educational kiosks developed by CareU specifically for seniors. A sign on the kiosk reads, "Educational Enbrain Kiosk for Seniors and Disabled Digital Device Disadvantaged Groups in the Non-face-to-face Era," through which vulnerable groups in the digital blind spots can easily learn how to use card payment methods and more.

Shin Jun-young, CEO of CareU (46), said, "The main problems faced in old age are poverty, illness, and loneliness," adding, "Our company aims to solve these issues and improve the quality of life for seniors by providing products and services tailored for them." CareU is currently conducting smart care projects and education and consulting services for the elderly. The representative service of the smart care project is the 'Enbrain Platform,' a cognitive enhancement training program that can help prevent dementia. It is a platform that trains memory, quick-wittedness, thinking ability, concentration, and judgment through simple games such as matching traffic light colors.

Another flagship product of the smart care project is the 'Enbrain Kiosk.' CareU developed this educational kiosk for digitally disadvantaged groups, enabling seniors to learn how to use kiosks for ordering at cafes and fast-food restaurants, booking KTX train tickets, and movie reservations. It is equipped with a card reader and is virtually identical to actual kiosks. Users can choose between 'Follow Along' and 'Do It Alone' versions depending on their cognitive level, making it easier for seniors to learn. Many repeat the 'Follow Along' version with guidelines before moving on to 'Do It Alone.' CareU received the Prime Minister's Commendation in June for the Enbrain Kiosk.

Shin Jun-young, CEO of CareU, is being interviewed on the 17th at the Anyang Startup Support Center in Gyeonggi./Anyang=Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

CEO Shin said, "Through this kiosk, seniors can receive practical education," adding, "As kiosks in regular stores have evolved, the Enbrain Kiosk has recently been updated as well." The updated Enbrain Kiosk now includes fingerprint recognition, barcode scanning, and receipt printing functions.

In addition, CareU conducts various educational programs for the elderly. They provide basic training so seniors can use smartphones independently and teach how to use useful applications (apps) for daily life such as transportation and delivery. CEO Shin said, "Many people use smartphones to call taxis and order food delivery. The core of digital literacy education is smartphones and kiosks, and to use apps well, one must first master basic skills like making calls, which then leads to app usage."

CEO Shin finds fulfillment in giving lectures for seniors. He said, "I once taught an 84-year-old grandmother how to use a mobile phone at a senior welfare facility in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, and felt proud seeing her follow along well," adding, "When visiting social welfare facilities for the elderly and disabled, there are still few places utilizing digital content, so our goal is to create and provide high-quality content."

He continued, "It is not enough to just develop products and content for seniors," emphasizing, "Education and services must be provided together, so we conduct digital education directly on-site."

Shin Jun-young, CEO of CareU, is being interviewed at the Gyeonggi Anyang Startup Support Center on the 17th. / Anyang = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Below is a Q&A session.

- What kind of company is 'CareU'?

▲ It was founded in 2014 with the motto "Improving the quality of life for seniors." Initially, the company developed apps such as dementia tests and dementia prevention games. However, the problem was that many seniors did not know how to use the apps. Therefore, they started teaching how to download apps from app stores. Although the original vision was to create digital content for the senior generation, they realized that without on-site education, seniors could not use the content independently. As a result, they began both content creation and education.

- You provide various services such as digital literacy education for the senior generation. Why focus on seniors?

▲ I have experience working at a nursing home in the United States. A nursing home is where people spend their final days. There, I witnessed various scenes involving seniors with dementia or undergoing rehabilitation. After returning to Korea, I worked at companies related to content and legal databases. Drawing on my experience in the U.S., I decided to start a business developing digital content for seniors and dementia prevention-related work. Living with seniors in a U.S. nursing home gave me valuable field experience that still helps me today.

- What inspired you to plan the Enbrain Kiosk?

▲ About three years ago, while giving a lecture at the 50 Plus Center of the Seoul Lifelong Education Institute, I encountered an educational kiosk. At that time, educational kiosks were made by traditional kiosk companies, so they were expensive and the software was not updated. Seeing this, I thought about making one myself and produced it last year.

- What services do you provide through the Enbrain Kiosk?

▲ With the non-face-to-face era accelerated by COVID-19, kiosks have become more widespread in daily life. Seniors can learn how to use kiosks for issuing KTX and movie tickets, ordering food at fast-food restaurants, cafes, and food courts through the Enbrain Kiosk. They can also learn how to use unmanned civil service issuance machines and ATMs. Additionally, terms like 'point accumulation' and 'stamp accumulation' may differ but mean the same thing, and these can be learned through the Enbrain Kiosk. Many seniors say, "We wanted to learn too," during kiosk education. Although they had the desire to learn, it was difficult to practice in actual stores due to concerns about people waiting behind them. Many seniors gain confidence by trying the kiosk themselves.

- Are Enbrain Kiosks widely used in many facilities?

▲ They are widely used in facilities related to the elderly and disabled. Especially dementia centers use the Enbrain Kiosk. Usually, dementia is thought of only as cognitive activities involving the brain. However, dementia also includes difficulty performing daily activities independently. As more places use kiosks, we believe the Enbrain Kiosk can serve as a dementia prevention educational tool.

- What services do you want to provide for the senior generation in the future?

▲ The digital information gap makes daily life difficult for seniors. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities to meet and communicate with others have decreased. We currently support seniors by teaching them how to use smartphones and kiosks so they can navigate daily life well. In this era of digital acceleration, starting with digital literacy education for seniors, we want to connect and provide various services that can improve their quality of life.