Why Making Elderly Handrails While Producing Raemian Showerheads [Life Chapter 3 Companies]

Ryu Insik, CEO of CEBIEN

Recognized as one of the world's top three design awards?'iF', 'Red Dot', and 'IDEA'?there is a company in the bathroom industry that has won all three. That company is the bathroom specialist 'Sebian (CEBIEN)'. Founded over 30 years ago, Sebian introduced artistic sensibility to bathroom products like showerheads at a time when design concepts were nonexistent in the industry, capturing consumers' hearts and securing contracts to supply their products to apartment brands Raemian and Xi.

Focusing solely on the 'bathroom' sector, Sebian began introducing indoor safety grab bars in 2012. This business item reflects the reality of an aging society and aims to address fall accidents that can occur indoors. Under the brand name 'Suho Cheonsa' (Guardian Angel), they have developed attachable, mounted, and pillar-type safety grab bars. Currently, about 20 grab bar products made by Sebian are registered as welfare equipment covered by the National Health Insurance Service.

We met CEO Ryu In-sik (65) on the 12th at the company’s showroom located in Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province. He attended the government-led 'Design Global Management Course' workshop in 2004, where he visited advanced companies in Europe and was inspired by a new design of safety grab bars he saw in a bathroom. He explained, "'How can we make safety grab bars that are not unsightly?' was my biggest concern," adding, "We introduced natural wood materials so that the grab bars could harmonize with typical home interiors."

At the headquarters visited by the reporter, Sebian’s representative bathroom products were displayed alongside safety grab bars. The washbasin at the entrance was equipped with a faucet combining regular water and sterilized water functions. It applies an electrolytic sterilization system that converts tap water into hypochlorous acid water (sterilized water) through electrolysis. Inside, there was an exhibition space for 'unit baths,' compact bathrooms suitable for small homes like one-room apartments or officetels. Various body shower products, which Sebian has developed and specialized in since its early days, were also on display.

On the 12th, Ryu In-sik, CEO of Sebiang, is showcasing the Sebiang safety handle product displayed at the headquarters in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Park Yoo-jin

- I’m curious about why you started a business in the bathroom industry. What did you do before starting the company?

▲ In the 1980s, I joined 'Daerim Tongsang,' a company specializing in bathroom products, and worked there for seven years. I was in the sales team, handling visits to construction companies, but I wanted to try running my own business. So, without much preparation, I started my own company at age 34. I founded it in the early 1990s, and experienced the 'death valley' period (a startup phase marked by lack of funds and resources before generating profit) as well as the foreign exchange crisis.

- It must have been tough to endure the foreign exchange crisis as a startup.

▲ It was really difficult at the time, but hitting rock bottom allowed me to bounce back. Being busy with work gave me a chance to revisit books I had long forgotten. Fortunately, during that period, Samsung C&T (then Samsung General Construction) launched the apartment brand 'Raemian,' and in the process of seeking differentiated items, our body shower was selected. At that time, the bathroom industry had no concept of design, so our product received good marks for design differentiation. Delivering the volume of orders then helped us grow the company further.

- You have worked in the bathroom industry continuously, but what led you to develop indoor safety grab bars?

▲ It was in 2004 during an overseas training program organized by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. One day, while staying at a hotel in Italy, I entered the bathroom and noticed two pipes wrapped around the interior. They were shaped so you could hold onto them while moving around the bathroom. Although that is no longer the case, at the time in Korea, grab bars were seen as purely functional tools?nothing more, nothing less. But the grab bars I saw in the bathroom were designed to blend well with the bathroom’s atmosphere. That moment felt like a lightning strike to my head, realizing 'grab bars can be beautiful too.' At that time, Korea’s sensibility, economic power, and design sense were incomparable to Italy’s. Imports were also treated poorly. Ultimately, that experience opened the 'lid of imagination' for me. I decided then that I definitely wanted to make such grab bars.

- It seems it took a long time from that inspiration to actually developing and launching the product.

▲ After returning, I was busy with other work. Then, a few years later, I built a yellow soil room for my elderly mother and renovated her bathroom. When I tried to buy safety grab bars for the bathroom, I found out they were being sold for over 200,000 won at the time. Other than that, most grab bars were either too generic or purely functional and cheap. There was no middle ground. That moment made me resolve to research again, and I launched the product in 2012. It received a lot of praise then.

- Did you incorporate a design philosophy into the safety grab bars as well?

▲ Once a product’s design is fixed, it’s hard to break away from it. So I thought I should create grab bars for the elderly and medical use that are completely different. I wanted to differentiate from the image of 'grab bars that patients hold in hospitals.' That’s why I introduced natural wood materials. I hoped they would serve as objects within the home. Although they are everyday items unrelated to art, they carry an interior sensibility that makes 'having them more beautiful than not having them.'

- What makes the design different? Please explain further.

▲ For the wooden grab bars, we used only 100% solid natural wood that is sturdy and strong. They are ergonomically designed at a safe angle, non-slip, and can be held onto with just a slight grip. Because they are made of wood, they maintain a consistent temperature without feeling cold or hot depending on indoor temperature changes. In the dark, their location can be identified by a phosphorescent strip wrapped around the grab bar. Also, the design hides bolts to give a clean impression.

Last year, the modular color safety grab bar CP series (Comfortable & Powerful) won the Silver Award at the '2023 Korea Good Design Awards.' This product does not have a wooden base but uses eco-friendly silicone in soft colors to eliminate a cold image.

- It seems you are still focusing on the welfare equipment market covered by the Long-term Care Insurance for the Elderly. Are there plans to enter the private market? Do you see demand there?

▲ We plan to officially enter the private market starting next year, aiming for annual sales of 5 billion won in the first year. As society ages, the children of elderly people are also growing older. The necessity of these products can only be understood by experiencing aging and illness firsthand. As children age, they begin to empathize with the risks their parents face at home, such as fall accidents. We expect a growing demand for safety grab bars that are both functionally excellent and aesthetically pleasing. Rather than imitating others, we want to create our own original designs that fundamentally interpret and reflect the lifestyle desired by our generation.