The Chaeum Care Biz Lab

 This morning, a social worker told me that Mr. Gwak Min-ho, a user of our center's personal assistance service, had passed away last Saturday and that his funeral had already taken place. I had known that, the week before, he had been rushed to the emergency room with an acute heart condition and was receiving treatment in the intensive care unit. “I told myself it couldn't be true — but how could you loosen your hold on this life so soon?” The late Mr. Gwak Min-ho was a person with a disability, living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Even as I write these words, the “Daily Life of an ALS Patient” section of his Naver blog, Slow Records, lives on through the posts he left behind for fellow ALS patients. On the blog's opening page, a photograph of a middle-aged man in a pink short-sleeved shirt and a hat, smiling brightly, continues to welcome those who share the same pain. Before ALS entered his life, he had been an accomplished small-business owner. According...

  Yesterday afternoon, our office was buzzing in a way it never usually is. The reason was two very special visitors who walked through our door wearing neat, attractive school uniforms and bright smiles—poised and radiant even in front of a camera. Starting today, these two young performers, both idol performers signed with the entertainment agency Enter One, are officially serving as brand ambassadors for The Chaeum Care! Enter One (CEO Park Jong-gyu), an entertainment agency specializing in idol performers, has partnered with our organization, SE Empower Social Cooperative, since last year as a cultural care partner of The Chaeum Care. Together, we have run a dance education program for children from low-income households in the local community. Professional instructors from Enter One volunteer their teaching services, and children at a local community child center are the beneficiaries. Elementary school student Choi Ji-hyun, who participated in The Chaeum Care’s charitable ac...

 *Note: 'The Chaeum Care' refers to 'The Enriching Care'—known in Korean as '더채움돌봄' ☐ Beyond the Minimum: The Problem and the Meaning of The Chaeum Care Philosophy For a long time, I have questioned the limitations of the “National Minimum” framework that has shaped much of our society’s care system. Minimal support designed merely to sustain survival, together with rigid eligibility classifications, can diminish the humanity of both care recipients and care workers. When care is reduced to charity or treated merely as a cost incurred to fill service gaps, the quality of life of everyone involved inevitably suffers. My philosophy of **The Chaeum Care** therefore begins with a question inspired by the idea of a “Social Maximum”: What level of dignity and quality of life should society collectively guarantee for all its members? No one’s life should be sacrificed simply because they receive care or provide it. The Korean word 'Chaeum' means “enriching or f...

  ☐ Reading Care Systems in a Market Context In contemporary discussions of care services, two of the most prominent concepts are undoubtedly “publicness” and “user-centeredness.” However, I strongly disagree with arguments that treat the market as an inherently negative force that undermines publicness. Such arguments are overly idealistic because they fail to account for the realities of how markets actually operate. In my view, what matters most in understanding care systems is the actual supply chain structure through which services are delivered. To be clear, although I support the use of market mechanisms, I remain firmly committed to the values of social welfare. Even healthcare, which is widely regarded as one of the clearest examples of a publicly oriented service, operates in practice through market mechanisms. South Korea’s healthcare system provides a useful example. On the demand side, public responsibility is institutionalized through the National Health Insurance sy...

 "There is a social welfare community that breaks existing inertia and practices self-reflection every day. This is the story of the 'Kitakyushu Hand-in-Hand Association for Disability Welfare (Kitakyushu Ikuseikai, hereinafter "Kitakyushu Case")' in Japan, where over 500 workers serve as a model for disability welfare through 11 types of specialized services. I introduce the true value of user-centered care and the practical direction of innovation that 'The Enriching Care' should pursue." "Kitakyushu Case is a public interest corporation specialized in disability welfare services, now in its 47th year since establishment. Under the mission of "creating a local community where people with disabilities and people without disabilities coexist," the Kitakyushu Case operates 22 facilities and offices in the Kitakyushu region. The services managed by these facilities total 11 types, including personal assistance, vocational rehabilitation,...

 "Have you ever imagined a fitness center where a gym for people with disabilities and a gym for local residents naturally blend into a single space? This is the case of 'Enable Village' in Singapore, which moves beyond the realization of Universal Design to drive welfare technology innovation through public-private-academic-industry collaboration. I share these vivid insights with the hope that such warm, innovative spaces will also be created in our own neighborhoods." 1. This village is an innovative space transformed by government investment from what was originally a school site. 2. While spaces that include welfare services are usually named 'centers,' it is highly significant that they expressed its value by calling it a 'village.' 3. In this village, spaces and services are shared and integrated between people with disabilities and general residents.  3-1) This village is fully open to the residents of the adjacent public rental housing.  3-2) ...

  1. Introduction: Singapore's Public Housing Legacy & The "Vertical Kampong" Singapore is globally recognized as a premier pioneer in public housing. Over 80% of Singapore’s resident population lives in public housing built by the Housing & Development Board (HDB). The government provides these high-quality apartments at subsidized rates under a unique 99-year leasehold system , retaining ultimate land ownership while offering citizens secure, affordable homeownership. In response to a rapidly aging demographic, Singapore took this housing legacy to the next level in 2017 with the completion of Kampung Admiralty in Woodlands. [ Traditional Senior Housing ] [ Kampung Admiralty ("Vertical Kampong") ] - Remote and isolated - Centrally located in urban everyday life - Closed to outsiders - Open-community architecture (Zero walls) - Monolithic age demographic - Intergenerational (Seniors & child...

  1. Introduction: Reframing the Vision of Integrated Care The recent launch of the Presidential Committee on Basic Society in South Korea marks a pivotal moment. The concept of a "Basic Society" is rapidly evolving from a mere policy slogan into a dominant discourse that will likely encompass the entire spectrum of future social policies. In this shifting landscape, as the community-based integrated care system is being implemented, we face a critical question: What should be the ultimate vision of this care system? My answer to this question is clear: We must strive toward a "Basic Care Society." But what vision does a Basic Care Society truly hold? Ultimately, the answer hinges on how we define and set the level of what is "basic." 2. Paradigm Shift: From "National Minimum" to "Social Maximum" Traditional welfare systems have historically been designed around the concept of a "National Minimum." This perspective is epitom...

[Notes] Social Entrepreneurship: Is It Merely a 'Mindset' or a Practiced Challenge? 1. Executive Summary & Core Concept Main Title: Rethinking Social Entrepreneurship in the Care Economy Core Definition: Entrepreneurship is often translated as a mere "corporate mindset." However, the suffix "-ship" encapsulates not just the mind , but the actual work —the hands-on execution and relentless practice in the real world. Social Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of discovering systemic social blind spots, addressing them through innovative mechanisms, and embedding those solutions into financially sustainable, high-impact business models. The "Sexy" Attributes of Entrepreneurship: As noted by Babs Carryer (The Big Idea Center at the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute), true entrepreneurship is inherently exciting, dynamic, and at times, mysterious and intriguing. It is a rare, high-stakes journey driven by a magnetizing vision th...