We would like to begin by hearing the foundation story of Solive Ventures.

Juho Seo It started with the Creative Design Festival, annually held at the College of Engineering. Ikhyun and Sunghyun, with whom I am currently collaborating, are seniors and juniors in the soccer club at the College of Engineering. At the time, we gathered and agreed to create a memorable event during our college years. Coincidentally, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a TV series, was gaining huge popularity at the time, which led us to talk about children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As we searched for related materials, we learned that this market had many unresolved issues, such as education and teaching aids. Since engineering students learned engineering to contribute to society and develop creative and unique products, we took on the challenge of product development with the hope of specific results with social impact.

I am curious about what preparation process you underwent to understand people
with developmental disabilities before product development.

Ikhyun Kwon Starting in early 2023, we interviewed parents of children with autism, ranging from infants to middle school students, in person and further observed children with autism up close at child development centers. Through observation, we intended to verify the theory that toys reduce children's stereotypic behaviors. Furthermore, with the aid of Professor Hye Jun Park at the Child Counseling and Special Children Lab, who is in the advisory group for our business, we met numerous experts and learned about related topics. This process consolidated our determination to complete this project.

That effort resulted in "Peel & Play," a pedagogical aid for infants and toddlers,
which simulated the act of peeling a tangerine. How does this product differ from existing
teaching aids, and what educational effects does it exert? What’s more, were there any difficulties during its production?

Juho Seo First, we began with a market analysis regarding children with autism. Play therapy for autistic children mainly proceeds with toys, primarily divided into two categories. The first category relates to sensory toys that assist in fine motor development, such as teething rings and clays, and the second refers to educational toys, such as robots, blocks, and coding. We decided to blend these two functions and created the current toy product by adjusting the necessary features. The toy was designed to provide continuous sensory stimulation to infants while allowing therapists to offer educational activities.

Sunghyun Choi Although we had a knack for modeling from our engineering knowledge, manufacturing was another matter. Thus, we traveled around Incheon and Gwangju to visit mold manufacturing companies and factories, listened to their know-how, and received design consulting. We needed to keep modifying our designs during this process, ultimately obtaining an affordable and mass-producible product. Such completed "Peel & Play" provides several games simultaneously with its enhancements in five senses through the emission of vibrations and light in attaching and detaching peel-shaped tiles.

Ikhyun Kwon The advantage of our teaching aid is its unlimited potential to evolve along the interaction between therapists and children. Children played various games while holding this toy on their laps, and the wide application range of ages astonished us while we tested playing with children with this product. Typically, the frequency and duration of children's use of toys are short, whereas children from 3 to 7 years old showed a high concentration on “Peel & Play,” which gained praise from on-site therapists.

I wonder about the story of CES2024. Additionally, please provide us some details on the “Kiwoomi ” underway,
a development monitoring application for parents as a next level from this toy.

Juho Seo Our initial interaction with CES was during the Creative Design Festival, which we considered a privilege. In 2023, we promised ourselves that “we would bring our products here in the following year,” which was achieved. The Innovations Award we received is known to be selected based on technology, innovation, and artistry, and it has never been granted to toys simultaneously in these two categories. Although the types of visitors at our booth may be limited due to the nature of the toys, this award enabled us to gain positive responses and connect meaningfully to various companies and stakeholders. We expect that the overseas expansion of our business will become smooth.

Jihee Seo The Kiwoomi application offers a development monitoring service. We implemented the curriculum created by experts into a digital application by converting content that systematically tests development milestones into a play format to allow parents to monitor the development of their children in their daily lives. In short, it is a monitoring service that analyzes how well their child is growing and reports the results, which will satisfy the curiosity and ease parents' worries regarding their children's development.

You may ponder the issues of the relationships between the disabled and non-disabled people
as well as others and yourself, along with research on developmental disability and product
development since the foundation of your business. How have they affected your perception of these issues?

Juho Seo Frankly speaking, I had a sense of distance from children with autism. This may be a type of fear arising from the media exposure because there were no people with disabilities around me. However, this business allowed me to realize that these people are those with whom I was living together despite mere delayed development as I frequently met them for research. Our teaching aid was universally designed, and this experience enabled me to empathize with its importance. I came to empathize with the importance of creating an atmosphere where both children with autism and non-disabled children could use products and get along, and seeking such a social environment rather than producing products tailored to autistic children.

Sunghyun Choi In my case, I had volunteered at a kindergarten for children with autism throughout high school, which removed the sense of distance. However, this opportunity for in-depth study on autism enabled me to realize that everyone has some degree of autism. Biting your nails and showing subtle tics when nervous may fall under stereotypic behaviors. Because a slight difference is neither strangeness nor disease, I hope we will view them as the same as we are.

Jihee Seo I had been completely ignorant of business related to the physically and mentally challenged. My initial idea in developing applications was to recommend them according to children's age levels. However, the advice of Director Min Jung Kwon, a child development expert at Solive Ventures, was memorable to me because she pinpointed that role play should be provided at customized levels rather than age levels for children with developmental disabilities. This insight completely broke my one-dimensional way of thinking, which enabled me to think outside the box and gain more flexible and expanded thoughts and perspectives on the same issues.

Let me wrap up what we have discussed. We live in an era where words like coexistence, empathy,
and consideration are more frequently used than ever. What would be the reasons for the emphasis
on coexistence with others in our time?

Ikhyun Kwon Coexistence may refer to existing together, but I am willing to expand my idea into collaboration. Our participation in CES2024 and the creation of toys are all the products of collaboration with others. Because we are already coexisting with others, and this opportunity allows us to realize our shortcomings, the efforts to live together are necessary. This is true for coexistence between disabled and non-disabled people. Autism is more accurately called ASD, and the reason to name this disorder as “spectrum” may be to broadly embrace people along similar spectrums due to their varied degrees of symptoms.

Juho Seo When we went to the United States last year, we met a renowned professor researching ASD. It was a time when I was pondering how to reduce stereotypic behaviors in children with autism. However, the remark of this professor completely changed my thoughts: it is more important to change social perspectives to accept the stereotypic behaviors as natural rather than pretending to be non-disabled by reducing these behaviors. Since then, we have changed our direction as phrased "offering sensory values in response to stimuli," after best eliminating the keyword of stereotypic behaviors. Rather than distinguishing and separating children with autism from non-disabled children, we started to delve into how to develop products to promote more inclusive sales and uses.