[Life Act 3 Business] Senior Subscription Delivery Service 'Naeiruri'

'Naeiluri' Meaning in 'Naeiruri'
90% of Affiliated Senior Delivery Workers Are Full-Time
"We Are Called 'Pros,' Not Delivery Workers"

Jung Hyun-gang, CEO of Naeiruri / Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] In the office of 'Naeiruri' located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, there stands a life-sized cutout that piques the curiosity of onlookers. The cutout features the phrase "All my friends work here" alongside the image of a senior with a full head of white hair. Notably, the senior in the cutout is dressed casually, wearing a brown shirt and light beige-toned pants instead of a stiff suit, drawing attention. The bright smile on the senior's face further deepened curiosity about Naeiruri.

Naeiruri, meaning "Our Tomorrow," is a startup operating the subscription delivery service 'Onggoing,' which is based on senior manpower. Unlike real-time delivery that starts immediately upon customer order, subscription delivery refers to services that deliver items periodically, like newspapers or milk. Onggoing currently assigns senior delivery workers aged 60 and above exclusively to each client company.

CEO Jung Hyun-gang (28) decided to tackle the senior employment issue himself after noticing that while the problem was worsening, very few were trying to solve it. Accordingly, he founded Naeiruri in November 2021 and began directly employing seniors. Jung said, "It is a serious social problem, but no one was stepping up to solve it, and one of those issues was senior employment. The government invests taxes for senior jobs, but most are short-term positions."

Before launching Onggoing, he first introduced 'Halbaedal,' a real-time local walking delivery service. Launched in 2020, Halbaedal also involved seniors aged 60 and above delivering products, similar to Onggoing, but the irregular volume caused dissatisfaction among seniors.

Jung said, "We operated Halbaedal for a year and a half, but ultimately it did not succeed. The senior delivery workers had a high dropout rate, while the inflow rate kept decreasing." He explained that seniors preferred delivering a fixed volume at set times, but the inconsistent volume lowered their satisfaction. As seniors frequently quit, employment agencies stopped recommending Halbaedal jobs.

Jung also found unexpected difficulties. "Most senior delivery workers had lived in the same neighborhood for decades, so I thought they would have no trouble finding their way, but that was not the case," he said. "So I wondered if there was a market where deliveries could be made on a fixed route, which led me to think of the subscription delivery market." Because subscription delivery involves delivering only on fixed routes, the job difficulty is low, allowing seniors to work easily.

Afterward, based on the experience gained from Halbaedal, he fully entered the subscription delivery market. He said, "After Halbaedal failed, people around me said, 'I knew it would fail.' But since entering the subscription delivery market, there has never been a delivery delay, and client satisfaction has been high." Through this process, he gained confidence in Onggoing.

90% of the senior delivery workers affiliated with Onggoing are full-time employees. Jung said, "We emphasize on-time delivery, so delivering at the time requested by the customer is very important. After hiring seniors as full-time employees, the delivery workers became more responsible, enabling stable delivery."

Additionally, Onggoing provides customized delivery services tailored to client needs, such as product display and container collection. Jung said, "When additional services beyond simple delivery are needed, we provide customized delivery reflecting client requests. This is one of our strengths."

He hopes for an optimized job environment for seniors. Jung said, "After thinking about why senior jobs have been lacking for a long time, I believe the cause is the 'declining labor competitiveness of seniors.' If there is an appropriate market where seniors can demonstrate their labor competitiveness and a system that helps them showcase their capabilities, more senior jobs will be created." He added, "A specialized education curriculum and operational system for seniors are also important."

Silver company Nae-Iruri CEO Jeong Hyun-gang / Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

The following is a Q&A.

- What is the meaning behind Onggoing?

▲ "'Ong' was a term often used in the past to respectfully address elders. 'Going' means 'to continue.' Originally, we started with 'Halbaedal,' but because of the name, even I hesitated to introduce it to my parents. Then, when we shifted the business direction to subscription delivery, I thought it should be a job that I could recommend to my parents. So, I decided to change the name and held a naming contest open to the entire nation. We received about 1,200 ideas, shortlisted some, and had senior workers vote, which led to the birth of Onggoing."

- You must have faced much opposition when starting a senior-related company.

▲ Most people said the business wouldn't succeed and questioned why I was doing it. Especially when Halbaedal failed after about a year and a half, some reacted, "I thought so; it failed after all." But through this service, I gained confidence in the market. I firmly believed the senior market would grow. Also, if there had been many attempts or movements to solve senior employment issues, I might have given up, but since I saw none, I thought I had to keep trying.

- You refer to senior delivery workers as 'pros.'

▲ Seniors work for two main reasons. First, for livelihood, and second, because work is the most productive way to spend their time. Those in the latter group value their work-life balance and being respected. Our company's founding mission is to solve senior employment and poverty issues, so respect is our top priority.

- Wouldn't delivery work be physically demanding for seniors?

▲ Usually, when people think of delivery workers, they imagine those riding motorcycles for over 10 hours a day, earning at least 3 million won monthly. However, seniors often want just enough income to sustain themselves or find satisfaction in working regardless of money. Therefore, their working hours are not long. They can choose how many hours to work considering their physical condition. They can work from a minimum of three hours, and delivering by vehicle for about three hours is not physically taxing.

- How can the senior employment issue be solved?

▲ The senior employment problem is serious statistically but even more so on the ground. Korea has a high self-employment rate, and countries with high self-employment rates worldwide tend to be those without adequate retirement or pension preparation. The reality is seniors are struggling more than we think. For seniors, a three-hour job can be the driving force to live. In fact, some of our senior delivery workers want to work even on holidays.

At first, I thought the government should help a lot with employment issues, but now I think otherwise. Those who need government help are seniors with disabilities or mobility difficulties. Helping those who are healthy and capable of working should be a matter for the private sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.