An agreement to prevent discrimination against single mothers and fathers was made on Aug. 24, at Seoul City Hall. The agreement implies that there are many disadvantaged people around us alongside people who have a pessimistic point of view towards single parents. People in their twenties are relatively indifferent to the disadvantaged as they are busy getting jobs or playing a role as a beginner in society.

Unlike these indifferent people, there is a student who is always concerned about the disadvantaged and plans projects to help them. His name is Han Seung-hu, CEO of a corporation called “Withsaram.” The Argus found out about his experiences and what made him start this company.

The Argus: Please introduce yourself.
Han Seung-hu (Han): Hello, readers of The Argus. My name is Han Seung-hu, and I am the CEO of a corporation called “Withsaram.” I am also a freshman studying at Hanlim University.

The Argus: Please introduce your company “Withsaram.”
Han: Withsaram Company started from a startup club called “Think Only People” in Bong Ui high school with the management philosophy of making Chuncheon a city with zero disadvantaged. Five members living in Chuncheon are working for our company. We visit many high schools and universities and give lectures on improving awareness of the disadvantaged. We also help single mothers and the disabled to stand on their own feet.

The Argus: What made you start thinking about the disadvantaged?
Han: My parents love volunteering so they have helped a lot of people, and I grew up watching them do these things and naturally started volunteering in an orphanage since I was an elementary student. I volunteered there without any serious consideration. However, the more I volunteered the stronger the desire to help them grew. So I asked my parents for an advice and researched about how to give them real help. At that time, I first heard of a social enterprise. Searching more about the social enterprise, I thought I could help not only the orphans but many other disadvantaged people by establishing a company of my own.

The Argus: Can you introduce some projects that you have done so far?
Han: I will introduce some representative projects: the One for One Baby Clothes project and Baby Badge project.
“One for One Baby Clothes project” is the first project that I worked on after I established the company. To give children an opportunity to choose clothes that they wanted to wear, I decided to do the One for One Baby Clothes project of which I got the idea from the Tom’s Shoes’ “One for One” project. When the customers buy baby clothes, we donate the same amount of baby clothes to the orphanage in the name of the customer.
The “Baby Badge project” is a project planned to improve awareness about single mothers. I got the idea from the “yellow ribbon badge” made to cherish the memory of deceased people from the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry and “butterfly badge” made to wish comfort women to have relief from their pain. The baby badge resembles a mother holding her baby. The symbolic meaning of this badge is sacrificing love in spite of difficult circumstances. We have tried to improve awareness of them by conducting a group purchasing campaign of 11 high schools. Some of the money earned from the project was donated to the facility for unmarried mothers called Maria’s House.

The Argus: Most of the projects being done are for minors. Is there any special reason?
Han: I worked for the Committee on the Rights of the Child from age 13 to 16. While doing various activities, I had a lot of opportunities to think about minors’ rights. At that time, when I started to plan the business, I was also a minor and strongly felt that minors needed sufficient support. However, watching orphans search for some help was very pathetic. Then I felt a strong desire to help minors.

The Argus: Do you think your projects were successful?
Han: I think most of my projects have been successful. In the case of the baby clothes project, we donated 100 clothing items and 500,000 won to an orphanage. Also, we donated a million won to the facility for unmarried mothers. I think most of the readers would feel suspicious as to whether this could be considered a success because a million won is not a large amount of money. However, I define success with the criteria of helpfulness; not the amount of money. From the perspective of welfare facilities, 100 clothing items and a million won are not a small amount. Thus, I want to say the outcome was a success.

The Argus: What difficulties did you face when establishing a company or running a project, and how did you overcome them?
Han: When I first established the company, many people around me were opposed it. My father let me start the project, but my mother and homeroom teacher were against it because they were worried that I needed to just study for the university entrance examination. Also there were many people who mistakenly thought that I was establishing a company as a qualification for university entrance.
However, my intention was to be a good example to others as a minor, and I wanted to start helping them as fast as I could. So, I went to the tax office to get my business registration, but the workers there also doubted whether I knew what a social enterprise was. The superintendent of the tax office even said he wanted to have an interview with me. To show my enthusiasm for helping the disadvantaged, I wrote a business plan proposal and did a presentation. After that, the superintendent said he could sense my sincerity and let me get my business registration.
The most difficult project that I have done was the Baby Badge project. To gather more participation, I wanted single mothers to ask for help by themselves, but they were reluctant to gain exposure within the community because they were afraid of negative social recognition. As a result we negotiated to open only the name of the facility to the public and started to help them.

The Argus: In your personal opinion, how many people in their twenties show concern about the disadvantaged?
Han: I think their concern for the disadvantaged is very low. Of course they know that there are many disadvantaged people around us and they should help them, but their actual effort toward the matter is insufficient. For example, while I was selling baby clothes in the flea market, many people in their twenties asked me what the social enterprise was. Purchasing a product from a social enterprise can be one way to help the people in need, but they had no idea. I think not only knowing about the existence of people in need but also knowing what businesses and projects are being done to help them and participating in them is necessary.

The Argus: Why should people in their twenties show concern for the disadvantaged?
Han: Although we are not in the position of the disadvantaged right now, we do not know whether or not when we will become a person in need. We should concern that giving a helping hand to the disadvantaged is needed. However, we also should concern that we can need a hand if we are ever one of the disadvantaged. Human beings are social animals. Only if we help people in need will a good deed come back to us when we are desperate. In fact, many advanced countries in Europe give priority to cooperation and consideration for the people in need, and there must be a reason for that.

The Argus: What can people in their twenties do to make a society without any disadvantaged people?
Han: Many people in their twenties think “donation” first when thinking of helping people in need, and they feel burdened by helping that way. However, there are many different ways to help the disadvantaged. Teaching them in terms of talent donation might be an example.

The Argus: What are your future plans?
Han: Right now, I am working on a project called “Socks for Bullying.” The goal of this project is to ask for onlookers’ concern for the victims of bulling. I am also planning to conduct vocational training for the disabled. 

Han Seung-hu has been agonizing over how to help the disadvantaged unlike other indifferent people in their twenties. So far he has done many different things, but his start was not that big. It was started by his small concern for them. Helping the disadvantaged is not an enormous thing. A small concern can make a huge difference.

Reporter of National Section