[Life Act 3 Companies] 'Encore Career' Helping Seniors Adapt to Digital Technology

CEO Lee So-young, Former Samsung SDI Executive

CEO So-young Lee of Korea Encore Career, a company creating a lifelong active culture, is showing the screen of the company's life mentor service. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

The Gwangjin Economic Hub Center in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, is a space where small startup entrepreneurs gather. Within their allocated small spaces, the entrepreneurs each harbored their own dreams of making the world a better place. So-young Lee, CEO of Korea Encore Career (37), whom I met at the Gwangjin Economic Hub Center on the 31st of last month, said, "Since I was a middle school student a long time ago, I have vaguely dreamed of becoming a leader in the silver industry."

Before starting her own business, CEO Lee worked in planning at Samsung SDI for five years. Afterwards, she worked as a faculty member at Hanyang University’s Startup Support Group. Both the stable jobs at a large corporation and as a faculty member were part of her learning process to become a startup CEO in the silver industry. She said, "The reason I got a job at a large corporation was ultimately to achieve my dream," adding, "I thought that thoroughly learning the business processes of a large corporation would help me run my own company well." The same applied to her faculty position. After leaving the large corporation, she worked for five years in startup support projects at Hanyang University’s Startup Support Group, where she became familiar with the government’s detailed startup support system.

Specifically, she guided and connected Hanyang University graduates to the government’s support system. There, she learned that there were considerable institutional benefits from the government for seniors preparing for a new phase in life. However, seniors were not well informed about such information. CEO Lee created a Facebook page herself. She curated and archived news on topics such as ‘senior-related information and support measures.’ She also came to understand how the senior industry operates. This page evolved into the current service called ‘Today’s Schedule.’ Every morning at 6:30 a.m., it delivers curated content via KakaoTalk, summarizing information such as jobs needed in the process of adapting to the digital world.

When asked why she entered the senior industry, she said, "Even I don’t fully understand, but I just feel affection." It started by chance during a middle school club activity when she volunteered at a senior center. She checked the blood pressure of the seniors and spent time chatting with them. She said, "The grandmothers and grandfathers were happy just because we came and talked for a while," adding, "The warmth I felt from their expressions, waiting eagerly for the day they could talk with me, deeply rooted in my heart." The joy and comfort she felt when talking with the elderly is why she has dreamed of leading the silver industry for a long time.

Encore Career, established last year, is still a small company with only two employees. However, she is confident that the social value of creating an ‘easy ladder’ for seniors to access the digital world is significant. She said, "The various experiences that seniors have steadily accumulated are a kind of social asset," and added, "I want to help ensure that these valuable assets, both personally and socially, are well utilized."

- What kind of company is Korea Encore Career?

▲ The name reflects the will to ‘encore’ careers. It is a company that creates services to help seniors design their second act in life.

- What kind of service is it?

▲ We live in the era of 100-year lifespans. However, the world has changed very rapidly. To live well after retirement, seniors must quickly adapt to this rapidly changing world. We provide services to help with this adaptation. Our solutions are divided into two main parts: curating new news and information to help seniors professionally adapt to the new world.

We distribute a service called ‘Today’s Schedule’ every morning at 6:30 a.m. It summarizes information such as jobs needed in the process of adapting to the digital world. We also operate a webpage called ‘Life Mentor.’ It offers live classes with content needed for retired seniors to explore their new professional interests. While many services provide interest-based content for seniors, mostly focused on leisure or hobbies, our service focuses more on content that enhances connections to jobs rather than leisure or hobbies.

- If it’s not leisure or hobby-centered classes, how is it operated?

▲ It means we operate practical, information-focused classes that help find a second life. We started live classes in the second half of last year. Of course, we do not exclude hobby classes. Our unique point is that not only do we plan courses, but members themselves also open classes. The delivery method is via Zoom, which is convenient. Seniors aged 50 and above voluntarily create and upload Zoom classes.

- So, if a senior wants to create their own class, they can apply and Life Mentor will open it for them?

▲ Yes. Many seniors want to create classes. They have considerable knowledge and talents but lack means to share them. We provide Zoom access and promotional content for them.

- Are the classes free?

▲ Yes. Our business model does not rely on tuition fees from classes but on operational costs for designing and organizing classes. We generate revenue by creating Zoom links, producing promotional materials related to classes, and handling promotion. In other words, we charge those who want to create their own content. Many want to open classes with their own content. Some use our service as a step before moving to YouTube. After conducting Zoom classes, recordings are created, which can be uploaded to YouTube without issue.

- Maintaining service quality must require delicate filtering work.

▲ Yes. We strive to ensure good content classes. First, we review the backgrounds and references of those uploading classes to decide whether to approve them. We filter out excessively speculative or gambling-related classes and do not upload them. Also, since classes are live, we cannot control all situations in advance. We are considering ways to reduce risks from unexpected incidents during live sessions.

- Any memorable reactions?

▲ We meet many seniors while planning and operating the service. Recently, we met a senior who uses Life Mentor well, and she tearfully thanked us. She said adapting to the digital world was overwhelming and that opening these channels made adaptation easier. That gratitude remains memorable.

CEO So-Young Lee of Korea Encore Career, a company creating a lifelong active culture. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

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