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Evening ESG news and briefings to wrap up your day.
Just a few years ago, gatherings formed naturally without any special occasion. Simply because they lived in the same neighborhood, children gathered in alleyways to play, and even children a bit lacking in skills joined in under the name ‘kkakdugi’ (an informal term for a substitute player). But gatherings in this era have a different character. They must be sought intentionally, their purpose is clear, and the longevity of the relationships has shortened. Compared to the past, when gatherings took place within the fairly sturdy frameworks of blood ties, regional ties, and school ties, today’s gatherings are exceedingly loose. Even among people who do not know each other, gatherings are easily formed through the medium of trivial tastes such as ‘French fries’ or ‘running.’We Share Only the Moment, Not RelationshipsRecently, unique gatherings have been recruiting members, centered on online communities and secondhand trading apps. One such example is the so-called ‘French Fry Meetup,’ where people who have never met before voluntarily gather at a fast-food restaurant and pile up French fries like a mountain to eat together. They meet up, share French fries, and once the meal is over, they disperse without much lingering sentiment. One-off gatherings began to gain real momentum late last year when the ‘Cops and Robbers’ game became a trend. Beyond the realm of ordinary people’s tastes, even celebrities such as singer Lee Young-ji personally participated in ‘Cops and Robbers Meetups,’ and producer Na Young-seok turned it into YouTube content. In the process, when the sign-up form for recruiting participants was made public, some 70,000 people applied in less than a day. The popularity of Cops and Robbers demonstrates the public’s high demand for light encounters and fun. In fact, one-off gatherings are not a passing trend limited to South Korea but a global phenomenon. Overseas, a trend has taken hold under the name ‘light communities,’ in which impromptu, game-like gatherings are created through social media. People meet up once to run, or to have dinner together, consuming the experience of the moment together while shedding the burden of relationships.[Lee Young-ji’s Cops and Robbers © Channel Fullmoon YouTube Channel]How did one-off gatherings become a global trend? Experts point to changes in communication methods as the cause. People are increasingly trying to minimize the emotional costs involved in the process of figuring others out and building long-term trust. Rather than fitting the individual to the group, they choose a fluid approach of temporarily binding together for a specific purpose and then dispersing once the purpose is achieved. The density of relationships has decreased, but the individual’s sense of self and values have become much clearer. The long-lasting pandemic also accelerated this trend. For a generation accustomed to contactless culture, ‘on-off’ relationships that connect only when needed feel more efficient and safer. This is why the tendency to prefer one-off encounters that reduce the temporal and emotional fatigue consumed within interpersonal relationships and extract only temporary enjoyment and fresh stimulation has grown stronger.Why We Are Still Lonely Even as Encounters IncreaseSuch encounters have positive effects. Gatherings based on clear common denominators, such as ‘French Fry Meetups’ or ‘running,’ are a way of efficiently forming relationships in a society of fragmented tastes, and can also serve as a channel for sharing lifestyles.[‘Official French Fry Meetup’ Poster © Danggeun Instagram]However, looking at the other side of the trend, loneliness lies at its base. According to an online survey of 1,000 adult men and women aged 19–59 conducted last April by market research firm Macromill Embrain, 59.2% of those in their 20s and 52.8% of those in their 30s reported feeling loneliness in their daily lives. Professor Koo Jeong-woo of Sungkyunkwan University’s Department of Sociology stated, “The desire to connect with others is the same now as it was in the past,” adding that “that yearning is erupting in forms that pursue ‘loose solidarity,’ such as Cops and Robbers games, French fry meetups, and solo-drinking bars.” In an environment where forming deep interpersonal relationships is difficult, modern people may be compensating for the deficiency through brief, light encounters under the pretext of French fries. While the convenience and efficiency of encounters can be gained through one-off gatherings, the density of relationships inevitably decreases.The ‘Taken-for-Granted Neighbor’ We Have LostA year or two ago, the ‘kkakdugi play culture’ was widely discussed on social media. The reason the ‘kkakdugi culture’ — a playful way of including in our group those who were a little different from us and faced barriers to fitting in — was discussed at length is perhaps because the harmless connectedness of that era, when people related to and embraced others unconditionally, is absent from our lives today. We expected that the advancement of technology would connect us more tightly, but those connections did not necessarily lead to deeper relationships. On the contrary, the more people we meet, the more we may end up lingering in shallower relationships. The current phenomenon of being able to easily meet someone by searching for ‘gatherings’ on an app is, paradoxically, also evidence that society’s self-sustaining communities have collapsed.One-off gatherings may soothe the loneliness of modern people for a moment, but they cannot fill the emptiness that follows a brief encounter. What we truly wanted may not have been the act of sharing French fries itself, but the existence of the ‘taken-for-granted neighbor’ whom we could run into at any time on the street corner. What is it that fast, light connections have failed to fill, and how can we recover it? by Editor N
In Gyeonggi Province, approximately 13% of areas are agricultural and fishing villages where city gas supply is difficult. Since 2015, Gyeonggi Province has been creating energy self-sufficient villages by supporting solar power generation facilities centered on such energy-underprivileged regions. Previously called ‘Gyeonggi RE100 Villages’ or ‘Apartment RE100 Pilot Projects,’ these initiatives were consolidated in 2023 into ‘Gyeonggi RE100 Income Villages.’ Recruitment has begun for the ‘Gyeonggi RE100 Sunshine Income Villages’ (hereinafter RE100 Income Villages) — projects that draw resident participation, return income, and contribute to regional circulation. So what exactly is an RE100 Income Village?Sunshine as Income, Income as Carbon NeutralityRE100 Income Villages are resident-participatory renewable energy projects that install solar power facilities in villages or apartment complexes and return the generation revenue to residents in the form of sunshine income dividends, village fund accumulation, and electricity bill savings. Eligible recipients include areas without city gas supply, energy-vulnerable villages, and apartment complexes. For the village type, 70% of installation costs are subsidized (provincial funds 30%, municipal funds 40%), and for the apartment type, 60% of rooftop solar installation costs are subsidized (provincial and municipal funds 30% each). [Gyeonggi RE100 Income Village © My Gyeonggi]From 2023, Gyeonggi Province expanded the initiative into the ‘Energy Opportunity Income Village Creation Project,’ subsidizing the installation costs of village communal solar power plants and providing monthly income to residents from the proceeds of solar electricity sales. The structure involves Gyeonggi residents, villages, and public facilities participating together to produce renewable energy, returning it as income, and then linking that income back to the renewable energy demand of companies. Under the name ‘Gyeonggi RE100,’ the province has connected villages and industry to regional carbon neutrality. As a result, approximately 1.7 GW of additional solar power facilities were expanded from 2022 to 2025 — a meaningful change for Gyeonggi Province, where renewable energy production had been difficult due to challenges in securing suitable sites. Ten Years of ‘RE100 Income Village’ Results — What Is the Goal for 2030?Over the past ten years, a total of 473 RE100 villages have been created across Gyeonggi Province. The Machimi Village in Pocheon is cited as a representative success story: in 2024, 33 households invested KRW 5.5 million each to achieve approximately KRW 40 million in generation revenue, and from 2025 onward, they receive an average monthly sunshine income dividend of KRW 200,000. The Eungol Village in Icheon also produced concrete results last year, distributing sunshine income of KRW 2.2 million per person annually. The apartment complexes in Suwon and Pyeongtaek that installed 120 kW of rooftop solar as a pilot project last year are also projected to achieve annual savings of KRW 30 million in communal electricity costs. [Gyeonggi RE100 Income Village Project Announcement © Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Promotion Agency]This year, Gyeonggi Province is investing KRW 12.8 billion in provincial funds to support 200 villages, pursuing the long-term goal of creating a total of 2,000 income villages by 2030. By activating a ‘one-stop support system’ through the Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Promotion Agency, the province plans to provide close support for administrative procedures such as permits and shorten the timeline to project implementation. If income villages spread, we can expect a virtuous energy cycle in which the welfare of energy-vulnerable areas improves and the renewable energy transition advances simultaneously. Villages and apartment complexes wishing to participate in the RE100 Income Village creation project may submit project proposals and supporting documents through their respective cities and counties to the Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Promotion Agency by March 20 (see contact information below). RE100 Income Villages make a significant contribution to the practice of energy welfare, including reducing individual household electricity bills, creating village welfare funds, and generating opportunity income. A village where sunshine becomes income is not as far away as one might think.☞ Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Promotion Agency — Gyeonggi RE100 Income Villages: Application Information Page☏ Project Inquiries — Village Type: 031-985-0834 / Apartment Type: 031-985-0519 by Editor N
On February 8, the star of the 60th Super Bowl Halftime Show held at Levi’s Stadium in the United States was pop star Bad Bunny. Nearing the end of his performance, he called out the names of Latin American countries one by one and then threw a football bearing the phrase ‘Together, We are America!’ toward the stands. Amid the growing spread of anti-immigrant deportation protests in the United States, Bad Bunny had already revealed a negative stance toward the immigrant crackdown policies. The message Bad Bunny delivered at a halftime show watched by over 100 million people invited controversy before it invited respect. This is an unfamiliar sight for America, a country that has long held up individual diversity in culture, religion, and the like as its national identity. Whereabouts does American pluralism stand right now?The Super Bowl Halftime Show Split into Two StagesAmerican Latin pop star Bad Bunny was born and raised in Puerto Rico (an island northeast of the United States, a Spanish colony until the Spanish-American War). Recently, blackouts have been continuously occurring in Puerto Rico, but the United States has been ignoring the issue without making efforts to maintain the deteriorating power grid. Bad Bunny expressed his criticism of the U.S. government and the people’s desire to find a ray of hope through his performance. He performed most of his songs in Spanish, and near the end of his performance, the message ‘The only thing more powerful than hate is love’ appeared on the electronic display. It was also a message directed at the U.S. government’s policies seeking to exclude immigrants. Regarding Bad Bunny’s performance, U.S. President Trump denounced it as “one of the worst performances in Super Bowl Halftime Show history.” After posting such criticism, around midnight, President Trump posted on social media a composite map image in which the North American continent — including Canada, the Danish territory of Greenland, and Venezuela — was covered with the Stars and Stripes. It was a gesture that seemed to counter Bad Bunny’s position hoping for respect for immigrants.The conservative-leaning organization Turning Point USA, at the same time as the Super Bowl Halftime Show, separately hosted an ‘All-American Halftime Show’ on their YouTube channel, featuring singer Kid Rock, known as a Trump supporter. Some conservative viewers watched this show instead of the official halftime show. [Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl © gettyimages/Esquire Korea]Differing Stances on Immigrant Crackdown PoliciesHow did the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which has brought joy to the American people, become a venue for vilification of one another? Bad Bunny’s performance was not smooth sailing from the start. Even when Bad Bunny was confirmed as the invited artist for the halftime show, President Trump publicly expressed displeasure, calling it preposterous. At the Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny shouted “ICE OUT” during his Album of the Year acceptance speech — a comment squarely aimed at the Trump administration’s immigrant crackdown policies.Not all artists share Bad Bunny’s stance on U.S. immigration policy. Last January, rapper Nicki Minaj, a Trinidad and Tobago-born immigrant who came to the U.S. at age five, appeared at the launch event for the Trump Account (a policy through which the government creates tax-free investment accounts for newborns born in the U.S. and supports them with an initial seed fund of USD 1,000), stating she was the President’s number one fan. Trump responded by calling Nicki Minaj “the greatest and most successful female rapper in history.” An interesting fact is that Nicki Minaj was someone who had criticized the government’s immigration enforcement policies in 2018 during Trump’s first term. While she had opposed immigration policies seven years ago, she now stands in support. This is a point that reveals the complex layers of the stances and debates surrounding U.S. immigration policy. [Nicki Minaj and President Donald Trump © AP/Yonhap News]Has American Pluralism Expanded or Fractured?Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was watched by approximately 124.9 million people — the fourth-highest figure in history. A performance in which most songs were delivered solely in Spanish became one of the most-watched stages in history. Yet at the same time as the official Super Bowl Halftime Show was underway, another Super Bowl halftime performance rejecting this show was unfolding on YouTube. Immediately after the official Super Bowl Halftime Show, President Trump expressed his displeasure by posting an image of territorial expansion. Such scenes feel somewhat removed from the image of an America where diversity is respected. American pluralism is now undergoing expansion and fracturing simultaneously.This phenomenon, in which sporting events have become a battleground for social messages, concisely shows what question American society now faces: whether the value of diversity is expanding toward a broader society, or whether it is becoming another name for division. America is still searching for an answer to that question. by Editor N
Can we trust corporate ESG management 100%? Through ESG reports, companies promise environmental protection, social responsibility, and transparent governance. A brand by a renowned domestic designer touted ‘ESG management’ and reprocessed carryover products, yet consumers did not accept this as a value provided by the brand. What these cases reveal is that the ESG that companies conceive of and the ESG that consumers experience are different.ESG as Proven by Companies: Reports Filled with Numbers and CertificationsThis past January, the security practices of the three major domestic telecommunications companies once again came under scrutiny. Telecom companies such as SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ have been emphasizing ‘information security’ and ‘cybersecurity’ as key non-financial performance indicators in their annual ESG reports. SK Telecom touted its AI-based real-time monitoring and zero trust security architecture, while KT promoted annual information security investments on the scale of KRW 100 billion. LG U+ also received the highest grade in the government’s information security evaluation, and all three telecom companies received comprehensive A grades from the Korea ESG Standards Institute (KCGS).[SK Telecom certified dealership apology posted © Yonhap News]However, the reality was different. KT caused personal information leakage damage through poor femtocell (ultra-small base stations installed in homes or small business premises, directly connected to the mobile carrier’s core network) management, applying the same 10-year certificate to all devices. SK Telecom also experienced a massive USIM information leak and malware infection incident in April last year. LG U+ faced allegations that, after being notified of suspected personal information breaches, it reinstalled or destroyed some servers in an attempt to conceal the incident — behavior contrary to the ESG report’s promise to ‘build customer and social trust.’ [WOOYOUNGMI Black Palm Hoodie from the first half of 2025 season (top), Black Flower Patch Hoodie from the second half of 2025 season (bottom) © Shinsegae Mall and WOOYOUNGMI website captures, Hankyoreh]As the controversy grew, WOOYOUNGMI explained that it was “a process of fulfilling corporate social responsibility by reducing resource waste as part of ESG management.” They viewed the product as a new item that had undergone additional processing and redesign, and thus judged that a separate disclosure obligation was unnecessary. While they acknowledged the confusion caused to consumers and stated they would supplement their notification standards going forward, consumers reacted with shock at the fact that the brand had sold inventory products as new items. For Consumers, Action Matters More Than ClaimsWhat companies include in their ESG reports are mainly measurable quantitative indicators, such as board and ESG governance structures, environmental performance metrics, and whether policies have been established. Such indicators are good for external promotion.For consumers, however, ESG means what they ‘experience in daily life’: a company’s response and accountability when problems arise, and the safety of their personal information. It is not the dazzling figures in reports but the experience a company provides that is, in fact, ESG.[KT ESG Report © KT]In the telecom hacking incidents, the point at which consumers were angered was not ‘insufficient investment in security.’ It was the actual security systems that differed from what was stated in reports, and the opaque response. In the WOOYOUNGMI controversy as well, trust in the brand fell not so much because of the ‘use of inventory’ itself but because consumers had not been notified in advance.ESG reveals its true value not in ordinary times but in crisis situations. When a hacking incident occurs, whether the telecom company transparently discloses its response speed and routine management processes is what matters. For a brand, when there is a possibility of a product issue arising, how it explains it to consumers is the real measure of ESG management. What matters more than the fine phrases in reports is actual behavior.For ESG to become a company’s management philosophy, companies must make their ESG reports into ‘real promises.’ What matters more than the dazzling figures in reports is transparency. The evaluation criteria for reports must also be improved. Substantive items such as accident response, consumer protection, and transparency of communication must be more strongly reflected in evaluations.Aligning words with actions so that consumers do not doubt the ESG that companies speak of — this is the task for companies practicing ESG in 2026. by Editor N
As the year-end tax settlement season approaches, we naturally start going over what deduction items exist and whether there are any we might have missed. Not infrequently, this leads to situations where one expects a refund but ends up facing an unexpected tax burden. This is why many people think at least once of the ‘charitable contribution tax credit.’ From 2023, the ‘Hometown Love Donation System’ (Regional Love Donation System), which expanded the target of donations from individuals to regions, was introduced. It is a system that provides a tax credit benefit by donating to one’s hometown where one was born and raised, or to a region one personally wishes to support. The Hometown Love Donation System, operated with the purpose of revitalizing the local economy, connects individuals’ tax-saving choices to regional support. Now, roughly three years after implementation, is the Hometown Love Donation System being implemented as well as expected?Amazing Changes Brought by Small GesturesThe Hometown Love Donation System has gained great popularity as a ‘cost-effective donation’ because, in addition to a full tax credit of up to KRW 100,000, donors can receive thank-you gifts such as local specialties or services from the relevant region within a certain range of the donation amount. In terms of numbers, the nationwide Hometown Love Donation fundraising amount in 2025 was KRW 150 billion, a 72% increase from the previous year, with the number of donations also increasing by 80%, showing clear quantitative growth.Amid this trend, the Hometown Love Donation System is creating direct changes in the lives of local economies and residents. Gokseong-gun in Jeollanam-do used the Hometown Love Donation funds to open its only pediatrics clinic in the county, resolving a medical gap. In Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, participation from all across the country poured in for designated donations to support a specialized table tennis school, far surpassing the target amount. [‘Pediatrics You See Every Day’ operated with Hometown Love Donation funds © Gokseong-gun]The utility of the Hometown Love Donation System has also proven itself in crisis situations. In multiple local governments declared special disaster zones due to the large-scale wildfires in 2025, donations for recovery purposes proceeded rapidly through the system, with donation funds on the scale of tens of billions of won being utilized for disaster response and resident support. Going beyond a simple tax benefit, the Hometown Love Donation System functions as a system that sustains regions in both ordinary daily life and crisis situations.[Table tennis team members of Jeongsan Elementary, Middle, and High Schools who raised competition fees through the Hometown Love Donation System © Cheongyang-gun]Challenges Encountered Behind the Positive ChangesHowever, not everything has been smooth. As the system entered its third year of implementation, side effects have emerged in which competition over thank-you gifts among some local governments has overheated. Exploiting the fact that the gift display structure of the integrated Hometown Love Donation system ‘Hometown Love e-eum’ arranges items in ‘order of new registration,’ cases have arisen in which some local governments repeatedly register the same gift items or use automated tools to artificially boost their display ranking. An ‘exposure competition’ that is far removed from the system’s purpose has occurred.Moreover, there are cases in which the actual donation amount does not even reach 0.1% of some local governments’ budgets, raising questions about whether the system’s original purpose is being sufficiently realized. For this reason, local governments are raising their voices that, in order to vitalize the Hometown Love Donation System, the tax credit limit should be expanded and corporate donations should also be permitted. There is an expectation that if corporate donations are allowed, a structure in which regions and companies grow together can be established through the inflow of corporate ESG funds.[Screen showing items using macro systems pushing out new gifts and being displayed on the main page © Hometown Love e-eum]Toward a System for Regional SustainabilityThe goal that the Hometown Love Donation System should pursue is to resolve the pressing challenges of regions through donations and to mitigate fiscal disparities and the risk of extinction across regions. To this end, the discussion surrounding the system must also not remain at the level of ‘participation rates’ or ‘gift competition’ but expand to what public value the donation funds create for local communities.When the system can clearly explain what policies and projects the donation funds led to, and what changes those results left in the lives of local residents, the credibility of the system will also rise. The next stage of the Hometown Love Donation System should be not to stop at maintaining the system but to become a long-term policy instrument that enhances regional sustainability and supports community restoration. by Editor N
Wherever you go these days, talk of the ‘Dubai Chewy Cookie’ (hereinafter Du-Cheon-Coo) can be heard. People willingly engage in open runs and wait in long lines to get their hands on one. This unfamiliar dessert, which harmonizes crispy kadaif, savory pistachio, and chewy marshmallow, has gone beyond being a mere food item to become a cultural phenomenon. But there is a fact we have overlooked, intoxicated by the flashy visuals and sweet taste: the ‘uncomfortable truth’ left behind by the ingredients that crossed the globe to complete this single piece.The popularity of Du-Cheon-Coo has gone beyond scarcity to lead to market distortion. As the supply of the key ingredients — kadaif and pistachio — cannot keep up with demand, prices have skyrocketed. Some businesses and consumers complain of fatigue from dessert inflation fueled by industry collusion or the pretext of rising costs. Let us examine the questions we missed, buried in the consumer psychology of ‘it’s trendy so I have to try it’ — where these ingredients came from and how they reached our tables. [Dubai Chewy Cookie © Newsen Talk]The Pistachio Craze: The Environmental Cost Behind ItPistachio, the key ingredient of Du-Cheon-Coo, has been on a steady upward popularity trend. From 2023, the franchise beverage and bakery industries began utilizing pistachio as an ingredient in drinks and croissants. In the same year, Capital Press (an American agricultural newspaper) reported that California’s pistachio economy was booming and projected further expansion. Then in December 2023, a Dubai chocolate video posted on TikTok by influencer Maria Vehera went viral, sparking the global Dubai chocolate craze, which led to the current Du-Cheon-Coo trend. The market is moving quickly to catch up with demand. According to the Administrative Committee for Pistachios, pistachio trees are increasing by approximately 35,000 each year in California alone, the largest growing region. Environmental costs are hidden here too.[Pistachio Tree © Treeinfo]The amount of water consumed to obtain 1 kg of pistachios reaches a staggering 10,000 liters. The main growing regions, California and the Middle East, already face severe drought and groundwater depletion. Furthermore, the method of large-scale monoculture cultivation causes soil degradation and loss of biodiversity, while the excessive use of chemical fertilizers to meet increased demand leads to water pollution. Pistachio consumption, which has surged globally under the name of a trend, is even impacting the environment.Carbon from Transportation, Waste from ConsumptionWhat is easily overlooked is the environmental cost embedded in the import process of the ingredients. The core ingredients of Du-Cheon-Coo — pistachio, kadaif, marshmallow, and others — mostly rely on imports. The longer the distance food travels from its place of origin to reach consumers, the proportionally greater the environmental burden.According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, imported agricultural products emit far more carbon dioxide in the transportation process than domestic ones. Imported grapes leave 4.4 times more carbon than domestic ones, and kiwis leave 3.3 times more. As of 2019, the carbon dioxide emissions from South Korea’s food imports amounted to approximately 11.46 million tons, a figure exceeding half of the emissions from the entire domestic agricultural production sector. A single thoughtlessly enjoyed bite of Du-Cheon-Coo contains the massive carbon emitted while crossing the Pacific Ocean from the other side of the planet. [Packaged Dubai Chewy Cookie © Yonhap News]And the Du-Cheon-Coo made in this way is delivered to consumers surrounded by disposable items. To handle the explosive demand, most stores handling Du-Cheon-Coo focus on packaged sales. The plastic boxes, vinyl shopping bags, and cooling packs used to package a single cookie are discarded intact as waste after a single use. In effect, we are discharging waste that will not decompose for hundreds of years for the sake of a moment’s sweetness.Enjoying rare ingredients from across the world airlifted in real time is an unprecedented privilege enjoyed by modern humanity. However, as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has pointed out, 33% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from the food system. The reason the European Union is pursuing the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy for carbon neutrality is that the sustainability of food is directly tied to our survival.The money paid for a single Du-Cheon-Coo may not simply be the price of taste, but a debt incurred for drawing forward the Earth’s resources. We need to maintain awareness of the real cost we are paying amid the sweet trend. by Editor N
We tend to lump countless different lives together into the single framework of ‘the life of the elderly.’ Defining the lives of the elderly as a single image is an excessively one-dimensional perspective. Just because their ages are similar does not mean their ways of living, values, and tastes are the same.According to the National Data Agency, the elderly population aged 65 and over has surpassed 11 million this year, accounting for 21.6% of the total population. Going forward, the proportion of the elderly in our society will only increase. Now, we must move beyond debating the causes or assigning responsibility and discuss how to accept the changed social structure and adapt to such a world. Faced with the reality already unfolding before us, what attitudes and choices will we make?The Content Market Where Active Seniors Have EmergedThe image of seniors in the past often remained confined to ‘objects of protection’ or ‘beings who must be supported.’ The ‘active seniors’ emerging recently are different. ‘Active seniors’ refers to the 50s and 60s generation who have time and financial leeway and are active in social activities. This is different from an attitude of imitating youth or denying aging.The reason so-called ‘young forties’ is caricatured is the awkwardness that comes from mimicking youth while erasing age. In contrast, ‘active seniors’ focus on recognizing the beauty and completeness of old age itself and revealing their own colors within it. The desire to age gracefully is not a desire unique to any particular generation. It is simply that this desire has now begun to express itself naturally even in old age.[Actress Kim Young-ok, who participated as a muse in the final mission of the variety show ‘Just Makeup’ Ⓟ BAZAAR]In the recently concluded beauty survival program ‘Just Makeup,’ a makeup mission featuring seniors as models was conducted. In a similar vein, in November 2024, Jung-gu in Incheon operated a ‘Senior Healing Beauty Care’ course targeting the elderly and older adults aged 50 and over in the region. These are attempts to view the appearance of old age as a unique beauty in itself rather than as something to conceal or correct.The senior brand ‘The New Grey’ also emphasizes the same perspective. Ironically, by setting seniors as its customer base, it has revealed the individual personalities that had been obscured under the name of ‘the elderly.’ In this way, the senior market is expanding beyond simple age classification into an independent lifestyle genre that respects individuality.[Active Seniors Ⓟ The New Grey Website]The Power of Institutions Connecting Real Old Age to SocietyOf course, it is not sufficient for such cultural changes to remain confined to the market and content domains. Aging is a global trend, not a problem unique to South Korea, and policies for the economic stability of the elderly are also diverse.Singapore, which is aging rapidly, is actively investing in its lifelong education system and continuing efforts to alleviate economic anxiety in old age by operating pension and longevity insurance systems. This is an approach that perceives the elderly not as mere welfare recipients but as members continuously connected to society.South Korea is also expanding employment support policies for old age alongside the pension system. The Mid-to-Older Age Career Support System is a program that increases the possibility of re-employment through career transition for those aged 50 and over, and a senior internship system in which the government supports companies’ labor costs to induce employment of those aged 60 and over is also in operation.[Movie ‘The Intern’ still cut Ⓟ Warner Bros.]Joseph Coughlin, founder of the MIT AgeLab, has pointed out that “the experience of aging differs across individuals and cultures, and there is insufficient scientific basis for concluding productivity and vitality based on a specific age.” In fact, the elderly wish to work longer than the standards set by society. According to the National Data Agency’s ‘Economically Active Population Survey Supplementary Survey Results for the Elderly,’ the average age at which they left their longest-held job (main job) was 52.9 (as of May 2025). Considering that the same survey found the average age at which the elderly wish to work is 73.4, the gap is substantial.The elderly are still agents who choose, decide, and live. A society in harmony with the elderly is a society in which we all can maintain dignity and individuality even as we age. Everyone becomes elderly. Stories for the elderly of today are soon stories for our future selves. How should we position our perspective on the elderly? Depending on this, aging may remain merely a social problem, or it may move forward as a guide that expands our lives. by Editor N
We are in an era that needs companies responsibly connected to our world more than companies that pursue mere profit. In that process, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) have gained prominence and are frequently mentioned, but as they are used similarly, they are often confused. The conflation of the two concepts does not stop at a simple misunderstanding of terminology. Failing to distinguish between them can lead to mistaking social contribution campaigns for sustainable management strategies, causing confusion in judging substantive performance. So what is the difference between the two terms? Let us confirm the concepts of CSR and ESG through two case studies.CSR Completed Through Participation, Going Beyond One-Way EffortsCoca-Cola has long faced criticism surrounding issues directly tied to its business structure. The point that approximately 150 liters of water are required, directly and indirectly, to produce a single 500ml bottle of beverage demonstrates that Coca-Cola’s water use issue falls within the domain of structural responsibility. Such issues surfaced as social conflict in the Plachimada region of India in the early 2000s. As agricultural damage including drinking water shortages caused by the factory’s excessive groundwater extraction came under scrutiny, the factory was eventually shut down in 2004.Subsequently, Coca-Cola shifted its CSR strategy in the direction of strengthening its responsibility for water use. From 2007, it pursued the ‘Water Replenishment Project,’ aiming to return the total amount of water used in its global production processes to local communities. In South Korea as well, Coca-Cola has been carrying out water resource restoration activities since 2017, including dredging agricultural reservoirs, improving waterways, and forest cultivation, centered on areas with high water stress. In this way, CSR refers to activities in which companies voluntarily practice social responsibility — such as environmental protection and contribution to local communities — going beyond the mere pursuit of profit. [Coca-Cola Wonderful Campaign © Coca-Cola Korea]The specific methods and character of CSR have been undergoing repeated change in response to the demands of the era and society and the corporate environment. Whereas past CSR had a strong character of one-way corporate social contribution such as donations and sponsorship, recent CSR is expanding in the direction of directly supplementing and resolving the social and environmental impacts arising from corporate activities, as in the Coca-Cola case.Coca-Cola’s ‘Wonderful (ON THE PL) Campaign,’ which began in 2020, is a case of participatory CSR designed so that consumers directly take part in the resource circulation process. It demonstrates the expanded direction of CSR in that it created a resource circulation structure through the proper segregation and collection of transparent PET bottles and led behavioral change by extending corporate responsibility to the participation of consumers and local communities.Ultimately, CSR can be said to be the philosophical foundation for companies to practice responsible management in the long term, going beyond simply doing ‘good deeds’ for society. Through CSR, companies can build brand trust, instill pride and motivation in their members, and lay the foundation for sustainable management.ESG: The Final Button for Sustainable ManagementESG is, literally, a standard for comprehensively judging the sustainability of a company by reflecting Environmental, Social, and Governance factors across management. If CSR is the philosophical foundation of the responsibility a company pursues, ESG can be seen as the concrete tool through which such philosophy is connected to actual management activities, decision-making, and evaluation indicators.McDonald’s Korea is counted among the companies actively practicing ESG management under the slogan ‘What’s Good for the World Is Good for McDonald’s.’ The ‘Taste of Korea’ project utilizing domestic ingredients created a win-win structure through collaboration with local farms and contributed to promoting the value of regional specialties. Kim Hee-soo, the county governor of Jindo-gun which participated with the ‘Jindo Green Onion Burger,’ revealed that “if McDonald’s chose it, it is trustworthy,” and that purchase inquiries about various agricultural products have since continued. McDonald’s projects together with Korean farms were estimated to have created approximately KRW 61.7 billion in social and economic value from 2021 to 2024.[McDonald’s Taste of Korea Project © McDonald’s Korea]In this way, social responsibility activities no longer remain at the level of describing a company’s attitude. ESG, which was previously classified as non-financial performance, is now directly connected to corporate value and financial performance, and operates as a standard for investment and regulation. Accordingly, ESG has established itself as an obligation rather than an option, and the trend of its utilization as a core indicator of corporate growth is becoming clear.In the end, while CSR presents the direction of the responsibilities and obligations that companies hold toward society, ESG functions as the standard for measuring and evaluating whether such responsibilities are actually leading to management activities and performance. When the two concepts are understood as existing in an organic relationship and utilized in the right places, companies can solidly practice sustainable management. Furthermore, it is companies that achieve a balanced integration of these two elements that will be able to position themselves as trusted future enterprises in the changing environment. by Editor N