At first sight, the presence of blood pressure machines in the break-out area of its modern office is the only clue that EverYoung, based in downtown Seoul, is not your average tech start up company.
But look more closely at the employees tapping furiously at their computers and EverYoung’s unique business model becomes more apparent - the internet content-monitoring company has a strictly ageist policy of only employing staff over the age of 55.
The company, founded by 56-year-old executive Chung Eunsung, aims to address South Korea’s demographic timebomb and challenge a corporate culture steeped in age discrimination in favour of the young.
“If seniors are working even after retirement, and being globally competitive, then it will be a good solution to our future social problems,” he told The Telegraph.
His staff work four-hour shifts to monitor platforms like Naver, South Korea’s Google equivalent, to censor sensitive information like a child’s identity on publicly available sites. Several also conduct coding classes for school children.
The oldest worker is 83, and managers praise their silver workforce for their dedication and being less addicted to their phones.
Mr Chung does not draw a salary, but pours profits into wages and fringe benefits, including two free annual eye-tests, fitness centre membership, and a cash bonus for every new grandchild.
Staff members are encouraged to exercise or test their blood pressure by the sofas in the chill-out zone during their hourly ten minute breaks.
New staff members are treated to a one year anniversary party, and after-work clubs like the EverYoung rock band, are a pillar of office culture.
Mr Chung chose the IT sector to make a point that the older generation could easily contribute to Korea’s high-tech focussed economy.
His initial experiment with 30 employees has now expanded to four offices employing 420.
Amid struggling birthrates, the over-65s accounted for 13.2 per cent of South Korea’s population last year, a figure projected to rise to 24.5 per cent by 2030.
Mr Chung believes he is not only targeting a dire social problem, but also restoring “dignity” to aging workers who are often cast aside.
South Korea’s corporate environment is notorious for pressuring senior workers to retire before the official age of 60. “Even people in their 40s worry about losing their jobs,” he said. “We have aging shock in our society.”
His company has become so popular that pensioners are competing fiercely to join.
Yang Jae-seon, 70, an employee for almost three years, said the job had given him a new lease of life.
He had been an office worker before he was “nudged” to retire. “I had to leave my job in my late 50s. I was devastated,” he said.
Retirement can be tough in South Korea. Paltry state pensions force many to depend on younger relatives with their own money worries. Old men gather daily in local parks to combat loneliness and find a free lunch at nearby temples.
“I thought after I retired, I would go traveling a lot, seeing new things, but it’s not like that when you’re old,” said Mr Yang. “Even the same cloud that you see in the sky, it doesn’t look the same when you’re not working.”
His co-workers were now friends and he felt a new sense of responsibility, he said.
But he also struck a note of self-awareness about the perils of an older workforce.
“Because we’ve lived for so long we think our wisdom is the standard for the whole universe!” he laughed. “So I can only imagine how difficult it is for our job trainers.”
