After talking with Koo Chang-mo, Lee Hyun-woo began to mentally design a successful scenario for the food truck idea.
“For the food truck to succeed, there must definitely be a lot of people eating it.”
Since Lee Hyun-woo has never done things half-heartedly once he sets his mind on something, he started to delve deeper.
He thought it would be great if food trucks, a future food culture, became a symbol of Jeju Island, and he hoped that more people would visit Jeju Island for its iconic food. To make this happen, he decided to plan events targeting food trucks.
“I should hold a festival.”
Having already rolled up his sleeves, Lee Hyun-woo infinitely expanded the blueprint of Silicon Beach based on this idea.
On one side, a research lab with a mix of locals and foreigners as the center of the information revolution, and on the other side, people singing, dancing, eating, and drinking.
It was a good picture.
Didn’t Silicon Valley also emerge against the backdrop of hippie culture?
“This would be fun!”
Finally, Lee Hyun-woo was hooked on the imaginary picture he had drawn.
At times like this, it was hard for anyone to stop him.
A while later, at a weekly executive meeting, he presented his blueprint to the four affiliate company presidents, including Woo Sang-won.
“I’ve mentioned it several times, but establishing a Silicon Beach in Jeju Island will solidify the future of 【Jungle】. I’m not just talking about it; I’m meeting with the Jeju Governor frequently and have invited foreign corporate research labs, including Billy Kates, Jamie Wang, Steven Job, and Ray Burin and Michael Face.”
Up to this point, the content had been conveyed through Lee Hyun-woo or his secretaries.
But now he began explaining how to materialize this plan.
“I’m sure you all know that the role model for Silicon Beach is Silicon Valley. It’s not just about copying the appearance to make it similar. The spirit of Silicon Valley was born from hippie culture. As you know, Steven Job was also a famous hippie. In that sense, for a successful Silicon Beach in Jeju Island, I believe we need to create a unique local culture rather than just focusing on appearance. Therefore, I propose that we hold a summer festival hosted by 【Jungle】.”
“A… festival?”
“What kind… of festival…”
“What do you mean? Think of it like a college festival. Invite singers and hold concerts. Admission would be free, so wouldn’t both Jeju locals and tourists come to see it?”
Those who were momentarily speechless quickly began to agree.
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
“Indeed. We can let people know that 【Jungle】 is firmly established in Jeju Island.”
“Not only that, but the locals here would also like it. It shows that we are starting something that benefits the local community.”
“Whenever people gather, anything can succeed. Isn’t that the concept of a platform?”
“In that sense, it would be best to announce the festival when the subscription for our public offering is highly successful and 【Jungle】’s attention is at its peak.”
“Agreed.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled as if he had expected everyone to like it.
“I should thank Ah-young for this.”
The idea had expanded from food trucks to the culture of Silicon Beach in Jeju Island.
The starting point? Thanks to Kim Ah-young’s culinary skills(?).
In this sense, he said to the gathered presidents,
“Since you’re in Jeju Island, I would like to treat you to a meal at my house.”
“Wow, really? Thank you.”
“I’ll finally get to taste Sister-in-law’s cooking.”
Woo Sang-won and Lee Jung-woo expressed their expectations one by one, while Oh Min-woo and Jang Yoo-chul looked at them with pity.
Lastly, Lee Hyun-woo, with a mysterious smile, picked up his phone and called his wife.
“Hey, it’s me. I think you’ll need to prepare more dinner tonight. Not only Min-woo and Yoo-chul but also Jung-woo and President Woo might come. Huh? How about the explosive spicy fish stew from last time? Hold on. Min-woo, Yoo-chul, how was the explosive spicy fish stew from last time? The guys say they liked it. They’re giving me a thumbs up.”
The next day, Woo Sang-won and Lee Jung-woo had to frequently visit the restroom.
It seems the ‘explosiveness’ referred to the level of spiciness, causing them some digestive trouble.
However, Lee Hyun-woo had already adapted, and Oh Min-woo and Jang Yoo-chul knew how to control their intake.
“We couldn’t be the only ones to suffer, but it feels oddly good.”
Fortunately for the three of them,
Kim Ah-young decided she couldn’t just play around anymore and finally scheduled her start at the Jeju branch of 【Seorabeol Hotel】.
A few days later, 【Jungle】’s public offering subscription hit an all-time high.
With 40 trillion won in deposits, the heat was palpable.
A slew of related reports followed, and after that, the Jeju Island festival planned by Lee Hyun-woo graced newspapers and news.
In summary, a cultural festival would be held in Jeju Island in June, and for this, all the top singers causing a recent Hallyu wave would hold concerts over several days.
Additionally, large banners on portals advertised inviting famous traditional market or street food from all over the country.
It was even mentioned that 【Jungle】 would provide trucks for cooking food for free if needed, which seemed to have a significant promotional effect.
Soon, Lee Hyun-woo received the results.
“The Chuncheon Dakgalbi and Makguksu team is coming.”
“Byeongcheon Sundae also expressed their intention.”
“Are they all famous for being delicious?”
“Yes, we confirmed it. Jeonju Bibimbap also wants to join.”
“And Damyang’s Bamboo Rice and Tteokgalbi too.”
The continuous reports made Lee Hyun-woo’s mouth water.
Ulsan Bulgogi, Yeongdeok Snow Crab, Uijeongbu Army Stew, and Tongyeong Chungmu Kimbap were also mentioned.
“Ah, we must also recruit from Itaewon!”
“Huh? Why Itaewon…”
“It’s for the foreigners!”
Han Se-jin quickly grasped Lee Hyun-woo’s intent faster than Kang Dong-ho.
So as soon as Lee Hyun-woo nodded, they started contacting that area swiftly.
That evening, various street foods from multiple countries were added.
They also included foods specialized in Jeju Island and launched advertisements to recruit chefs from Jeju’s traditional markets and street vendors.
However, unlike the chefs recruited from across the country, those from Jeju Island were given different benefits.
They were not only lent food trucks for a short period but were also offered long-term leases, as stated in the content.
To ensure accessibility, they even advertised in newspapers and local cable channels, garnering high interest and many inquiries from applicants.
Thanks to this, Lee Hyun-woo had to once again seek help from the talent development department.
【Jungle Holdings】 considered two departments as the pillars of the group. These were the talent development department and the financial department. Lee Hyun-woo regarded these two departments as the core of the holding company, and today he had to assign a new task to the head of the department, Koo Man-hoe.
“Taste is important, but sincerity and responsibility are crucial virtues. So, please select the people who will surely make the food trucks a success from among the numerous applicants.”
It was a misconception to think that the talent development department at 【Jungle】 only handled recruitment.
Simply put, they had a comprehensive map of job opportunities in South Korea.
There was a reason for this: Lee Hyun-woo had given them a special mission in the past.
- If I step down from the group’s management and work at the foundation, I want to carry out charitable activities related to job creation.
Even though he had been reborn and avoided the IMF crisis, Lee Hyun-woo had still looked at the flood of unemployed people with pity.
Since South Korea’s social safety net was not yet robust, he turned his attention in that direction, and the talent development department expanded to 100 people, remaining within 【Jungle Holdings】.
Naturally, Koo Man-hoe’s vigorous activity was unrestricted by time, place, field, or domain.
“I’ve sorted it out according to each cuisine. Please take a look.”
He had already prepared a report.
As soon as Lee Hyun-woo received it, he smiled with satisfaction.
It contained neat and promising content.
Here’s one example:
Name: Lee Byung-hoon
Food Type: Octopus Bread
Strengths: Uses only locally sourced Jeju barley and octopus, and the bread is stuffed with whole mozzarella cheese, making it attractive to people of all ages as well as foreigners.
Remarks: Has never taken a break in 10 years of experience and has a good reputation for being friendly.
Personal Aspirations: Applied after seeing the food truck advertisement while considering expanding the business beyond the traditional market main store.
Anyone could tell that this was the result of fieldwork and big data accumulated through direct meetings.
After thorough verification, they conducted interviews and finally proceeded with modifying the food trucks.
A total of fifty trucks, half of which were given to Jeju locals.
The other half would be given to applicants from all over the country through frequent events.
However, the modification work was not possible in Jeju and was carried out in Ulsan, after which the trucks were shipped to Jeju.
By this time, the summer festival was almost upon them, and Jeju Island seemed to be bustling with preparations for concerts, various cultural events, and food trucks.
The number of tourists also began to increase significantly.
Due to Hallyu, people from Japan, China, and other countries started arriving to see the concerts, and flights and ferry services between the mainland and the island increased. Hotels, pensions, and other accommodations were fully booked, even utilizing private lodgings.
Naturally, Jeju Governor Koo Chang-mo was astonished.
“Wow, this is how regional development happens when a company comes in.”
Of course, companies had existed in Jeju Island before, but 【Jungle】 was on a different scale.
After the unprecedented public offering subscription and listing, 【Jungle】 proudly ranked third in domestic market capitalization, an undisputed large conglomerate.
Moreover, it was a leading group that would illuminate the future of information and communication.
“To avoid inconveniences in business, I must grant whatever Chairman Lee Hyun-woo wants.”
To be honest, it was more accurate to say that Jeju Island was fully supporting 【Jungle】 rather than the other way around.
Needless to say, next year’s tax revenue would be several times that of this year, so from now on, he instructed the related departments to fully cooperate to create an ecosystem that 【Jungle】 desired.
This meant that administrative regulations would not likely hinder 【Jungle】’s innovations.
As the region and the company formed a win-win relationship, the curtain finally rose on the summer festival, and Lee Hyun-woo, along with his wife Kim Ah-young, could enjoy some real food, tasting the dishes from the food trucks.
