AI is Time Compression, Handmade is Time Carving

Idus Shines a Light on the Value of 'Togetherness' at the 2025 Handmade Awards In an era where AI compresses time, the 9th Idus Handmade Awards, held on December 5th, honored the craftsmanship of 71 artists with the theme 'Things Made Possible by Togetherness'. Kim Dong-hwan, CEO of Backpackr, emphasized the power of community, stating, "Idus has walked the lonely path of artists for 10 years," likening it to how birds flying together can go further. The Grand Prize went to artist 'Jeongindang' in the food category. Balancing childcare, she quickly grasped SNS trends and created prototypes by hand faster than anyone else, demonstrating a 'speed of sincerity' that AI cannot analyze. Artist 'Senalda' in fashion/accessories, who received the Excellence Award, was on the verge of giving up due to deteriorating health and sluggish sales, but through the award invitation and interaction with other artists, she reaffirmed her will to challenge again. This was proven by the statement, "Idus has the power to prevent artists from giving up." The value of 'togetherness' manifested in concrete achievements. Through IP collaborations with Disney, Ottogi, and others, 156 new products were created, and artist 'Seyri', who worked with Haitai Ice, recorded 100 million won in sales. The 'Star Artist Project', which discovers talented artists and supports them to achieve 10 million won in monthly sales, saw 83% of the total 58 participants achieve their goals, transforming artist 'Rebeu', who was at 60,000 won per month, into an artist with 10.81 million won in monthly sales in just one month. The 'Intangible & Infinite Project', which supports traditional crafts, provided 1 billion won in support, and the d+ membership surpassed 150,000 members. The Idus-Tumblbug-10x10 ecosystem is growing, recording a cumulative transaction value of 2.8 trillion won (Idus 1.3 trillion won). CEO Kim Dong-hwan announced plans to move further forward in 2026 by strengthening gifting features, expanding IP, and entering the global market (especially Japan). No matter how much AI develops, the true value of handmade lies in 'solidarity between people'. Artists, while utilizing AI as a tool, created works by hand and walked each other's lonely paths together, demonstrating the power of solidarity.