From the beginning, Lee Hyun-woo was dreaming of a price revolution, envisioning a Korean version of the Amazon revolution at the end of the 20th century.
However, people living in this era feel a subtle fear and resistance towards untraveled paths.
At least Kim Yoon-soo was easily swayed, but it was uncertain whether Choi Sun-hwa, who was known for her strong opinions, would accept the advice.
‘Well, that’s her luck.’
After parting ways with Choi Sun-hwa, Lee Hyun-woo inwardly wished her good luck.
When he returned to the company, Han Se-jin was waiting for him.
The reason was simple.
“I have shortlisted a few models you mentioned last time.”
“Really?”
It was because of the advertising idea that came up during the workshop.
Perhaps this model might decorate the portal site that would be separated after this Chuseok.
“Let’s see. Who seems suitable?”
Lee Hyun-woo skimmed through the first page of the report Han Se-jin handed over.
“Talent Kim Do-hyun, huh.”
“Yes, he’s riding high these days.”
But he gets caught for marijuana soon after.
So, pass.
“Movie actress Yoon So-ra?”
“She has a good image.”
She’s fine for now.
But this woman also gets caught for marijuana.
Along with Kim Do-hyun mentioned above.
When Lee Hyun-woo saw the third page, his eyes lit up.
“Singer Kim Yoon-sun?”
“Ah… She was strongly recommended by Clones.”
“Clones?”
“Yes, she helped them out before. But it seems she’s having a hard time because of debt now.”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded and took a moment to organize his thoughts.
‘Kim Yoon-sun, huh.’
There wasn’t a man among the ‘7080’ generation in Korea who wasn’t a fan of Kim Yoon-sun at some point.
Lee Hyun-woo was no different.
Various images came to mind.
Seductive, alluring, bewitching, innocent, and so on.
Especially since he had seen her shocking debut and her naïve appearance before her death, Kim Yoon-sun’s image was complex yet favorable.
Unaware of Lee Hyun-woo’s thoughts, Han Se-jin continued to provide information.
“The public was quite disappointed with Kim Yoon-sun’s sudden retirement, but they were glad when she made a comeback.”
“She’s already retired? Come to think of it, it’s been about 10 years since her debut, right?”
“She’s still in her prime 20s. She debuted at a very young age. Oh, her age is also listed there.”
“Yes, we’re the same age.”
“That’s right.”
As Lee Hyun-woo showed the most interest, Han Se-jin continued to add explanations.
“As I mentioned earlier, she was active in Hong Kong and Taiwan after her retirement because of her aunt’s debt. She recently returned with her 7th album, but it didn’t do well. She’s looking to make a comeback…”
“Alright. I’ll meet with Kim Yoon-sun.”
“What? Really?”
“I’m a fan of hers too. Of course, it’s not out of personal interest. Her activities in Hong Kong and Taiwan appeal to me.”
Why? To break into those two countries through the portal site, it was decided that Kim Yoon-sun, who has current recognition there, would be suitable.
There was a simple reason why he didn’t tell people this.
While a leader must plan a complex future, followers perform best when following simple instructions.
For now, it was enough for people to know that Kim Yoon-sun was being recruited as a model for the portal site.
With this, Lee Hyun-woo, who had mentioned Hong Kong and Taiwan, smiled slightly and changed the topic.
“Kim Yoon-sun and the portal site… don’t they strangely suit each other?”
“Haha… yes…”
Han Se-jin answered but didn’t look convinced.
‘He doesn’t quite understand how Kim Yoon-sun fits in yet.’
The charm Lee Hyun-woo saw in Kim Yoon-sun was her sensual appearance combined with a naïve charm.
At first, only the former was highlighted due to her mysterious image, but as her naïve side was revealed, she gained popularity.
Unexpectedly, the public loves the contrasting charm of stars.
Kim Yoon-sun’s popularity in Taiwan and Hong Kong was also due to her clumsy Chinese.
The few interviews and talk shows she appeared on broadcasted this image, which won people’s hearts.
Her agency even asked her not to learn more Chinese to maintain this charm.
‘Not sure if she’s really that naïve in person.’
He felt a strong urge to confirm Kim Yoon-sun’s real persona soon.
Fortunately, Han Se-jin arranged a meeting for that evening.
It was possible the next day.
Was it because of his fanboy feelings?
He felt a flutter of excitement.
On his way home after work, he stopped by a hair salon.
“How would you like it?”
“Well, what should I do? Hmm…”
Lee Hyun-woo, who wanted to live differently from his past life in even one aspect, finally took the time to consider his hairstyle.
It had always been neat and unchanging, but this time he felt like doing something different.
“Can I dye it?”
“Of course. What color would you like?”
“I’m meeting a celebrity tomorrow. Make it stand out, please.”
“….”
“Just a bright color.”
“Just a bright color…”
“That one, that one. That color, please.”
The hairdresser followed his finger.
And widened her eyes, looking at a picture stuck on the mirror.
“Really… orange?”
“Yes, that one, please.”
“Really, orange?”
Nod, nod.
“Okay….”
He might regret this.
But the urge for change was so strong that he closed his eyes and endured it till the end.
After washing his hair, he looked in the mirror.
It seemed to suit him well.
Was the hairdresser seeing it similarly?
She had been surprised earlier, but now she smiled and said,
“Have you dyed it orange before?”
“Huh?”
“You must know that orange suits you well, right?”
It wasn’t true at all, but he said yes out of laziness.
However, his parents had quite a shocked expression when he got home.
“Your… hair…”
“In our industry, you need creativity. Both hair and fashion. Change influences emotions and imagination.”
“…”
Part of it was true.
To survive in this industry, you needed a rich imagination.
‘I said it without thinking, but I should encourage people about this from tomorrow.’
Looking back, most people came to work in neat, conventional attire.
Actually, all of them did.
Naturally, the next day at work, employees were making the same face as his parents.
So, Lee Hyun-woo repeated what he had told his parents the previous day.
“Our company runs on creative activities. But everyone’s hairstyle and outfit are uniform. That’s why I took the initiative to change my hair. You should express yourself freely too. It might influence your imagination and emotions.”
When the CEO says this, who would argue?
Some nodded reluctantly, while female employees like Yoo Jin-young had bright expressions.
Deciding not to interfere with their choice to dress neatly, he proceeded with the meeting.
But towards the end, he heard Woo Sang-won’s serious voice.
“An online shopping mall has launched.”
“Last time it was an auction site, and now it’s an online shopping mall?”
“It’s very similar to our Jungle.”
“Let’s take a look. Alright, everyone else gets back to work. The meeting is over.”
After reassuring the always sensitive employees with a calm voice, Lee Hyun-woo sat down.
It was similar, but still limited to computers and peripherals.
Moreover, they handled music CDs with a delivery fee of 2,000 won.
“They don’t seem to know yet. We lowered the delivery fee to 1,000 won through a business agreement.”
“They’ll find out soon enough. The Korean Transportation Company might approach them.”
“Online shopping seems like a decent business to start without much money.”
“As you mentioned before, this is a blue ocean. More places like this will surely emerge.”
“Then we should start preparing measures.”
The employees continued to express their concerns.
But Lee Hyun-woo remained calm.
“It’s true we need to prepare measures, but there’s no need to worry too much. As I’ve always said, this is something to welcome.”
“Welcome? Even though competitors are emerging?”
“They are competitors but also expand the ecosystem. And when a few more of these pop up, it will seem like a trend. During that time, we can focus on strengthening our core.”
All industries evolve in this manner.
For example, when semiconductors were thriving, Japan alone had ten companies.
Mass production followed, spreading to Korea and Taiwan.
Eventually, the semiconductor industry in East Asia grew significantly.
But what happened to them?
They were either eliminated or absorbed.
By better companies from Korea, Taiwan, or even the US.
Internet shopping will be the same.
Initially, there will be a scramble for a small market.
Then, many will close down due to cut-throat competition.
‘At that point, consumers will choose reliable places.’
This was where Lee Hyun-woo had confidence.
Additionally, they could boldly absorb the closed companies and bring in experienced developers.
‘But this is something for the future.’
Returning to reality, he examined the online shopping website closely, and it seemed incredibly crude to him.
Even at a glance, it couldn’t compare to the already advanced Jungle.
Though Jang Yoo-chul and Woo Sang-won might have had similar thoughts, they seemed worried about the continuous emergence of competitors.
As a leader, he had the duty to reassure them, so Lee Hyun-woo started to outline measures.
“Let’s first change the commission system for the auction site.”
“Huh? How?”
“Introduce a monthly subscription concept. No commission. For example, a 3,000-won monthly fee allows 10 auctions, and 5,000-won allows 20 auctions.”
Like the shopping section of Jungle, the auction site initially earned a lot from computer commissions.
But the situation changed with the introduction of 1 million won computers in the shopping section.
There were hardly any more computer listings in the auction.
Bids didn’t go well, and sellers rarely listed them.
Instead, memory, hard disks, and CD-ROMs were frequently listed.
These induced bids from computer experts, but the problem was still the commission.
He was confident that changing this system would lead the auction to a new phase.
‘After all, I have accelerated the era of auctions and online shopping, so what kind of butterfly effect will this cause?’
Even without this, Korea was destined to be an IT powerhouse.
By advancing IT like this, it might develop beyond his expectations.
‘Maybe investors will swarm in, reducing the risk of the financial crisis?’
Even if not, if the damage is much less than in the past life…
‘Then we need to make Jungle known to the world and first penetrate Asia…’
‘That’s why it’s a good idea to use Kim Yoon-sun as a model to target the Chinese-speaking regions.’
