In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, Amorepacific employees began to view sharing through a different lens. Rather than focusing on how many people participated, they began asking how they could make a more meaningful impact through their contributions. In October 2023, “APnanums,” the Company’s employee-led volunteer group, was launched in response to this shift. Even before its establishment, Amorepacific employees had dedicated more than 320,000 hours to volunteer activities over the previous decade. A program that allows employees to convert mileage earned through volunteer service into welfare points helped motivate these efforts. However, the true driving force has always come from elsewhere. People who chose to participate because they were willing to. People who wanted to share what they had with others. APnanums is the result of those individual commitments coming together.
We Decide How to Give and Where to Make a Difference
What sets APnanums apart from conventional volunteer programs is that employees themselves plan and lead its activities. The first cohort, launched with 50 employees across eight teams, embarked on a wide range of initiatives designed and organized by the participants themselves. These included workshops to help young people explore their aspirations, serving as guide runners for visually impaired marathon participants, volunteering at animal shelters, mentoring students at Sookmyung Women’s University, conducting clean hiking activities that combine hiking with litter collection, and organizing social experience programs for young adults preparing for independent living. Participants in the social experience program for young adults preparing for independent living shared that activities such as personal color consultations and professional profile photography sessions not only helped them discover colors that suited them best, but also gave them greater confidence as they prepared to take their first steps into society.
Giving That Grows More Diverse Through Collective Participation
participated in a broader range of activities, including youth mentoring, volunteering at community child centers, supporting facilities serving multicultural families, underwater environmental cleanup efforts, hiking-based waste collecting activities, plastic reduction campaigns, the production of books for individuals with low vision, and serving as guide runners for visually impaired marathon participants. As the forms of giving became more diverse, so too did the communities reached through these efforts.
By the third cohort, participation had grown even further, with more than 130 employees joining 11 teams and carrying out volunteer initiatives. This represented nearly a threefold increase in participation compared to the first cohort. Programs included the “Cheongyak” team, which invited approximately 150 university students to Amorepacific headquarters in partnership with the Korea Student Aid Foundation; the “Asukieum” team, which continued its mentoring program for students at Sookmyung Women’s University from the first through the third cohort; and the “Apteuim” team, which partnered with several universities, including Korea University, Kyung Hee University, and Sungshin Women’s University. The depth and reach of these mentoring initiatives continued to grow. With additional activities such as beauty classes for single mothers, volunteering at children’s homes, and environmental cleanup efforts, APnanums was able to reach approximately 400 individuals, ranging from young people to members of local communities.
Going Beyond Seoul, Reaching Communities Across Korea
The fourth cohort took another step forward, with more than 160 employees participating across 13 teams. Expanding beyond the Company’s Seoul headquarters, APnanums broadened the reach of its volunteer activities to local communities across the country, including Gwangju, Jeonju, and Jeju. The “Mom Pyeonhan Nal” team invited eight single mothers of diverse nationalities who are raising children on their own to the Company’s headquarters, where they received professional makeup services, scalp diagnostics, studio profile photography sessions, and opportunities to visit an art museum. The “31” team delivered sweet potatoes harvested through autumn rural volunteer activities in Gwangju and Jeonju to underserved communities in the Jeollanam-do region. During the Christmas season, team members also personally delivered 100 gift bags of candy to children living in care facilities. The team also continued its environmental cleanup activities along the Gwangjucheon Stream and Jeonjucheon Stream. Other initiatives included serving as guide runners for visually impaired marathon participants, supporting animal shelters, mentoring young people, and conducting plogging activities along the Hangang River. While each team pursued a different approach, they all shared the same purpose: giving back to the community.
“It was not easy to take the first step of volunteering on my own. Through APnanums, I was able to participate in meaningful volunteer activities alongside wonderful colleagues, making it a truly rewarding experience.”
– Amorepacific employee participating in APnanums
The work of making people feel beautiful extends beyond cosmetic products and into the everyday moments shared among people. APnanums stands as a testament to that commitment and represents a new chapter in Amorepacific’s culture of giving, one that will continue into the future.
