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| Korean At Your Door Founder Kim Hyeon-jin / Courtesy of Kim Hyeon-jin |
By Kim Jae-heun
The founder and CEO of social venture Korean At Your Door, Kim Hyeon-jin, has suffered from severe atopic dermatitis since birth.
Kim blamed the skin disease for the inconveniences she had to bear growing up with it. At the same time, it put her in the shoes of marginalized members of society and drove her to help them.
"Thinking about it, everyone has a defect in some way ― be it physically or mentally. There are people with skin problems like me, there are people with an ear or eye that does not function, and there are people who live with a broken heart. It is paradoxical thinking if you elevate yourself above those who are social minorities or disabled," Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times.
Kim did not know she would start a business of her own. Growing up watching her entrepreneur father work until late and never having enough time to rest, she was determined never to become a small business owner like him.
But there was no company that she believed had the desire to solve the employment issue for disabled persons. Nor was the government fully committed to addressing the matter in her eyes.
When the time came for Kim to graduate and start looking for a job, her mother advised her to do whatever made her happiest.
She instantly thought of her internship in her freshman year when she worked for a social venture that trained mentally challenged people as baristas.
"Working with handicapped people and watching their life change with what we did made me happy. I thought I wanted to start a social venture too," Kim said.
In December 2018, Kim established a company that trains the visually impaired to teach the Korean language online.
Kim said she got the idea while listening to the voices of the blind that made her focus on what they were saying.
"Many blind people lose their eyesight in their lifetime and not many are born with the disability. Thus, they have already had diverse social experiences and it helps them become good language teachers. I wanted my instructors to overcome their misfortune and take this chance to live another life. I also wanted to break the stereotype that the blind can work in jobs other than just as masseuse," Kim said.
It has almost been two years now, but they have students in various countries already including Vietnam, the Philippines, India and the United States.
Recently, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the King Sejong Institute Foundation to train more disabled persons as educators. The foundation aims to meet the increasing demand for Korean language classes in Southeast Asia.
"With the effects of COVID-19, demand for online language classes has exploded and we are now receiving 400 students every day for free tutorial programs," Kim said.
Korea At Your Door will celebrate its second anniversary in December.
"It would be really nice to throw a steak party with the teachers on that day," Kim said.
