Kimchi master Jeong Min-seo lost 2 billion won before reviving factory
Jeong Min-seo, the youngest kimchi master in South Korea, will share her journey of losing 2 billion won in the kimchi business after a successful career in the denim industry on the EBS program "Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door."
Kimchi master Jeong Min-seo will share how she lost 2 billion won and discarded over 100 tons of kimchi after her Pyeongchang factory faced bankruptcy. The EBS program "Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door" airs the story of her transition from a successful denim entrepreneur to a kimchi producer who now produces 1 million heads annually.
[EBS Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door]
The EBS program "Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door" will highlight the turbulent success story of Jeong Min-seo, who transformed from a denim entrepreneur into a kimchi master. The broadcast will detail her devastating failure in the kimchi business, driven by confidence in a four-generation family recipe, and her persistent journey to revive a factory pushed to the brink.
In the episode airing at 9:55 PM on the 4th, the program will listen to the life story of Jeong Min-seo, South Korea's youngest kimchi master. While she is currently a "kimchi wealthy" individual producing 1 million heads of kimchi annually, she once enjoyed a glamorous heyday in the denim business. Demonstrating exceptional business acumen early on, she built assets of 1 billion won in her early 30s, earning enough in a single year to purchase an apartment in Gangnam. The secret to the crowds of customers at her denim stores was a "customer list as thick as a brick," a mystery that will be revealed on the show.
During her successful run in the denim industry, Jeong received an unexpected proposal from her mother to inspect a bankrupt kimchi company for sale in Pyeongchang. Upon arriving in Pyeongchang, she was met with an eerie, abandoned factory. Despite the intense first impression, Jeong decided to acquire the factory, believing her business skills from the denim industry combined with the culinary talent inherited from her mother would guarantee success. Her arrival as a young female CEO caused a stir in the quiet rural village; dressed in trendy urban fashion and midriff-baring tops, she drew significant attention from residents. This presence was met with skepticism and prejudice, with locals questioning how long she could last or if she could even boil ramen properly, but Jeong pushed forward toward her goals regardless of the doubt.
Jeong's sole strategy to save the failed kimchi factory was to compete on "taste." Confident that her mother's gifted talent would ensure sales, she dreamed of a bright future. However, culinary talent and business management proved to be different matters. After investing all the money earned from her denim business along with loans, unsold kimchi piled up in refrigerators. This resulted in a 2 billion won loss only one and a half years after starting the business. Jeong confessed to the shock of the situation, noting she once had to discard over 100 tons of kimchi, making her realize the true meaning of feeling "darkness ahead." Despite the massive losses and consecutive setbacks, she did not give up and made another decisive move to save the collapsing factory. The details of how she found a breakthrough to revive the failing factory will be revealed on the EBS program "Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door" on Wednesday, November 4, at 9:55 PM.
Covers K-pop for KSW Journal, and also writes about Culture and K-Variety.
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