'Eternal dreamer' seeks to enliven youth
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Kang Ju-won, mentor for youth
By Chung Hyun-chae
Many young people seem to think entering a conglomerate and getting a high salary is a great success. Today’s cut-throat job market conditions reflect their aspirations for such a job.
Kang Ju-won, 28, is the one of those going against such thinking. He dubbed himself “an eternal dreamer” and said he wants to move young people and also to be impressed by them during his lifetime.
He has worked at a large cosmetics company, a state-run company and a pharmaceutical firm after he graduated from Dongguk University but not for long as he quit them all.
“For me, an occupation is not all that matters, as it is just a means, not the object of my life,” Kang told The Korea Times. As his previous careers show, he has challenged many things. Before he entered the companies, he had been on a working holiday to Australia where he got a job installing insulation, and he had also organized some events in Korea. Every time he had a certain interest, he jumped into that area.
“At some point I realized that I’m happy when I’m with young people and communicating with them,” Kang said.
Last year he met Han Sang-yeob, CEO of Wisdom, a website providing a platform linking lecturers and mentors with the public.
“I found Wisdom didn’t have any programs for young people who are worried about their future. So I suggested organizing a meeting called ‘Are you dreaming?’ where young people could share their thoughts related to their dreams,” Kang said.
Kang plays a role of a mentor for those who are worried about having no dreams or doing something they don’t want to do. Most of them are in their 20s, but some are in their early 30s, according to Kang.
The session consists of discussions about dreams and future plans, followed by a presentation by the mentor. But Kang doesn’t give a lecture.
“I don’t say to participants, ‘You have to do this, or that, like me.’ We just talk about our dreams, freely,” Kang said.
Each session is attended by only two or three people in order to deeply share their thoughts.
“I remember two people the most. One participant was a 30-year-old man who said that he could not start anything when comparing himself with others,” Kang said.
“The other was a girl who had recovered from malignant tumor in her thyroid gland. She saw and talked with a lot of people during her treatment. She said she would like to bring hope to those suffering from similar ailments. I was also one of the people who was touched by her,” Kang continued, saying feeling emotion is quite important for him.
He said he wants to follow in the footsteps of Seo Jae-kyung, the founder of Beautiful Seodang, a nonprofit education institution which runs the Young Leaders Academy in Seoul and the Human Resources Academy on Jeju Island.
“I was deeply impressed by his efforts to provide the knowledge and experience of older people from various fields to young students for free. I want to do something similar to that,” Kang said.