Baek Jong-won’s magic has come to Gangjin this time. Gangjin-gun announced that Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, a restaurant business, paid a surprise visit to Gangjin-gun for two days from the 14th to the 15th.
This visit by CEO Baek Jong-won is to fully launch the 11 billion won ‘Namdo Taste No. 1 Gangjin Food Town Development Project’ with The Born Korea Co., Ltd., which was selected last June, and to create a specific blueprint for revitalizing the Gangjin-eup market. This is his second visit, following his visit in July of last year. There is already a lot of interest among local merchants about what kind of wind Baek Jong-won’s magic will bring to the Gangjin commercial district.
On the first day of his visit, the 14th, CEO Baek held a meeting at the Gangjin County Office with Gangjin County Mayor Kang Jin-won, The Born Korea CEO Baek Jong-won, and officials from The Born Foodservice Industry Development Institute.
At this location, an in-depth discussion was held for an hour on how to create a self-sustaining and revitalizing Gangjin-gun with a local economy that is revitalized in the long term rather than through temporary effects, along with measures to revitalize the Gangjin-eup market, Ogam-tong, and surrounding commercial areas.
Governor Kang Jin-won began by saying, “Right now, CEO Baek Jong-won’s master plan is very important for Gangjin. Please speed up the ‘Namdo’s No. 1 Taste Gangjin Food Town Creation Project’ so that it can become a decisive momentum to attract a large number of tourists in time for the opening of the Gangjin-Gwangju Expressway and Gangjin Station.”
CEO Baek Jong-won said, “Gangjin is a place where I often went on culinary trips during my college days, and I still can’t forget the plentiful and inexpensive Korean set meal that they would bring home with a full table.” He added, “If Yesan was the starting point as an inland base, we will take advantage of Gangjin’s charm as a small city bordering the sea, and through sufficient skinship with local merchants, we will create a food town that everyone wants and can grow together to satisfy.”
CEO Baek continued, “Rather than planning the whole thing and then having a grand opening, I think it would be more appropriate to start with one or two key local shopping malls to create the eye of the storm, observe their operations, and then decide on the direction for future advancement.”
In particular, he emphasized that it is most important to form emotional empathy with surrounding merchants through frequent meetings in advance and to communicate and let them know that they are working toward the same goal, especially regarding how merchants that benefit from increased sales and those that do not can coexist.
Above all, Baek Jong-won’s vision for his business is to respond to the crisis of local extinction with stories and unique flavors that reflect the region’s character, and to create tourist spots that not only domestic tourists but also foreigners want to visit, and to pass on the benefits to the next generation.
The meeting, which lasted over an hour, was evaluated as another step forward in the development of Gangjin Food Town, with the earnest desire for regional development in Gangjin-gun and the opinions of Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea.
CEO Baek, who was accompanied by the Baek Jong-won TV filming crew, continued the story with his signature sad smile and easygoing speech, expressing his confidence in ‘brand marketing.’
The Namdo Taste No. 1 Gangjin Food Town Development Project is largely divided into three areas: hardware, software, and private capital. Hardware includes ▲Gangjin-eup Market Susan-dong renewal ▲Ogam-tong specialty restaurant renewal ▲Ogam-satisfying event plaza maintenance ▲Namdo Food Officers’ Academy construction, etc., and software includes ▲Operation organization ▲Product development ▲Education, consulting ▲PR marketing. Private capital includes human resources and operating expenses, etc.
CEO Baek emphasized, “Regarding the ‘Gangjin-eup Market Susandong Renewal,’ we need to get rid of the stereotype that when you think of a ‘fish market,’ you first think of fresh fish and raw fish,” and “We need to start with a menu that is easy to eat and can be served all year round.”
After the meeting, CEO Baek personally visited the site of the new construction of the Daebon Food Industry Development Center (tentative name: Namdo Food Officers’ Academy) and carefully examined the geographical location, available living facilities, and surrounding environmental conditions.
Next, he visited Gangjin-eup Market and Ogamtong, which will be the main stages of this project, and toured the site and talked with merchants about revitalizing the stagnant Gangjin-eup Market and the surrounding commercial district, coexistence with local merchants, and specific design directions, showing his best efforts in the final inspection before the project goes ahead.
The next day, I was busy visiting the Malyang Fish Market and personally checking out the fish coming from Gangjin.
Gangjin County Governor Gang Jin-won said, “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to CEO Baek Jong-won for his visit, which showed great interest in Gangjin County.” He added, “Gangjin County will also quickly prepare so that there are no disruptions to the business. We will work together as one to seize the best opportunity to promote Gangjin, the number one destination for delicious food in the southern region, to the entire country.”
Governor Kang also added, “We will do our best to ensure that the Gangjin Food Town project revitalizes the county’s commercial district, increases the income of small business owners and self-employed workers, and establishes it as a new successful model for revitalizing traditional markets by attracting tourists and creating jobs for young people.”
Meanwhile, Gangjin-gun has been actively courting Baek Jong-won since March of last year, when he personally met with him to propose the revitalization of Gangjin-eup Market and Ogamtong, as well as the attraction of the Daebon Korea Food Industry Development Center to each region, in order to create Gangjin Food Town, a campaign promise of the 8th elected governor of Gangjin-gun.
Here, we established a dedicated team, the Food Town Development Team, in January of this year, and promoted a public-private cooperation regional mutual growth agreement project with Daebon Korea. As a result, we were finally selected for the ‘2024 Public-Private Cooperation Regional Mutual Growth Agreement Competition’ hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in June, securing a project cost of 11 billion won.
Queen Choi Ha Na Reporter Photo Kang Jin Gun
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2024-08-17 12:11:51