KARP, First Existence Declaration of the Experience Core

The Korean Association of Retired Persons (KARP), a UN ECOSOC & DGC–accredited NGO, led by President Juch Myong-Yong, held the “First Existence Declaration of the Experience Core” event at 3:00 p.m. on the 10th at the Association’s auditorium in Gwangjang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.

Launched under the slogan “We are beginning to form a Legion of Experience,” the event marked a public declaration aimed at repositioning accumulated life experience at the center of society.In his opening remarks, President Juch stated:

“This declaration is an attempt to bring back to the social center the accumulated and skilled experiences that have long been pushed to the margins simply because of age and retirement.”

He emphasized that this initiative represents a declaration to transform Korea’s most abundant yet underutilized asset—experience—from the brink of social disposal into a new center of social connection.The Experience Core does not refer to an organization or a volunteer group, but rather to a central hub where experiences are gathered, shared, and connected.

The key messages highlighted by KARP in the Experience Core Existence Declaration are as follows:

◆The experience of the retired generation is not a group to be protected, but a civic asset. 

For decades, society has defined retirement primarily by age, treating the vast experiences accumulated over a lifetime as if their social role had ended.KARP strongly asserted that experiences gained in workplaces, families, and local communities do not disappear after retirement. Instead, they remain living and breathing civic assets embedded throughout society.

The Experience Core is not about recruiting new members or forming another organization. It is a civic platform that recognizes dispersed individual experiences as shared assets and seeks to connect them.This approach moves beyond the conventional view of older citizens as subjects of protection or management, proposing a new paradigm that recognizes them as active agents capable of meaningful participation and contribution to society.

◆ Harnessing the power of experience as a social asset in public sectors such as education and care, and turning it into a driving force for a super-aged society.

The role envisioned for the Experience Core is concrete and practical.The accumulated experiences of retirees can be mobilized as a vital force in education, caregiving, local communities, and other public domains.

The mode of engagement is fundamentally different from traditional approaches. Rather than one-way, low-value senior job programs, the Experience Core functions as a civic platform that connects retirees’ expertise with diverse sectors of society, generating genuine social impact through experience-based participation.

KARP stated that:

“This first declaration does not present a completed solution. It is a starting point that clearly affirms that citizens with experience are social assets.”

The Association added that the initiative will not end as a one-time event, but will continue as a series of ongoing civic declarations.

The Experience Core Declaration marks the first step of a new movement to inject vitality into a rapidly aging Korean society—transforming experience from a record of the past into a resource for the future of society.