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Morning features and interviews. A morning story over a cup.
Drinking takeout coffee through a plastic straw, I suddenly think, "What if the polar bears go extinct?" What is this guilt I feel every time I see a coffee company's logo? Is it because humans are animals good at pretending to be sorry, so we can lessen our guilt just by pretending to reflect while our hearts aren't really in it?Photo: Kang Bong-hyung; Design: ESG.ONLESG — this term abbreviating environment, society, and governance — evokes in people these days, slowly, painfully, perhaps long-windedly, a certain moral comfort and existential discomfort at the same time. That subtle awkwardness when you first encounter the acronym ESG in the news, at a barbecue restaurant, in a slogan engraved on a coffee cup. The incomprehension that it seems like a category soon to be forgotten.Seoul's summer is hotter than expected, and New York's spring comes later than anticipated. The word ESG swims through the times like a sense of the seasons. But what is this feeling — at first not even glancing at it, and now having vaguely heard of it but not knowing it exactly, something seemingly important yet somehow someone else's story? In a way, it read like a newspaper editorial. Correct words, but a bit far away. Understandable, but without body heat.When I see copy saying a product was made in a sustainable way, I reflexively feel sorry. What on earth is the person who chose a product made in a non-sustainable way thinking? But that's me, isn't it? (Then the "just one person like me" circuit soon switches on, and I put the plastic straw back in. Like the struggle of redefining the potato chips I ate a moment ago as a "naturalist snack containing dietary fiber," while declaring that from tomorrow I definitely won't eat junk food.)Meanwhile, ESG has become the best PR of this era. Because it is moderately harmless, ethical, and packageable. This term, as if symbolizing humanity's contradictions, sounds, so to speak, like a cover letter that wants to make a good impression on everyone. An ambiguity that seems sincere yet not sincere yet sincere. Perhaps it is like a name tag capitalism has stuck on its chest saying, "I'm going to be good now." And companies use this word like the shampoo of marketing. To thoroughly rinse away the greasy truth.A butterfly hits the office window. Crushed against the glass, it flaps its wings fiercely, squeezing out the last strength of its life. The glass reflects the sky as if imitating it, but there is no wind, no clouds. ESG, glossy like a windowpane, asks about the ethics and efficiency, transparency and responsibility of the times. And now it is time to talk about what we see, and fail to see, beyond the curtain of clear letters.ESG is in fact a question, but few answer it. Perhaps it is a question mark too small to be seen. Or a question so big that everyone avoids it. I found a clue to this doubt two years ago, in an alley in Omotesando, Tokyo. A small eatery that had sold grilled-eel rice bowls for decades. The owner developed paper packaging to avoid using plastic containers. Moreover, he donates leftover food to the homeless. All the employees were regular workers, and the head chef was a person with a disability. Thinking back now, the very unspoken motto of that eel-rice eatery was itself ESG. At that time he did not know ESG, but he respected his customers. And I believed that such respect is what lasts. Longer than trends, longer than marketing. Astonishingly, at the eatery two doors down, they were carefully packing up the rice a customer couldn't finish. The paper packaging made of recycled paper was stamped with a cat-shaped stamp and written in Japanese, "Food is life." There was no system telling them to do so, nor any figures reported about it. His day was ethics built upon honestly washed grains of rice. That eatery owner had simply lived that way. Then I learned again that an improved society is completed by such small, repeated choices.One night in Vancouver, at a factory that employed undocumented workers, the boss bought gimbap for a migrant worker who had finished a day's work. It was not in the contract, and it was recorded nowhere. That night, I was certain. Real sustainability is like that gimbap. ESG is not some standard but an attitude. The moments when ESG becomes truly wonderful are often seen outside the reports. Good things always begin quietly, and the beginning usually arises from a very small conviction. Excellent ESG is not something grand but doing the small things well. Washing cups, using less paper, keeping promises. Above all, having no shame in what one does. Some want to speak of turbulent transformation, but real change is always small. So small that it usually isn't even reported in the news. Yet we know. That it is real. That it lasts longer than words.Sometimes even the person shouting ESG doesn't seem to properly understand it. To be exact, he mistakenly believes he understands ESG. The contradiction of refusing a disposable cup, clicking his tongue at the reality of the Amazon, or being aghast at the ratio of female executives in a board photo, while still holding stock in mega-corporations. A retort wriggles inside: so what? Is ESG, in essence, the (perhaps only) attempt to institutionalize human guilt? Or is it a struggle to survive by organizing the era's anxiety into concrete items?Some company publicly declares it will reduce carbon. Those words are like wind, but you have to keep watching where the wind blows from. Words are easy, but monitoring is hard. That is the reason to take an interest in ESG, and precisely the reason we cannot give up. In truth, we pretend not to know while knowing. Because to know means to act. Everyone confesses inside: how tiring action is. But no one is exempt. On the endless treadmill called social responsibility. Sometimes the Earth looks like a huge bucket. The bucket, once full of water, now leaks little by little. Someone makes a hole, another blocks it with a finger, the rest listen to the sound of water. ESG is a story about that finger. The one who blocks. The one who pierces. The one who does nothing. And the one reading this text. In the end, ESG is how I behave decently even when no one is watching me. Not an ethical choice, just a good choice. Not an accounting risk, but human intuition. We all know. That such intuition isn't visible in reports but remains long in memory.Whether ESG becomes a rare tool that changes the world, or ends up as just a report, is ultimately decided by people. Even if sustainability is shouted in the marketplace every day, isn't it in the end a series of small things? What cups the people working behind the company nameplate drink from, whether they turn off the computer when they leave, in what tone they begin a meeting. Not a large-scale declaration, a majestic case, or the ambition to overturn everything, but simply the habit of believing something is better, one person's quiet choice, will change the world little by little, ever so little.Eternity sometimes dwells in unmeasured ways — the gesture of drinking coffee and washing the cup, the heart of adding a kind greeting to an email, the consciousness of taking responsibility for what one has made. Like old timber, like a relationship that grows sturdier the more it is used. Sometimes I think that might be enough. Because there is no such thing as a perfect structure in the world to begin with. Still, someone plants a tree every day. Nor is a tree necessarily planted only in a forest. Sometimes, even under an office desk, something quietly grows.Someday I hope ESG remains as a story. Not in a chairman's interview, but in a factory worker's diary. Not in a brand's ad copy, but in the hands of an old person cleaning the seashore. That, I think, is a gesture without any reward and the purest form of ESG. Now one question remains. What face does your ESG wear? Is it shining like glass? Or is it dirtied with dust yet vividly alive? And what smell does it give off? The smell of paper? The smell of ink? Or a warm smell like freshly baked bread? The world is filled with lies, but if just one person tells the truth, the dry air might, for a moment, grow moist. If so, could I too become that one person? Could you too?By Lee Choong-gul (essayist, former editor-in-chief of GQ Korea)
May 1, 2025 — the start of a holiday for some — was May Day. On this day, the two major umbrella unions in Korea, the "Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (hereafter KCTU)" and the "Federation of Korean Trade Unions (hereafter FKTU)," held simultaneous large-scale rallies in central Seoul and across the country, demanding the guarantee of workers' basic rights — strengthening labor rights, raising the minimum wage, amending the Trade Union Act, and protecting non-regular workers. The working population is decreasing more and more, but the reality is that solving problems in the labor field is slow. Let us look at the discussions pointed out at the 2025 May Day rallies and talk about the essence we should reflect on for May Day.[The "2025 World May Day Rally" held near Sungnyemun © Yonhap News]Workers' Basic Rights Viewed from an ESG PerspectiveMay Day is a day to remember sacrifice and struggle through the "Haymarket affair" — the large-scale general strike in which hundreds of thousands of workers in Chicago, USA, in 1886 demanded humane working hours, and the bloody incident that occurred in the process. Today, around May Day, workers, remembering this history, still raise their voices for a humane life and rights. Now that ESG management has established itself as an essential corporate value, in the "S (Social)" area, guaranteeing workers' human rights and basic rights becomes an indispensable evaluation criterion. The "International Labour Organization (ILO)" presented a guideline called "Just Transition," which holds that in the process of transitioning from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon economy, the burden and harm on vulnerable groups must be minimized. Under this concept, companies must practice, for workers, improving the working environment, respecting human dignity, creating "Decent Work" in which productive labor takes place, and inclusive management in which no one is marginalized. But reality is not easy.[Hanjin delivery workers opposing 7-day-a-week delivery © Newsis]Delivery Workers, a Symbol of "Labor Without May Day"Ahead of May Day, Hanjin delivery workers announced a position denouncing the forced implementation of 7-day-a-week delivery, which does not guarantee delivery workers' right to health and rest. The delivery workers opposed 7-day delivery, informing people of a labor reality in which — due to long working hours reaching 72 hours a week, cuts to delivery fees, and unstable forms of employment — even basic rights to health and rest are not guaranteed. Behind the convenient logistics service in which a package ordered the previous night arrives at the door when you wake up lies the ever-present reality of delivery workers who face excessive workloads and the risk of death from overwork due to the forced implementation of 7-day delivery without additional staffing.To handle the delivery volume that surged after the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online commerce services, delivery workers have suffered hardship over the past several years. Over the eight years from 2017 to 2024, the number of delivery workers whose deaths from illness, including overwork, were recognized as industrial accidents totals 36. Including other causes such as accidents during this period, the total number of delivery-worker fatality accidents over the last five years rises to 51 (36 from illness, 15 from accidents). Including "hidden accidents" not captured in official statistics due to non-enrollment in industrial-accident insurance, the figure could rise further.The solution presented by labor organizations including the KCTU to resolve delivery workers' burden is to induce appropriate working hours by preventing long, high-intensity labor — setting a maximum daily working time, restricting late-night delivery, and so on. These labor organizations are also strongly voicing the need for a five-day workweek and the guarantee of the right to rest, which is recognized as a natural right for workers in other occupations but is not observed for delivery workers alone. Labor organizations argue that overhauling the system so that workers are not disadvantaged even when delivery is delayed is also necessary.Women, Youth, Migrant Workers... Why We Must Pay Attention to Vulnerable Labor GroupsA topic that has drawn attention for a long time in relation to labor issues is the problem of non-regular workers. The non-regular-worker problem refers to experiencing structural discrimination and inequality — not being paid the same wage for the same work, lower welfare and employment stability besides wages, and non-enrollment in essential social-security insurance. Korean law limits non-regular work to two years and regards fixed-term workers who exceed two years as indefinite-contract workers, but the reality of non-regular workers is one where employment insecurity is rampant — this is abused, for example, by restricting employment of more than two years itself.The non-regular-worker problem is directed at vulnerable labor groups who have conditions that make it relatively hard to access quality jobs.[The human-rights issue of women workers, still a task to be solved © Minjung-ui Sori]Although it is said to have improved, society still views women workers with a double standard. Even amid declaring a national emergency over low birth rates and labor shortages, the gaze toward policies supporting women's work-family balance — women who stand before the burden of childcare and housework, conversion to non-regular status, and the threat of career interruption — is not always kind. Structural gender discrimination such as the gender wage gap also cannot be ignored. Korea has very few female leaders compared with other countries. The structure that limits women from becoming leaders is called the "glass ceiling index"; the average ratio of female corporate executives among OECD member countries is about 30%. That the ratio of female executives at domestic large corporations is about 6% — only one-fifth of that level — and has ranked last for 11 straight years alone shows our reality.[Migrant workers demanding guaranteed freedom to change workplaces © News1]Another vulnerable labor group is migrant workers. To put it in the extreme, Korea's dependence on migrant workers has now grown to the point that industrial sites cannot be operated without them. Migrant workers, placed in the most dangerous and poor working environments, currently number one million, but they suffer from low wages, high-intensity labor, unpaid wages, and violence and sexual assault. In particular, the current "Employment Permit System" places constraints on migrant workers freely choosing and changing their workplaces, a structure that makes it hard for migrant workers to actively escape poor working environments. Each labor organization, publicizing the migrant-worker issue on this May Day, argued the need for a minimum respect for human rights for the sake of Korean society's sustainability and the realization of justice.[A protest for guaranteeing the human rights of youth workers © Newsis]Youth workers, though few in number, also attended the May Day rally and raised their voices for youth workers' human rights. Youth workers, like adult workers, provide labor to our society, but due to the limitation of being newcomers to society, they frequently face unreasonable situations and suffer harm. There are also not a few cases where they suffer harm because they have not sufficiently learned about their rights as workers. For youth workers, whose numbers are increasing day by day, labor-human-rights education should be conducted starting from school, and it is necessary to strengthen the writing of employment contracts to protect them from excessive night and holiday work and unpaid wages when they provide labor. In addition, practical mechanisms are also needed so that young people can be protected from various rights violations and exploitation problems in the workplace — such as sexual harassment, which can also lead to serious crimes including crimes against children and youth.The Korea Employment Information Service officially announced a prediction that from 2028, Korea's economically active population — that is, the working population — will decrease. Therefore, coexistence with the potential labor force that will support the insufficient workforce — women, foreigners, youth, and others classified as vulnerable labor groups — is essential for our government and companies.A Call for a "Just Transition" for the Labor Market and SocietyOn this May Day, too, various worker groups gathered to publicize their respective pressing issues. The problems each worker group pointed out are not unfamiliar. We must undergo overall industrial-structure changes led by the climate crisis and the advance of AI technology, while carrying familiar problems long left unsolved. Of course, there are also new agendas. Discussion of introducing a four-day workweek has begun, and measures to improve the quality of life of older workers and resolve polarization as we enter a super-aged society have also become topics.Considering the "Just Transition" — that support is needed so that no one is left behind in the process of transitioning toward a sustainable society — it is time to seek a transition to a society in which labor, welfare, and the environment achieve harmony, beyond simply preserving jobs. As satisfaction and joy in life through work are precious, let us all ponder together ways to guarantee the labor rights of various worker groups, replenish the insufficient workforce, and form better jobs.By Editor L
The "2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo (EXPO, world exposition)" began its six-month journey on April 13. The theme of this Expo, held again 55 years after Japan hosted its first Expo in Osaka in 1970, is "Designing Future Society for Our Lives."[The official logo of the Osaka-Kansai Expo © Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition]A noteworthy point this time is that the Osaka-Kansai Expo aims to contribute to achieving the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). As an Expo held in 2025, five years before 2030, the SDGs achievement target set by the UN, this event seeks to become a platform that can accelerate the pace of achieving the UN SDGs. At this Expo, where you can see at a glance the latest technology and culture of the 158 participating countries, various exhibitions on a "sustainable future" have also been prepared for this goal. Let us look at the major Expo pavilions selected by ESG.ONL — including Korea and the host country Japan.[A view of the Korea Pavilion © Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency]The Korea Pavilion, a Popular Pavilion Drawing Attention for Scale and ContentThe Korea Pavilion, talked about for its overwhelming super-large LED — 27 meters wide and 10 meters high — consists of three exhibition halls containing the connection of tradition and modernity, people and technology, and Korea and the world, under the theme "With Hearts." The Korea Pavilion, buoyed by interest in K-culture, is counted as a popular pavilion within the Expo; it contains a visual experience through which one can feel the latest digital-media technology and storytelling that makes one reflect on the relationship and recovery between the environment and humans. Its content includes the regeneration of nature blooming from concrete, a symbol of industrialization; a new eco-environmental system utilizing hydrogen fuel cells; and a participatory exhibition experiencing the communion between humans and the environment using breath sensors. At the Korea Pavilion, one can confirm, in dynamic content, the ESG messages we should know amid cutting-edge technologies such as AI and new and renewable energy. The Korean restaurants that can be experienced only at the Korea Pavilion are a bonus.[The Japan Pavilion, built with disassembly and recycling in mind © Yonhap News]The Japan Pavilion, Containing the Great Cycle of LifeThe Japan Pavilion is made of numerous wooden panels, containing the designer's intent, who pondered "the circulation and continuation of life (Between Lives)." The wooden panels form a circle, composing the route so that one can experience the concept of circulation. As the host country that prepared the Expo with ESG in mind, it shows a rough sketch of an environment-related ultra-smart society — the simultaneous resolution of traffic congestion and carbon emissions through real-time data simulation of self-driving electric vehicles, and the optimization of renewable energy through a smart energy grid. At this Expo site, "direct air capture technology" provided by the "Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE)" is also being demonstrated. One can learn the process of separating carbon from the air like a tree, capturing it, and reducing it into a usable substance.The Japan corporate pavilion also prepared its exhibition with an emphasis on regeneration and circulation. The Japanese technology company "Panasonic" built its pavilion by actively using recycled iron and copper obtained from home appliances. Panasonic is also providing ideas and technology to realize the regeneration and circulation of the environment and cities, with a vision of recycling urban empty houses — which had emerged as a social problem in Japan — into "urban Mini Farms." This smart farm will show the future of sustainable agriculture, stably producing fresh vegetables in the city center going forward.[The Netherlands Pavilion, meaning "illuminating the future through water" © archdaily.com]The Netherlands: Future Technology Competing with WaterThe Netherlands, which always carries a tension related to water in a place lower than sea level, especially presents future technologies concerning water. At this Expo exhibition, it shows smart coastline technology and a water-recycling system, through which one can confirm how it responds nationally to problems such as sea-level rise and water shortage. In addition, visitors can confirm, through digital images, how it protects the safety of cities and provides clean water by building a seawall as a digital twin model. In this way, at the Netherlands Pavilion, one can confirm an extraordinary system that responds to climate change together with water — such as presenting an integrated renewable-energy model combining offshore wind turbines and an energy-storage system.[The France Pavilion, adding aesthetic beauty with a spiral staircase © designboom.com]France: The Fashion of a Sustainable FutureFrance participates under the theme "digital-twin-based circular fashion." The fashion-tech startups "Circul'R" and "3DLOOK" show a solution combining fabric recycled from waste clothing with an AI design system. People can experience clothes through AR virtual fitting and, after ordering, watch the process of AI producing clothes with a waste-minimizing pattern. France, a fashion powerhouse, has foreshadowed that, based on the growth of such fashion-techs, it will also present a "2030 France Fashion Waste 50% Reduction Roadmap" at the exposition site, drawing further anticipation.The Link of Sustainable Circulation and RegenerationThe Japanese government, which hosted the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, stated that it plans to apply the technologies presented at the Expo to the "2025 Osaka Carbon-Neutral City Project." This Expo will be an exposition condensing our future, which we will directly experience before long. The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo runs with a long breath until October 13. Let us enjoy the visions of a sustainable future society from around the world during the remaining Expo period.By Editor L
How can ESG management be interpreted from a religious perspective? Buddhism has long valued the concept of "symbiosis (coexistence)." To learn what the future of a sustainable world looks like through the eyes of the Buddhist community, we met Ven. Seonji, author of "Buddha Management," which conveys "symbiotic ESG management," and heard the wisdom of ESG management needed in this era.At the threshold of spring, I headed to Mapo to meet Ven. Seonji, author of "Buddha Management" and abbot of Jungnimsa Temple in Yeongcheon. Much interest has concentrated on this book, which views ESG through the eyes of religion. We arranged to meet the Venerable — who had come up to Seoul for a broadcast appearance — at a coffee shop near the broadcasting station. The editor, arriving an hour earlier than the interview time, spotted from afar the Venerable absorbed with a pen in hand in one corner of the café. Worried that an early visit might disturb him, I carefully slipped away.At the café I visited again at the appointed time, the Venerable welcomed ESG.ONL with a bright, childlike smile. From the Venerable's appearance, the spirit of a pure and frugal ascetic could be felt. His clean but frayed-fronted quilted jacket seemed to represent the Venerable's simple life, stirring in the heart of this worldly person, worn out living in the city, a ripple as clear as the sound of a dawn temple bell. How did the Venerable meet ESG and weave that thought into a book?["Buddha Management," which explains "sustainable symbiotic ESG" © ESG.ONL]The Meeting of Buddhism and ESG ManagementVen. Seonji began to think he should view ESG from a Buddhist perspective while preparing for his doctoral degree at Dongguk University. Existing works of Buddhist studies include various books by scholarly monks in academia. Ven. Seonji thought, "Do I really need to major in that field too?" There was another point of concern. The Venerable pondered whether there might be a way to apply the Buddha's teachings to modern society and convey them easily. Thus the Venerable met ESG. At first, he sought to shed light on the changing state of temple environments and surrounding ecosystems.The global trend emphasizing the themes of ESG management — environment, society, transparent governance — is spreading into the political, social, and cultural spheres. Thinking, "Can Buddhism alone be free within this social current?", Ven. Seonji put into this book the wish that the Buddhist community should at least know what ESG is and take an interest in why it should be practiced. He wrote it feeling the awareness that today's sangha, having inherited a brilliant culture, must preserve the ground we must live on together with future generations.The Modern Practice of the "Bodhisattva Way": Symbiotic ESG ManagementWhen it comes to Buddhism, many people will first think of Ven. Beopjeong's "Non-Possession." Starting one's thinking this way, the link between ESG and Buddhism does not readily come to mind. In fact, non-possession applies to ascetics; it was not saying that ordinary sentient beings too should practice non-possession. There were many merchants and industrialists near the Buddha. They came seeking the Buddha's teachings. Ven. Seonji said that what the Buddha told them at that time was "do not possess more than what you have."Viewing the world according to the principle of the law of dependent origination that the Buddha preached, one can see that "all beings do not exist alone but depend on and form relationships with one another." At this point, one can find a hint of symbiotic ESG management. Symbiotic ESG management means that, based on this simple yet certain truth, we should pursue the coexistence and prosperity of humanity and sustainable development. One more thing: Buddhism has "Bodhisattva thought." Bodhisattva thought is the thought of the salvation of all beings. The core of that bodhisattva way — that is, the path for a bodhisattva to attain enlightenment — is "giving back to society." Buddhism is based on the practice of Bodhisattva thought in that it pursues transparency in temple operation through temples' environmental movements, the formation of relationships with society at large, and the principles of galma-beop (the sangha's decision-making method) and daejung gongsa (all-attending decision-making based on reason and fairness). This also touches on symbiotic ESG management. Ven. Seonji emphasized, "Symbiotic ESG management is about overcoming our society's contradictions, excluding egoism, and sharing one's own with others to realize an equal society."[Ven. Seonji, who emphasized the value of symbiotic ESG © ESG.ONL]The "Karma Community" That Inherits Traditional Buddhist GovernanceIn Ven. Seonji's view, what does our Buddhist community's ESG look like? Ven. Seonji says that, considering the Buddhist community's environmental and internal factors, top-down change is inevitable. The same goes for ESG. Change begins only when the head of the administrative headquarters and the heads of central monastic institutions open discussion of symbiotic ESG management as an agenda.If a "Symbiotic ESG Management Declaration" is announced at the level of the Jogye Order, which has public credibility, its ripple effect could spread as the administrative headquarters and central monastic institutions hold declaration ceremonies at the 24 diocesan head temples and their subordinate temples. In particular, in the governance field, one could create a good case by supplementing the "karma community," which can be called a traditional Buddhist-style governance. The karma community is the Buddhist community's method of discussion, passed down for thousands of years. Sangha members all attend and discuss a topic, and the discussion is completed when there is unanimous agreement. As a democratic and peaceful discussion method that the Buddhist community can inherit, it can also discover follow-up ESG-related agendas.The Symbiotic ESG Management Value Only Buddhism Can CreateBuddhism has an especially solid foundation in the fields of the natural environment and social responsibility. There is also the earlier case in which the Buddhist community took the lead in resolving the crisis when the World Scout Jamboree went awry. As he also emphasized in his book, Ven. Seonji says that for Korean Buddhism to cooperate with companies and public institutions to pursue projects of domestic and international scale, it is first important to declare symbiotic ESG management at the order level. If Buddhism creates long-term symbiotic ESG-management exchanges with companies for responsible social activity, it will be of great help in realizing environmental and social value.Buddhism has a heaven-blessed natural environment and beautiful temples all over the country. Projects that can utilize these places are also continuing. "Hwaeomsa," widely known as a Temple Stay destination, is a good case fitting the ESG environmental-management trend. Collaborating with an eco-friendly lifestyle brand, it made "Hwaeomsa goods," which are very popular among young people too. A particularly popular Hwaeomsa item is a bag on which, through a handcrafted process, the red plum blossom symbolizing Hwaeomsa is drawn onto a "coffee sack" that could have been discarded as industrial waste. Ven. Seonji added, "It is a shame that such novel eco-friendly planning and product development do not spread and are limited to that region," saying he hopes such young ideas blowing through the Buddhist community will be shared more widely.[The "Hwaeomsa red-plum-blossom bag," which gained popularity as an eco-friendly item © Hwaeomsa]Realizing new ideas is good, but Ven. Seonji said there is an ESG practice measure our Buddhist community can most easily start with first: saving unnecessarily used energy and achieving zero waste. On the smallest scale, it is necessary to first turn off lights used unnecessarily at temples in the evening, save electricity, and remove visitors' trash cans and guide people to take their trash back. "Because temples are, after all, in nature, Buddhism especially emphasizes environmental aspects such as climate change, preserving the temple practice environment, and protecting the ecological environment," he said, also revealing the expectation that if even small actions start with the monks at temples, they will gradually spread to society.Beyond the Boundaries of Buddhism, for the Sustainable Development of the Global VillageThe easiest yet most important thing Ven. Seonji proposed is "repenting of one's faults and stopping." We are now using too many things. Consumption to follow short-lived fads and trends only increases. As the Venerable proposes, let us once bring forth the mind to reduce, starting with oneself. And if there are volunteer activities organized in the local community, let us actively take part. The spirit of volunteering and participation that I start will surely spread to those around me. If such activity affects neighbors and organizations and can spread and become known to a wider world, it will create great change. To emphasize again: "Let us start with ourselves first!"By Editor L
There is a company that will plant 100 million trees around the world by 2050 — "Tree Planet," which makes "the world's most valuable product," a forest. We heard the vision of sustainable growth built together with forests from Jeong Min-cheol, co-founder of Tree Planet, a social enterprise that goes anywhere in the world where a forest is needed.Along with various natural disasters, wildfire damage is becoming serious on a global scale. In particular, Korea recently experienced its largest-ever wildfire damage. Can a forest be the solution to such climate-crisis problems, which can also be seen as an extension of the climate crisis? It is a good time to hear Tree Planet's forest-making story — creating "collective impact," a way in which various stakeholders cooperate to solve social problems as a common goal. This weekend, when many things are happening nationally, is also Arbor Day.Tree Planet, which is "creating a way for everyone in the world to plant trees." From the early days of the business, Director Jeong Min-cheol wanted to make an environment-participation platform. And he developed a tree-planting game named Tree Planet. It drew much domestic and international attention with the ingenious item that when users plant trees in a virtual space, trees are actually planted in reality. But afterward, he closed the game business and decided to move closer to the essential business of making forests. While leading the business, Director Jeong Min-cheol built up understanding and expertise about trees.[Tree Planet Director Jeong Min-cheol @ESG.ONL]New and Fun: The Beginning of Tree Planet, Connecting Environmental Awareness to ActionTree Planet was known in its early days for a tree-planting game. Through the game, it sought to improve people's awareness of donation and environmental issues. And it led people to the action of donating trees while playing the game. But various questions arose in the minds of Tree Planet's members, who were still in their twenties. Does a tree-planting game have to be fun? If so, are we a game-making team? After pondering the fun of the game and the organization's identity, the conclusion Tree Planet reached was that "Tree Planet cannot become mainstream in the game industry." The world knew Tree Planet as a social-contribution game company.The "Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest," where ginkgo trees symbolizing peace and hope were planted © Tree PlanetIn 2017, Tree Planet ended its game service and decided to pour more attention into the essential activity of tree-planting. New and fun methods were still needed. After deliberation, the Tree Planet team enabled donors to have an emotional communion with trees. A tree sends a letter to a user. The tree speaks to the user, saying, "Mom, Dad, it's cold here these days." One donor actually traveled to a remote area of Nepal, taking dozens of hours by plane and car, to meet their tree. A single tree I planted somewhere on Earth holds affection no less than sponsoring a child overseas. The "star forest," which contributed to raising Tree Planet's public recognition, is also a form of emotional communion between forests and people. After pursuing the first project together with fans of the group 2NE1, the forests created together with the Seoul city government alone reach some 100. Director Jeong Min-cheol said, "The star forest is rather a case we learned through fandom culture." Fans wanted to present their stars with the eternal gift of a forest. As such feelings gathered, star forests of K-pop idols like BTS are now created not only in Seoul but also in China, Indonesia, Brazil, and elsewhere. Tree Planet is a company that carries out communication connecting forests and people, and it learned that if there is sincerity in communication, it can become a "sufficiently deep heart."Sincere Communication Connected to Tree-Planting, a Forest That Shares Our Society's Memory[The "Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest," where ginkgo trees symbolizing peace and hope were planted © Tree Planet]Tree Planet's communication connects even to the memory of our whole society. In 2017, Tree Planet created the Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest. It began with a proposal from "Sean Hepburn," son of the actress "Audrey Hepburn." Director Jeong Min-cheol said that when he first received contact, he doubted, "Is this for real?" "But because I felt sincerity in his words, I went to San Francisco in person." The Sean Hepburn that Director Jeong met was a film producer who understood Korean sentiment well, having filmed movies in Korea. Worried that when a big incident occurs in Korea, Koreans seem to forget it easily, he proposed creating a space that would not be forgotten, like New York's 9/11 memorial museum. At this point, Tree Planet had a shift in thinking: "the purpose of making a forest might not be solely the purpose of preserving the natural environment." In the end, this project was completed with the creation of the "Sewol Ferry Memorial Forest" located in Jindo, Jeollanam-do.[The "Forest Remembering the Girls" © Tree Planet]After that, Tree Planet created the "Forest Remembering the Girls" for the "Japanese-military 'comfort women' victims" at the Peace Park inside Seoul World Cup Stadium. Many young people and social enterprises who wanted to plant trees themselves in a park frequented by citizens took part. Director Jeong Min-cheol shared the impression that he felt the "value of healing" that a space called a forest holds, and conveyed the words of the guides at the forest-interpretation education space. Those who have long done forest interpretation say, "A forest education program is fine to have, but it's okay without one too." This is because when we enter a forest, we can naturally feel something on our own. Anyone who has experienced making a forest, or experienced nature's healing power, will absolutely empathize with these words.The Key to Sustainable Business and Collaboration Is the "Company's Core Assets"Tree Planet, which is continuing our society's sustainability together with various social organizations, does not explain the value of its work solely by the meaning of a social-contribution business. Tree Planet has collaborated with many government agencies and companies, and Director Jeong Min-cheol emphasized that projects connected to the technological assets a company or agency originally has were effective. This is because they can produce results that have a long-term good impact on the environment, rather than a one-off business. Among these, the "China Desertification-Prevention Forest" created together with the Hanwha Group is a representative case that maintains a continuous positive impact on the environment even now. With Hanwha, with which it formed a bond through advertising within the Tree Planet game, it collaborated through the eco-friendly technology of solar panels. In 2013, Tree Planet used Hanwha's solar panels as the energy source for a water pump to grow trees in the desertification area of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and 200,000 trees in that desert area came to receive water. Even to Director Jeong Min-cheol, who has experience creating many forests, the result of the collaboration with Hanwha was like a miracle. Creating a forest is a project whose results are hard to confirm in a short time. Because of this characteristic, companies too participate with patience over a long time, and they evaluate confirming the success of the project as all the more meaningful.[A forest created together with Hanwha's solar panels © Tree Planet]Tree Planet's initial vision of "planting 100 million trees" gradually changed with the passage of time. From the goal of once hitting the number 100 million, it sought to change it to having 100 million people plant trees. But in the end, it reached the conclusion that a change in our awareness toward trees, forests, and environmental change is important. What Tree Planet currently focuses on is high-tech innovation industries such as agriculture and forestry. Conveying the message about the value of the environment is of course important, but to carry out a sustainable business, one must do "what is needed now but no one is doing." Director Jeong Min-cheol conveyed, "ESG-related companies too, in the end, would do well to establish ESG policies in a direction that actively utilizes their own core assets, such as technology or assets, in order to make a sustainable business possible."From Planting Trees to Providing Saplings: The Transformation of Tree Planet's Business"Due to the climate crisis, wildfires cannot help but continue."Director Jeong, who has accumulated countless experiences related to forests, expressed a heavy heart about the recent wildfire situation. Once a wildfire occurs, one is said to have to wait two to three years to enter that mountain and stream again to restore it. This is because the soil is acidified and has little organic nutrient. So the soil is turned over with an excavator, and the ash-turned dead trees are cut down. Sprouts sometimes grow from the cut trees. But Korea is fundamentally short on saplings. There is great difficulty in forest restoration. With the problem awareness that the production of quality saplings is insufficient, Tree Planet established an agricultural-company corporation called "Forest Ventures" in Icheon and is preparing sapling research and production. Forest Ventures, made up of people who majored in tree-related studies, plans to research good and new varieties broadly, produce more saplings, and develop a value chain that can supply them where they are needed.["Forest Ventures," which converts natural capital into a climate-change solution © CREVISSE]Tree Planet has so far focused on carbon-neutral forests for greenhouse-gas reduction and on disaster-recovery forests for restoring wildfire-damaged areas and biodiversity. Now Tree Planet has entered a "version 3.0" period, deeply pondering what tree should be planted where, and what variety can pass on what value to future generations. "In foreign countries such as Sweden, much research has been done from tree seeds to downstream industries," Director Jeong Min-cheol pointed out. Tree Planet says that going forward it will also do a business of developing and supplying saplings of trees that will create high added value, such as raw materials for pharmaceuticals or cosmetics.The place the flames clawed through still seems full of an acrid smell. At this time, when everyone's feelings toward Arbor Day are special, we look forward to the swift recovery of the damaged areas. Tree Planet, broadening the scope of thought from the individual to society and narrowing it from the forest to the tree, is creating the awareness and action our society and environment need. We look forward to the future to which Tree Planet will contribute over the long term — sustainable forest restoration, the development and planting of good-quality saplings, and more.By Editor L
Director Bong Joon-ho's new film "Mickey 17" opened on February 28 amid much interest. This work, combining space-set SF with the director's characteristic black comedy, also drew attention for injecting blockbuster-scale capital of 118 million dollars (about 127.7 billion won), with Director Bong Joon-ho joining hands with America's Warner Bros.Films with Human Clones as MaterialHuman clones are one of the major materials of SF films. Representative examples include "Blade Runner" (1982), about tracking "replicants," clones who have infiltrated Earth; "The Island" (2005), about clones made for the purpose of organ provision who attempt an escape; and "Moon" (2009), a story about an astronaut working at a lunar base and a clone."Mickey 17," another clone film, borrowed as its motif Edward Ashton's original novel "Mickey7," but it is a work that went through much adaptation. The protagonist Mickey, to avoid a loan shark demanding repayment of a debt incurred through business failure, volunteers to become a clone called an "Expendable." He is repeatedly deployed on dangerous missions to achieve the goals of "Kenneth Marshall," a politician seeking to colonize the ice planet "Niflheim," dying and coming back to life over and over. In the process, an accident occurs in which he falls into a crevasse where the "Creepers" — the natives of Niflheim, and from our standpoint alien life forms — lived. Due to this accident, an error occurs even though Mickey 17 is alive, and a new Mickey, Mickey 18, is created; the conflict that ensues is the gist of the film.What story did Director Bong Joon-ho want to tell with the long-standing material of the human clone? The films preceding Mickey 17 explored clones in various ways within their respective eras' contexts. They mainly delved into ethical dilemmas, social class conflict, and the problem of human identity to sharpen their thematic consciousness. This context is contained in Mickey 17 too. Now let us look at this from an ESG perspective.[Radical politician "Kenneth Marshall," revered like a religious cult leader © Warner Bros.]Earth's Devastation and the Problem of SustainabilityWhy did Mickey, who had to die and be revived as many as 17 times, have to leave Earth in the first place? The film is set in an era when interplanetary migration is possible. Humanity, saying it can no longer live having caused environmental problems on Earth, begins a journey of more than four years to find a new territory to conquer. Before Mickey boarded the spaceship, an overwhelming sandstorm raged outside the airport. Inside the airport, a photo of a radical politician revered at the level of a religious leader hung like a banner. The image of a reality facing a serious climate crisis and an extreme politician stimulating the anxious public psyche is not unfamiliar to us in the 2025 reality (which has not yet secured life beyond Earth) either.Politician Kenneth Marshall's vision approaches the Expendable clones from the standpoint of a recyclable resource. Saying that "people" can be remade and used by extracting organic matter from trash to make human bodies, he self-praises its usefulness highly while entirely ignoring ethical problems such as the disregard for humans. Behavior in the same vein continues at the new settlement "Niflheim." As soon as the spaceship carrying the settlers lands on the alien planet, it seeks to encroach on and exploit the existing ecosystem, just as on Earth. The reality the director seeks to criticize is clear through the greedy villain who lightly ignores sustainable resource management and environmental problems including the ecosystem, even in a situation where, leaving an extreme crisis behind, they set out to build a new home.Technological Advancement and Ethics, the Tragedy of Human AlienationSo then, was humanity itself — which aimed at survival and prosperity without concern for resources and the environment — happy? Mickey 17 depicts humans who, even if a world achieved through scientific attainment high enough to enable clone creation and interplanetary travel arrives, cannot help but think and act according to their innate humanity.The setting in which Mickey is cloned retaining his memory each time he dies, and the look in Mickey's eyes and his expression reflected on screen each time, are the human ethical dilemma itself. Even to Mickey, who knows he will be revived, death was terror. But the Mickeys, trapped in an irrational structure, willingly submit to a reality where economic and technological logic comes first. If they do not follow the extremely controlled living and working environment for efficiency, they are cruelly excluded. In fact, even on Earth, Mickey — who dropped out for failing to produce results under the capitalist system — had no other choice. He merely lived day after day reaching death without any safety device, until the somewhat rebellious 18th Mickey found courage. Even so, Mickey 18 too is a being treated as a printout tumbling on the floor, printed from a machine as one of a scientist's routine tasks, a mere resource for a goal. The characters in the film ask the Mickeys what "death" feels like — as if asking the audience whether a situation where human dignity is annihilated is all right, whether there is no room to reflect.Of course, it is not that the scientists, politicians, and philosophers in the film all failed to ponder the disregard for life. It is just that, before the economic and scientific gains to be obtained through technology, it took a lot of time to reach complete disposal. In such a situation, it is all too natural to view the intelligent life form "Creeper," which lived on the planet "Niflheim," with a focus on use value.Still, there is hope. It is also a facet of humanity that the settlers — reminiscent of the cultural clashes of imperial colonies humanity has experienced on Earth — quickly shift their perception toward beings with the possibility of coexistence and set out to seek the common good. The scene that kindly shows the process of driving out corrupt forces and re-establishing the goals human society should pursue, in order to keep a minimum of humanity, makes us reflect on what our goals are.[Spaceship passengers living under control and surveillance © Warner Bros.]"Mickey 17," which depicts a fable in which, even amid the most painful and tragic moments, those who love and unite ultimately win. This film, true to a Bong Joon-ho film, throws out things to think about regarding the environment, society, and governance we face, not too heavily. Mickey 17 is a film like a good reference for exploring how we will prepare for the coming future, and what kind of future the present us are making a today for each day.By Editor L
On the 12th, an actual-condition survey by the Office for Government Policy Coordination was released, showing that Korea's "isolated and reclusive youth" more than doubled over the past two years. The isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem is no longer an individual problem but has become a task our society must solve together. What is a better solution? ESG.ONL met Yoo Seung-gyu, CEO of the social enterprise "Notscary Company," to talk about a solution to the problem of Korean youth."Even if you do your best, someone can die."Yoo Seung-gyu (32), CEO of "Notscary Company," began the interview with a frightening statement. Recently too, he went through the sorrowful last moments of a friend who had experienced reclusion. The reason CEO Yoo can understand the deep feelings of the reclusive is that he himself experienced five years of reclusive life directly in his twenties. After coming to recognize, based on his own experience, that the isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem is not a private-realm problem for the individual to solve but a social problem, his time began to move again.This past February, I visited "Notscary Company," which is located in the "Social Economy Integration Support Center" in Gangbuk-gu, and met CEO Yoo Seung-gyu. A feature of this company is a "culture of sharing hardship through conversation." Even if one opens up about personal difficulties at the company, one is not criticized, because there is the CEO's wish that "I want to prevent people from getting sick because they can't speak." Notscary Company also operates a communal-living-type share house — a 10-minute walk from the office, in a family home — to help the self-reliance of isolated and reclusive youth.Self-Reliance Programs and Collaboration Experience as the Driving Force of ChangeCEO Yoo Seung-gyu was able to take the first step of meaningful change after getting to know a certain organization. The Japanese nonprofit "K2 International (hereafter K2)," which aims to be "a place where you can stay even while feeling bad," sought to help long-term recovery instead of rashly intervening in the lives of isolated and reclusive youth. In "a place where you can stay just as you are," fear faced in social life decreased thanks to a warm atmosphere that fully understands your state, and a social family is also formed. CEO Yoo also worked as a K2 employee, but K2 eventually closed due to long-term deficits. The sense of loss when a dense community disappeared was very great."Honestly, I too needed a place to stand."CEO Yoo confided that reclusion rather became a unique credential. After leaving K2, he founded "Notscary Company" with four colleagues. Their teamwork was good. Luckily, the work positions each was responsible for also matched well and complemented one another. And, in the spirit of crawling along the bottom, they took shape one by one and came to have the current business form. Thus, reaching out one by one to reclusive youth, they have pioneered new ground for them to stand on anew in the world.["Notscary Company" employees and CEO Yoo Seung-gyu at work © ESG.ONL]The Evolution of Goals and a Sense of Social ResponsibilityNotscary Company is known for its "parent coaching (Hiki Signal)" for parents with reclusive children, and its "Eundun Gosu (reclusion master)" program service for isolated and reclusive youth."From the start, our goal was not to go under."After K2's closure, seeing a friend he had previously helped through counseling become isolated again, CEO Yoo felt a great sense of responsibility. The case of a friend who had overcome aphasia entering reclusion again was especially heartbreaking. When facing the death of a friend he had worked with, doubt about the work would sometimes rush over him, beyond sorrow. But the desperate reason he must not give up this work is that it must not become "an act of causing yet more harm to someone."[CEO Yoo Seung-gyu talking about solutions to the isolated-youth problem © ESG.ONL]540,000 Isolated Youth: What Is the Problem?According to data released by the "Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs," the isolated-and-reclusive-youth population aged 19–34 is 540,000. But experts estimate the actual number is far higher. After COVID-19, the social safety net collapsed, and the number of young people who, wounded in an infinite-competition society, fear coming out of the house increased. There is an analysis that this problem emerges especially in Japan and Korea worldwide because of a background of a similar cultural sphere. A major cause is a social atmosphere that values saving face and forces self-consciousness.The family collapse arising from isolated and reclusive youth is one especially serious social problem. The reason the isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem is not only a youth problem is that, including families, the population suffering from this problem increases twofold, threefold. In Japan, cases are reported of parents with children who have lived in reclusion for decades losing their ability to support them and developing dementia. How will society embrace young people who have become hard to socialize, and those who become middle-aged as they are? The worry over the isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem deepens as much as the concern over young people's marriage or birth rates.Reclusive-and-Isolated-Youth Support Projects Together with Public InstitutionsCEO Yoo says he is grateful that the first public projects related to reclusion-and-isolation support are being entrusted to "Notscary Company." Notscary Company jointly carried out the establishment of the "outreach-counseling methodology" of the "Seoul Youth Gijigae Center," a project for isolated and reclusive youth supported by the Seoul city government. Currently, collaboration with the government and public institutions seems set to continue — for instance, producing a "guidebook for share-house workers" for the "Youth Future Centers" of four metropolitan cities together with the Ministry of Health and Welfare.He revealed that he feels most understood especially when collaborating with the Seoul Youth Gijigae Center. Reasonable performance indicators and budget allocation could be discussed and coordinated together from the early stages of promotion. When working with public institutions, there are cases where the reality of the field and the response prepared do not match. Therefore, as with the experience in Japan, he proposes that it is necessary for private organizations to play a hub role connecting the public and reality. This is because the causes of reclusion are too varied, and it is a reality that a small number of institutions find it hard to solve all problems.[Companies that work together with "Notscary Company" © Notscary]As Much as Our Society's Interest, Opportunities for Awareness Improvement Open TooThe "Youth Foundation," which has worked with "Notscary Company" for a long time, has a high understanding of the isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem. A success case like CEO Yoo's — overcoming isolated and reclusive life and even starting a business — is greatly meaningful to the Youth Foundation too. He said that the Youth Foundation's support, which continues consistently based on trust, is a great help in carrying out this work. Notscary Company, selected as a fellow at the "Brian Impact" foundation, which supports the social-innovation ecosystem, also receives support of 3 million won per month for four years from Kakao. It is valuable that the human exchange created through Brian Impact foundation's support became a stepping stone opening opportunities to collaborate with companies.For example, the SK Happiness Sharing Foundation generously gave 50 million won to "Notscary Company"'s content business. Through this, Notscary Company created an occasion to secure content, such as overseas reporting, to increase insight into the isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem. Inquiries also increased from people who saw Notscary Company's YouTube channel where the content was posted. Through such publicly released content, one can aim for improvement in awareness of isolated and reclusive youth. CEO Yoo, who is thus building up the value of collaboration with various organizations in our society, emphasized that for successful collaboration with companies, the understanding of both the communication officer and the company's decision-maker is desperately needed.[Kakao "Brian Fellow" and the SK Happiness Sharing Foundation conference on YouTube © Notscary]The Ideal Social-Connection Model: "Things You Can Do Even in a Withdrawn State"In Japan, there is a café where isolated and reclusive youth can commune with society just through a hand they extend through a small hole while wearing bear-paw-shaped gloves, handing over coffee. This case, benchmarked in Korea under the name "Bear-Paw Cafe" too, provided an occasion for isolated and reclusive youth to wake from hibernation. CEO Yoo appealed for people to understand that "even in a withdrawn state, one can do something." Shueisha, a large Japanese publisher famous for its many hit works, presents an impressive social-return model. This company recognizes reclusion as a credential and employs manga-mania isolated and reclusive youth at bookstores to work as counselors recommending life-changing manga. CEO Yoo emphasized that, as with such cases, Korea too needs a model that recognizes the strengths of isolated and reclusive youth while helping their return to society.For example, what if isolated and reclusive youth, together with a game company, created within the game screen a window through which isolated and reclusive youth can receive mental counseling anytime? Among isolated and reclusive youth, those who play games are said to have a relatively better prognosis than those who do nothing. This is because they at least feel elements of healing and solidarity within the game and communicate with the world. With car companies, one could also support obtaining a driver's license. CEO Yoo, who presented such ideas, said, "It's impossible to throw a person who has been reclusive for ten years directly into a competitive society and make them adapt," saying a customized approach for isolated and reclusive youth is needed. Just by having programs for youth in difficulty proactively cheer young people's new start and let them know our society supports them can give great strength to isolated and reclusive youth.The Health of Youth and the Stability of the Organization That Notscary Company Dreams OfCEO Yoo sets as Notscary Company's goals firming up organizational stability within the next five years and creating its own revenue model in the seventh year. He plans to continue laying the foundation for the organization's activities by making the Eundun Gosu workforce elite, establishing know-how through guidebooks, and promoting donation fundraising and video content. In the long term, he also dreams of a co-living house business focused on young people's mental health. Furthermore, a plan to create a matchmaking company of the isolated-and-reclusive-youth version is also under way. Because we all know that the greatest driving force of growth in life is, in the end, love.On the other hand, CEO Yoo's realistic worries about running the company are also great. There is a share house facing the end of its lease, so the residing members may have to vacate. In this case, someone could become isolated again. So CEO Yoo, who sees the housing stability of isolated and reclusive youth as an important task, is desperately looking for a sponsoring company.A Sustainable Social Safety Net Made TogetherIn an age of 540,000 isolated and reclusive youth, the effort to lead them out of the house is by no means only for the young people who are the parties concerned. It is a matter of protecting their families and our society as a whole. Notscary Company CEO Yoo Seung-gyu will further bring the isolated-and-reclusive-youth problem into public discussion and, with the private and public sectors, individuals and society solving this problem together, create a sustainable social safety net made by all members together.By Editor L
The Problem of Our Society's Vulnerable Employment SystemKorea's employment system is always referred to as an important social problem. There are various methods too — from relocating government offices to selecting strong local companies and supporting regional universities. We seek change within the system we have, but reality is not easy. In 2021, Hana Financial Group derived "creating quality jobs" through finance as a major agenda of its ESG management strategy. As a financial company, it identified job creation as the social problem it would confront. And as a start, in 2022 it launched the job brand "Hana Power On," which can contribute to socially balanced development, and is operating programs for those who need quality jobs — university students, youth, startups, seniors, and more.[The Hana Power On brand © Hana Financial Group]Supporting the Growth of Social-Innovation Companies and Contributing to Job Creation"Hana Power On" began with a clear mission. Hana Financial Group seeks to support the growth of social-innovation companies and contribute to job creation. Together with various stakeholders who agree with this mission — government, academia, expert partner companies, and more — it sought ideas for creating quality jobs, and after conducting small-scale pilot tests, officially launched "Hana Power On." Hana Power On began with four representative job programs: fostering youth startups at regional universities, matching social-innovation companies with youth internships, discovering and investing in social-innovation companies, and improving mid-to-older-age job skills and job matching. Now in its third year, let us review this job brand from the perspective of the "Healthy & Sustainable Living" study released by the research firm "GlobeScan."1. Make it meaningful | Purpose-oriented branding for sustainability"Hana Financial Group," presenting the ESG vision "Big Step for Tomorrow" in 2022, set ESG mid-to-long-term promotion goals of achieving 60 trillion won in ESG finance by 2030, and zero site carbon emissions and zero coal project financing by 2050. Based on those goals, it gathered various job ideas in 2022 and launched the job brand "Hana Power On." The department operating this brand is Hana Financial Group's ESG Planning Team, which aims to approach the social problems finance can solve with sincerity and to work for a broad range of financial consumers without prejudice of age, gender, region, and so on.[The Hana Power On program held in 2023 © Hana Financial Group]2. Make it big | Expanding the scale of consumer behavior changeHana Power On, which began with four representative job programs in 2022, expanded the project to "Hana Digital Power On" in 2023 to discover talent fusing finance and digital. In addition, it incorporated into "Hana Power On Care" support projects for resolving social inequality through support for vulnerable groups — support for small business owners, self-reliance support for unwed mothers, support for abused children, and so on. With this, it created two large axes: new job creation held in Hana Power On Challenge, and job creation through support held in Hana Power On Care.[A poster for "Hana Social Venture University," under way in 2024 © Hana Financial Group]3. Make it shine | Differentiating ESG efforts and results"Hana Power On" achieved several results in 2023. First, through the "Hana Social Venture University" program, which helps foster youth startups at regional universities, it selected 60 excellent startup teams out of 650 teams gathered from 30 universities nationwide and supported them with 150 million won. The "Innovative Enterprise Internship," which helps match social-innovation companies with youth internships, matched 230 companies nationwide with 230 interns, achieving an internship completion rate of 95.6% and a regular-conversion rate of 73.5%. The "Hana ESG Double Impact Matching Fund," which helps discover and invest in social-innovation companies, invested a total of 2.65 billion won in 14 innovative companies, and the value of the selected companies was assessed at about 139.7 billion won. "Second Life," which helps improve mid-to-older-age job skills and job matching, produced 1,153 online-education participants, 459 advanced-education completers, and 148 re-employed people. Lastly, the "Hana Digital Power On Project," which helps foster young digital talent, provided 15 teams of 44 participants with 30 million won in prize money and support for hiring at global companies. As a result of establishing the brand identity of a business focused on job creation and support and carrying out various communication, there was also the additional result of a 2,500% rise compared with the previous year in NAVER search trends in 2023.4. Make it easy | Lowering the accessibility of participationHana Power On was designed as everyone's brand, in which various stakeholders participate and operate together. Accordingly, various operators are pooling their intentions: the "Children and Future Foundation," which creates a society where all children and adolescents can play healthily, learn stably, and experience diversely, dreaming of and achieving a bright, healthy future without discrimination; "Sangsang Woori," which pays attention to the various problems of the newly middle-aged and, through various solutions, expands work opportunities and coordinates the job ecosystem; "Korea Social Investment," which makes a better world as a professional impact-business partner for sustainable growth; the "Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency," which helps social-economy companies grow stably and creates a healthy social-economy ecosystem; the social-innovation R&D company "Inno Social Lab"; the "Social Economy Vitalization Support Center," which supports the various activities of social-economy organizations; the Ministry of Employment and Labor; the "Work Together Foundation," which supports the growth of social enterprises; and the startup-education specialist company "Underdogs."5. Make it credible | Enhancing corporate and brand credibilityFor any company, the budget for a communication project is limited. To that extent, one cannot help but consider efficiency. From the early planning stage of "Hana Power On," effort was put into the SEO of the website that serves as a communication hub — recruitment, mediation, results sharing, and more. Simplifying the recruitment and application procedures to lower the participation barrier was also an important point. When developing communication assets, too, it created and distributed brand guidelines, and approached the users who needed it with a promotional strategy of spreading widely together with a media pool and partners with high target understanding.We have looked at Hana Financial Group's ESG brand "Hana Power On" from the above five perspectives. From this perspective, going forward "6. Make it affordable | A more reasonable pricing policy" and "7. Make it 'yes, and…' | Providing services that respond to sustainable consumption trends" should continue. In 2024, now in its third year, "Hana Power On" is still close to an incipient stage. Let us watch its growth as a brand that creates customized job opportunities for Korea's working-age population.By Editor N