"Restaurant Survival Keywords in the COVID Era... Authenticity, Speed, Brand"

Baemin Food Service Conference 'Jaranda Day 2020' Successfully Concluded
10 Food Service and Trend Experts Including Kim Nando, Kim Mikyung, and Lee Yeonbok Delivered Relay Lectures Over Three Days

At the conference "Jaranda Day 2020" hosted by Woowa Brothers for restaurant operators, Professor Kim Nando of Seoul National University, who appeared as a speaker on the 9th, is explaining about V-nomics.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Baedal Minjok's online conference, organized to support self-employed restaurant owners struggling due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), concluded successfully. The pre-registration number approached 9,000, reflecting high interest. The number of online conference viewers reached approximately 45,000.

On the 10th, Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, announced that they held the restaurant industry conference 'Jaranda Day 2020' from the 7th to the 9th. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the conference was held as a no-audience online broadcast instead of the usual offline format. Starting with a congratulatory speech by Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, lectures by 10 experts in the fields of dining and trends, including Kim Nando, Lee Yeon-bok, and Kim Mi-kyung, continued over three days. In her speech, Minister Park said, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also discover and expand various win-win cooperation opportunities."

The speakers delivered messages of encouragement to self-employed restaurant owners facing difficulties due to COVID-19 and looked ahead to upcoming dining industry trends. Professor Kim Nando of Seoul National University's Department of Consumer Studies, who appeared as a speaker, said, "What is changing due to COVID-19 is not the direction of trends but the speed," and urged, "We must find the golden ratio between face-to-face and non-face-to-face interactions and swiftly transform business models from a thoroughly customer-oriented perspective." He especially emphasized that in the restaurant industry, which is heavily affected by social distancing, finding non-face-to-face solutions while maintaining sincere communication filled with 'human warmth' is important.

Kim Mi-kyung, CEO of Yeonnam Town Creative, urged to "continue small and fast challenges." She emphasized, "In these times of rapid change due to COVID-19, speed is paramount. If there is even a 10% chance, start immediately, but prepare for the possibility of failure by trying 3 to 5 things simultaneously." Chef Lee Yeon-bok of Mokran delivered a hopeful message under the theme "The Best Chef Standing Over Obstacles." Chef Lee said, "During difficult times, the answer lies in preserving our store's tradition and valuing customers," sending a message of encouragement to small restaurant business owners.

In addition to experts, self-employed business owners who overcame COVID-19 also took the stage to share vivid stories of crisis management. Kim Il-do, CEO of Ildo’s Family, who reinterpreted Korean dishes such as dakgalbi and jjimdak to fit the latest trends, shared ways to secure competitiveness in the COVID-19 era under the theme "The Power to Sell My Own Things in the COVID Era." Lim Seong-hwan, CEO of Rabbit Company, who succeeded in transitioning from cafe delivery to food delivery business, shared know-how under the theme "Creating a Sustainable Brand."

Baedal Minjok plans to continue providing high-quality educational programs for self-employed restaurant owners and prospective entrepreneurs both online and offline through Baemin Academy after 'Jaranda Day 2020.' Since 2014, Baemin Academy has provided education to more than 26,000 small business owners through over 500 offline sessions. Since launching online education in July, it has offered more than 100 courses with over 20,000 participants.

Kwon Yong-gyu, Head of Value Management at Woowa Brothers, said, "In a situation where trends in the dining market are accelerating due to COVID-19, we hope this Baemin Restaurant Industry Conference will serve as a management compass for self-employed restaurant owners," adding, "We will continue to develop various educational programs and win-win activities to help overcome management crises in the restaurant industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.