Episode 121: Chimaek Lands
“Indeed… Selling beer and chicken together would create an incredible synergy. It’s quite fascinating. I thought I was the only one with this idea…”
“So, are you giving us permission?”
“Hmm, the president’s proposal is very attractive. However, I’m concerned that if I join a specific company, I won’t be able to focus solely on the product development I desire. That worries me a bit.”
Lee Chang-jin smiled warmly at Lee Pil-jae’s actions, who seemed to be deep in thought.
“I understand your concerns. But wouldn’t it be more efficient to focus on development in a well-equipped kitchen rather than staying in such a remote place? We will guarantee full autonomy for product development. If you join us as the head of the food development department, we will also distribute a portion of the sales profit and provide separate incentives based on your contribution to product development, in addition to your base salary.”
“Wow, such a generous offer… It’s a bit overwhelming.”
Lee Chang-jin shook his head at Lee Pil-jae’s overwhelmed response.
“Haha, I may not know everything, but I pride myself on my ability to judge people. Our president Lee deserves such treatment.”
The conditions might have been excessive, but Lee Chang-jin was confident. This was because he knew that exactly one year from now, Lee Pil-jae would achieve great success in the food service industry.
In the past, Lee Pil-jae had opened Korea’s first pub in the basement of the Myeongdong department store, thanks to the recommendation of a high-ranking official who had fallen in love with the taste of his chicken. The pub was a massive hit immediately after its opening.
Lee Chang-jin vividly remembered the shock of that time.
‘Back then, it was really hot. Franchise inquiries flooded in from people who tasted the chicken, and within just one year, he became the president of a franchise with over 200 branches.’
However, the current situation for Lee Pil-jae was different. Although he had entered the business because of his love for chicken, he was still uncertain.
Hearing that Lee Chang-jin, who was far more financially powerful and recognized, was entering the franchise business, made him feel inadequate.
More importantly, the generous salary conditions greatly swayed Lee Pil-jae. He had initially thought that as long as the food tasted good, it would be enough to succeed in the industry. However, he realized that the industry was not simply about good food.
Although he didn’t express it, he had been under significant financial pressure due to focusing solely on development for almost two years without making any money.
“Why don’t you check out how we are preparing for the business and then decide? How about visiting our kitchen?”
Following Lee Chang-jin, Lee Pil-jae was amazed by the level of the development team and then by the scale of the company. Realizing that Lee Chang-jin was taking this business very seriously, he rethought his position.
‘With this level of investment, they will surely produce good products even without me. It will just take some time.’
Although he had a desire to run his own business, Lee Pil-jae was a realistic person.
No matter how great his skills and abilities were, the success or failure of a business ultimately depended on its capital.
The fact that a capable entrepreneur like Lee Chang-jin was investing so boldly meant he was already confident about success.
After much deliberation, Lee Pil-jae visited the headquarters in Seodaemun.
“Alright. I will follow your proposal, president. If you provide someone to support the sales and management so that I can focus solely on the development of chicken cooking, I will try to produce the product as soon as possible.”
“Great. Let’s team up.”
With Lee Pil-jae joining, Lee Chang-jin accelerated the development of chicken. He also arranged for Park Seung-hoon, who had experience in the chicken business, to assist with Lee Pil-jae’s chicken business. With Lee Pil-jae’s addition, the development of chicken progressed rapidly.
A month later, Lee Chang-jin rented an entire hotel to gather the franchise owners. They were all people who had been running franchises since the Hanse Beer days.
“What’s going on? Such a large gathering…”
“Could it be restructuring or the end of the business? Strange rumors have been circulating lately.”
“Don’t jinx it. Do you think President Lee would do such a thing? Put those thoughts away.”
Although Lee Man-soo also dismissed the idea, he was visibly tense, wondering if they were planning to raise royalties or logistics costs.
Given that Daese Beer’s support had dropped to single digits, he was worried deep down.
But what appeared in front of them was something entirely unexpected.
Instead of the necessary documents for contract renewal, there was a white plate.
Before people could get curious, a piece of fried food flew onto the plate.
“Please try one each.”
The golden fried chicken looked delicious at first glance.
“Please try it with beer and honestly evaluate how it tastes.”
The franchise owners cautiously put the chicken in their mouths.
The savory flavor and appropriate saltiness spread in their mouths.
Everyone was shocked by the crispy coating that felt like a snack.
“How is it?”
“It’s incredibly delicious. The crispy skin has a nice texture, and it’s savory.”
“This has potential. Is this the new menu?”
“Yes, this crispy chicken is our secret weapon to increase our sales. But to commercialize this chicken, we need the help of the franchise owners.”
“Help? What kind of help…”
“This product cannot be produced just anywhere. To maintain the quality of the frying, several conditions must be met. Most importantly, the oil temperature must be maintained at 165-175 degrees.”
What was needed was none other than a pressure fryer. The recently developed pressure fryer by Henny Penny was the secret to making the chicken chewy and tender.
However, the problem was the price of the fryer. The fryer alone cost 5 million won, and it required over 10 million won to install a kitchen and safety equipment.
For a typical franchise owner in the 1970s, this price was quite burdensome. Upon hearing the explanation, the franchise owners showed reluctance.
“Ten million won? We can’t afford such expensive kitchen equipment.”
“No matter how good the new product is, it’s a bit too much to invest that much.”
“Right. We aren’t digging up money from the ground; that’s a bit too much…”
The majority reacted as if it was too much.
Amidst the murmuring, Lee Chang-jin calmed the franchise owners.
“Ah, don’t be too scared. I’m not asking you to buy all the equipment. We will supply all the equipment needed for the chicken. You just need to pay a small monthly rental fee.”
“Rental? So you’re saying we can rent all the kitchen equipment?”
“Yes. It’s a monthly rental fee. We set it up that way to reduce the burden on the franchise owners.”
What Lee Chang-jin came up with was a novel kitchen equipment rental business.
He got the idea from medical companies that rent expensive medical equipment to hospitals.
Although the cost of the equipment was quite high, using a rental service allowed them to use expensive products without burden.
“The rental fee is about 200,000 won a month. There is no installation fee. I think that’s a manageable amount. What do you think?”
For Lee Chang-jin, the cost of purchasing nearly a hundred pieces of equipment was not insignificant, but he believed it was enough to be recoverable.
“But to install the equipment, we would have to close our business temporarily.”
At that, Lee Chang-jin spoke firmly.
“The choice is yours. For latecomers to win the war, we have to change the familiar battlefield. I believe this new menu, crispy chicken, is competitive enough.”
While people hesitated, President Lee Man-soo actively stepped in.
“Come on. What are you hesitating for? At this rate, we’re all going down together. In that case, there won’t be any franchises left. It’s now or never. Let’s give it a try.”
“Right. What do we have to lose at this point?”
“Let’s trust President Lee and go for it!”
Persuaded by Lee Man-soo, the franchise owners made up their minds. Lee Chang-jin winked at Lee Man-soo, grateful for his actions.
“Thank you for trusting me… You won’t regret it.”
The franchises supporting Lee Chang-jin went into a collective temporary closure.
With signs saying “Closed for internal construction” suddenly appearing at Daese franchises, strange rumors abounded.
The most likely rumor was that restructuring was imminent.
“No matter how competitive you are, you can’t beat collusion.”
“So, are we returning to a two-strong system? What a shame.”
In the industry, the dominant opinion was that Lee Chang-jin would soon quit the beer business.
That was understandable since the liquor and machinery industries were entirely different genres.
No matter how remarkable Daese Industries had been in trade and heavy equipment, the liquor industry was different.
In the stock market, there were rumors that Daese was already in the final stages of selling off, and they would push for a sale before the stock price dropped further.
Thus, the stock market was abuzz with speculation about when Lee Chang-jin would quit the beer business.
But all of this was part of a strategy devised by Lee Chang-jin.
He spread rumors that Daese Beer was in trouble to reassure competitors.
‘The results will be clear once we open the pub.’
In the meantime, the installation of chicken equipment and interior renovations began at each store. Employees dispatched from Daese Construction efficiently directed the interior work at each store, and in the meantime, the franchise owners focused on training to fry chicken in the headquarters’ chicken business kitchen team.
Additionally, the talented Yeo Jin-ju, along with university visual design students, was responsible for creating the logo.
Soon after, a large tasting and promotion event was held in front of a Daese Beer franchise, which was reopened as a pub in Myeong-dong, the fashion capital of Korea. Mascots in chicken head costumes handed out flyers.
“Everyone, please stop by. For just one month, we are offering chicken at half price.”
“Don’t miss out! Delicious chicken at half price! Plus, a one-plus-one discount on beer and chicken!”
The sight of the mascots drew significant public attention.
Office workers out for dinner paused at the savory smell wafting from the pub.
“Why are they advertising in costumes? That’s quite a spectacle.”
“Manager, they’re offering special discounts. Shall we give it a try? I’m curious about this new menu.”
“Shall we? Let’s give it a shot then.”
When Jeong Pil-ju and his two companions entered, they found an interior with red brick walls, large beer murals, and chicken-themed decorations.
“Oh, the interior here is different. It looks like they spent some money on it.”
At that, one of the counter staff proudly and politely responded.
“The headquarters issued an order, and we completely overhauled it.”
“Wow, the atmosphere is nice. This makes it more enjoyable to drink. More importantly, I’m curious about the new menu.”
“Ah, it’s fried food. Similar to sweet and sour pork. Our motto is chicken with beer!”
“So it’s a whole chicken battered in flour? Then give us three of those, and six bottles of beer, two per person.”
“Yes! I’ll bring it right away.”
The pub owner, trained as instructed, fried the chicken and served it.
The chicken, perfectly golden and crispy, soon appeared.
“Here is the new menu.”
The drumsticks, coated in batter, looked perfectly curled.
When the customers cautiously tasted the chicken, their eyes widened.
“Wow, this is amazing. How did you make this?”
“Strange, it looks similar to whole chicken, but the taste is completely different.”
“Haha, that’s our secret.”
It was only natural for people to be shocked. After all, before KFC arrived in 1984, there was no concept of marinating chicken in Korea.
There were methods to season it with salt and pepper and soak it in milk to remove the fishy smell and blood, but there was no concept of marinating the chicken itself.
The crispy chicken, thoroughly marinated and fried to a crisp, was a product that only appeared in the mid-1980s. As such, crispy chicken at this point was nothing short of a taste revolution.
“Wow! This goes down so smoothly with beer.”
“Hey! Two more chickens here! No, make it three!”
“Yes! Coming right up.”
After finishing six servings with his two companions, Jeong Pil-ju happily took out his wallet.
“Please pack one more chicken. I want to share it with my kids.”
“It’s 2,000 won for one chicken. It’s 3,000 won for two.”
“Then give me two.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
The pub owner stamped a card and said.
“Please take this discount coupon as well. Buy ten chickens and get a free beer.”
“Oh, this is great service. This place does good business.”
Koreans are very sensitive to trends. As word spread about the delicious taste, the situation changed.
A particularly impressed food columnist even wrote this review.
‘I can’t believe I didn’t know this taste existed. I’ve wasted my life. I never imagined such a combination could exist.’
As rave reviews started pouring in, the chicken sold like hotcakes. With the pub’s sensational popularity, sales soared by more than 50% in just two months.
- Continued in Episode 122 -
