From Last Place in Funeral Hall Sales to Number One in 3 Years: Park Chang-deok's Second Act in Life

[EBS Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door]

"Did all previous CEOs die at age 57?" A mysterious funeral hall... A massive reversal from 'last place in sales to number one in the region in 3 years'! Park Chang-deok's special secret to breaking the death jinx!

- A wholesaler earning '10 million won per month' enters university at age 42? Funeral director Park Chang-deok, who entered the Department of Funeral Services, says, "Accompanying someone's final moments... I was actually scared to enroll" - From a top-ranking regional funeral director to a 'guardian angel' for abandoned animals... Seo Jang-hoon, meeting Park Chang-deok, the 'owner of 30,000 pyeong of land,' feels bitter saying, "The reality is they die if no one takes them in."

On 'Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door,' the special second act of Park Chang-deok's life will be revealed—transforming from a funeral director who led a top-ranking regional funeral hall to a 'guardian angel' for abandoned animals.

In the EBS 'Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door' broadcast at 9:55 PM tonight (the 23rd), the turbulent life of Park Chang-deok, the 'father of abandoned animals' who has dedicated 7,000 pyeong of land as a sanctuary for animals, will be highlighted. As the owner of approximately 30,000 pyeong of land, Park Chang-deok lives in a quiet rural village, caring for and living with six animals after an early retirement. His warm daily life of gifting new lives to animals that were used by humans and then abandoned or wounded provides a quiet sense of emotion. Seo Jang-hoon and Jang Ye-won cannot hide their sadness at the stories of animals with heartbreaking backgrounds, such as a horse culled due to poor performance after racing, a meerkat that spent its life trapped inside a glass enclosure at an animal experience center, and a Welsh Corgi rescued from a breeding farm and moved to an abandoned dog shelter. In particular, Seo Jang-hoon, who is famous for his love of animals, expresses his distress, saying, "When a person's situation worsens, animals are the first to be abandoned. It is heartbreaking that the reality is they can only face death if no one takes them in."

Park Chang-deok was a person who walked a path of success, working in the pharmaceutical wholesale business for about 10 years from the mid-1980s and earning 10 million won per month. However, the business became rapidly difficult due to the separation of prescribing and dispensing implemented in 2000. Later, at the late age of 42, at his wife's suggestion, he entered the Department of Funeral Services, becoming a 'late-blooming university student of the class of '03.' At that time, along with changes in funeral culture, departments of funeral services were just beginning to emerge in universities, but it was a time when the profession of funeral director itself was quite unfamiliar. Adding to this, the fear of having to face someone's final moments made Park Chang-deok hesitate to even enroll. He confesses his feelings at the time, saying, "When I actually tried to enroll, I was so scared." The person who gave him reliable courage was his wife. Encouraged by his wife's support, Park Chang-deok studied more intensely than anyone else because he started late, and eventually, before even graduating, he was scouted as a general manager of a large funeral hall, starting his new life as a funeral director.

Then one day, Park Chang-deok received a mysterious phone call. The content of the call from an unknown number was a proposal asking, "Would you like to acquire the funeral hall?" It was an enticing opportunity, but there were suspicious aspects to deciding readily. The funeral hall in question was shrouded in mystery, as both the first founder and the second CEO had passed away at the age of 57. Park Chang-deok reveals, "When I received the proposal, I was 57 years old. All sorts of thoughts came to mind." However, Park Chang-deok made the bold decision to acquire the funeral hall despite the adverse conditions of both the 'death jinx' and being 'on the verge of closing.' And the funeral hall, which was last in sales in the region, achieved an amazing reversal, recovering its sales just 2 years after he took over management and rising to number one in regional sales in 3 years. The special secret of how Park Chang-deok safely passed the 'devilish age of 57' and revived the funeral hall on the brink of closing, as well as the hidden reason why he suddenly declared retirement after leaving a successful funeral hall, will be revealed on EBS 'Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door' on Wednesday, September 23, at 9:55 PM.

End. (Photo provided = EBS 'Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door')

◆ At a Glance

· Issuing Organization : EBS

· Category : Seo Jang-hoon's Millionaire Next Door

· Distribution : September 23

Source : EBS Press Release

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