Babe started a Jjamppong (Spicy seafood noodle soup) restaurant 8 years ago.

He ran three food businesses at the same time, including a restaurant and an indoor pub.

He experienced a new world of pain in managing employees.

He realized why people say that food business should be the last one to try after failing all other businesses.

He has experience of closing all three stores at the same time.

If I were to describe this in terms of difficulty, it would be like this among the businesses that Babe has run.

Publishing company (B2B business with no personal contact) > Language school (specializing in college students without dealing with parents) > Pension (only occasional phone calls) >>>>>>>

Study cafe (dealing with middle school students) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Restaurant

Whether it's customer management or employee management, restaurants are overwhelmingly difficult.

In other words, the lower the level of human contact, the lower the difficulty.

He started a restaurant because it looked fun and he thought he could make a lot of money, but after experiencing it firsthand.

He was so disgusted.

(The owner of Yeondon Pork Cutlet in Jeju Island, which has a long waiting line, said that his annual income was 70 million won while working so hard)

However, 0304 Daegu Jjamppong was a Chinese restaurant that he cherished, even registering its trademark.

He didn't shut it down and entrusted the operation to an individual.

He met a skilled chef who was a credit defaulter but dreamed of making a comeback.

He has been running the business well until now.

The place is called 0304 Daegu Jjamppong.

This is not an advertisement.

It's because it's going to close soon.

Since last May, when I told you about the relocation of the Daegu Jjamppong main branch to Bukgu-cheong, I have never written a blog post about any Jjamppong restaurant ads.

Today, the reason why I am writing about 0304 Daegu Jjamppong is because it is about to close down.

I wanted to organize my thoughts.

I won't mention the taste.

Taste is just a relative concept.

(If you wait in line and wait to eat, it's all delicious)

When it opened 8 years ago in Beomeo intersection, Suseong-gu, Daegu.

The price of Jjamppong was 7,000 won.

It's still being sold for 7,000 won.

And the chef comes to work at 6 am every day to boil ox bone broth in a large cauldron.

Thanks to the hard-working representative couple.

Recently, the daily sales have reached an average of 3 million won, showing a stable growth.

0304 Daegu Jjamppong, located near Daegu Bukgu-cheong, will soon be closing.

Last summer, the chef told me that he wanted to quit.

(There are stories about the labor office and the hygiene office that only those who have run food businesses know)

He said he would endure it for a while.

Then I got a call from him the other day.

"Representative... my body and mind are very tired.

First, I want to close the store and take a break for a while.

What do you think about handing over the store?"

As the trademark holder and investor, it was not easy for me to allow him to quit a successful business.

But I had seen the employees I trusted being extorted and threatened, and being called to the labor office and police station.

I couldn't stick to my own opinion.

I also have a memory of going around the labor office, police station, hygiene office, and prosecution office when I was running the business myself.

In the end, I closed down the business and took care of my mental health.

"Then do as you wish.

First, get your injured wrist and elbow ligaments treated."

And after I hung up the phone, I contacted the buyer who was waiting within an hour.

We immediately put our signatures on the contract.

I wanted to reduce the number of employees as much as possible by using table kiosks and serving robots to avoid calls from the labor office.

(The number of employees and calls from the labor office are proportional.

I was so naive that I thought having many employees was a sign of success, but then I got a harsh lesson)

It is really difficult to sustain a food business (as well as most self-employed businesses that employ people) in South Korea due to the PC-oriented labor rights and the prevailing principle of grievance redress.

(South Korean self-employed business owners,,,, I just want to comfort and support you)

The food business representatives who appear on YouTube and boast about their high income are just trying to promote their stores and recruit franchisees.

It's not easy to endure the cognitive dissonance between what comes out of your mouth and the figures in your account books.

The good news is that the store recorded good sales at a good location.

The investment has been recovered X times over.

I'm planning to provide financial treatment to the chef couple, who were very hurt, with half of the profits.

I think they will clean up the restaurant while receiving treatment, but I will recommend that they launch overseas in the future.

I've been planning to launch a food business in Bangkok with Pepe, the Daiso developer, for a long time.

I think it's time to set up a business in Bangkok, which is free from labor office attacks.

But now is the time for absolute mental and physical rest.

After closing the business, I'm going to invite the chef's family to Byron Bay, a pension I run in Geoje.

They will get to relax for 4-5 days.

Advice for prospective self-employed business owners

After running a business for over 20 years,

Prospective self-employed business owners in South Korea.

I have three pieces of advice for you.

First,

Prepare for your business with SOU business, which I always advocate on my blog.

Sharing Instead of hiring employees, consider joint venture businesses!

Outsourcing Instead of hiring employees, consider outsourcing contracts!

Unmanned Instead of hiring employees, consider kiosks and robots!

Don't be fooled by the franchise owners who appear on YouTube and boast about their sales with a smile.

B2B transactions may cost more in the beginning, but do it anyway.

B2B transactions result in civil lawsuits, but employee-related issues lead to criminal lawsuits with the labor office acting as your lawyer.

If you lose the lawsuit, you become a criminal.

Second,

Do a tax-free business if possible.

Hospitals, Korean medicine clinics, butcher shops, fruit and vegetable stores, academies, language schools, and private tutoring institutes.

Tax-free businesses are exempt from the 10% value-added tax.

Don't forget, even if it doesn't seem like much.

The flower of a day, the power of ten years.

Instagram hot place for six months.

(The flower blooms for ten days, the power lasts for ten years...)

However, tax-free businesses often last for over ten years.

They are qualitatively different from ephemeral businesses like Taiwanese Castella shops and sticker photo booths.

Third,

Consider starting a business overseas.

Actually, you can run a food business even if you can't speak a single word of English.

(You can find examples in the Canada episode of Humans Story)

In Anglophone countries like the US, Canada, and Australia.

Food prices are also high, and there is a tipping culture, so you can earn an additional 15% or so.

In the late 1990s, when I was studying in Australia.

Korean food business owners always said something.

If you have the skills to barely make a living by running a restaurant in Korea.

You're guaranteed to make a fortune in Australia.

(Hmm... 0304 Byron Bay?)

Now, due to the K-wave, you can make money just selling gimbap (Korean rice rolls).

In the second part, I will organize the reasons why Babe is looking into the overseas market.

I hope this information is helpful.

South Korean self-employed business owners

Fighting!