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Hello
I have spent so much time with lettuce
This is my first time for me to stand in front of this many people
Every one of you looks like a smart and colorful lettuce to me
I see the world through lettuce and I think lettuce as a criterion in my life
I think I am really good at lettuce
Today’s speech is also about lettuce
I am not a good speaker, not a highly-educated person either
But I have developed the unique way of differentiation for the best lettuce
I’d like to share my 19-year-old lettuce-farming story with you
Can you see these pictures?
What do you think these are?
Actually I gave you a hint seconds ago
Correct! They seems to be lettuces to me
Especially the picture in the middle below the self portrait of Yoon Do-seo,
is called ‘Resurrection Lettuce’ in my farm
When you can’t find a solution in your work
But when you have to find new ways or innovative and creative ways to solve it
You can try to take a look in a totally different field then you might find one
If you have a headache due to problems, come by and work in my farm just for a day
If you have a headache due to problems, come by and work in my farm just for a day
Then your headache will disappear and that is why I love lettuces so much
Actually lettuce is everywhere and it is cheap, too
But I wanted to make it global product
Differentiation was the only way
I was born in Chung-pyung, a beautiful countryside in South Korea
My father used to say
‘Farmers should be living in the farm because his footprint is the best fertilizer’
I have always respected my father’s thoughts and still keep his words in mind
I actually didn't want to come here
I have major stage fright and nervous in front of many people like here
My landscaping business collapsed during IMF crisis in 1998
I had nowhere to borrow money I was the one with bad credit ratings
I was miserable and felt useless myself
When my business collapsed, there was nothing I could do
I felt helpless My friends couldn't help me
I had read 10,000 books but they couldn't help me either
I went to the bottom, then I opened my eyes again
So I started to differentiate my lettuce Let me tell you how I did that
I raised organic cattle Each of them costs $16,000
I raised them to produce manure
and used it to produce two-cent lettuce
Are they enough for differentiation?
No, I never stop trying
I opened a museum and a lab for for lettuces
I also made a lettuce park and a lettuce restaurant
I kept doing differentiation
Are they enough?
I got a certification of low-carbon generation as the first in Korea
Also I got certifications of USDA organic farming and ISO 2000
I've had over 100 ‘the first’s so far
Some people say I am crazy
because all these pictures seem to be lettuce to me
However, I can’t deny everything I think is about lettuce
Lettuce is my religion to me
When I started farming, I wanted to grow fruits, which looks coo
‘When you start with nothing, Working double is the only way to succeed’
The CEO of Pepsi said it, not me
At that time I had a meal less than twice a day
Just like fueling a car full before departure, I ate as much as I could whenever I had a chance
I needed to be fully charged for work
Sleeping? I slept less than 5 hours a day
Never more than 5 hours including a nap I thought 5-hour sleep was okay
Actually this is bad for health Eating much at once is bad for health
You need to eat lettuce to get energy for answers
Eating too much at once is never good for you
But I had no choice at that time because eating properly was impossible for me
I couldn't help it
As I had done it for 10 years I made my little dream come true
with innovative ideas
Please check these pictures
You see the picture of cabbage juice here
I’ll tell you the story how I made innovative products
When I first said I would merchandise it, everybody was against it
Why? They said people wouldn't buy it
and there wouldn't be no capital, no market, and no contributor
When I had a gastroenteritis and reflux esophagitis,
the cabbage salad and juice helped me a lot Various food of cabbage did great to me
I decided to go for it
while everybody was against it
I chose the way nobody ever walked before
People complained it smelled weird and didn't take good
To be honest, it’s easy to make it taste good
Taste gets much better with sugar, fruits
and other irrelevant vegetables
But good taste doesn't mean good for your body
Dr. Tateishi, vegetable soup inventor, said
‘If you mix the vegetables that do not match together they can be as deadly as potassium cyanide’
Many have tried to persuade me to give up customer’s health for better taste
But I didn't want to lower my standards
I don’t compromise any of my principles It is okay to sell less
I want to be acknowledged by quality in order to satisfy my customers
Some people asked me what it is good for
But I can not say it in a few words
In Choson dynasty in Korea, my scholar ancestor Yu Han-jun wrote this poem
‘Once you taste Jang-an cabbage juice, you can’t help falling in love with it
Then you can’t never forget about it’
Which country do you think is the best in farming? Native American or the Incas?
No, it is Korean
Korean farmers are best in planting veggies
Also they eat most veggies in the world
We eat the veggies even cows do not eat
They are more picky in eating
But we Koreans are not really picky
We have a lot of ways of cooking veggies
I felt bad Bad for what?
Korean is the best in growing and eating veggies
But we don’t have any world famous vegetarian restaurant
So I've dreamed since 10 years ago
“I will make the world best vegetarian buffet restaurant
with more than 100 kinds of organic veggies, rice, and salad
where everybody can enjoy at a reasonable price”
The restaurant is now under construction
Speaking of which,
Can you guess what is necessary for this restaurant?
Right, lettuces and Ssamjang the sauce for vegetables
Three years ago, my company held ‘The First National Championships of Korean Ssamjan and Doenjang’
with Chungju City offering a prize of $10,000
And Jang-an Farm won the competition
Starting from Chungju City, Chungcheongbuk Province I am planning to have 33 branches in South Korea
It’s coming soon You must be proud of it
Thank you for encouraging me with applause
When I said I would sell lettuces online, people laughed.
My wife laughed the most
saying “Who on the earth will order lettuces online?”
I set up the satellite dish on the roof of my house
When the internet just began in Korea, I create the very first organic online mall
And I started to sell lettuces online
I have a hundred of ‘The First’s including that
I started writing a journal about my farming since then It will have been for 10 years in March
Yes, it has already been 10 years
Anybody whose parents are farmers here?
Oh, quite a bit
When I was young whenever I go see my parents, I felt so bad
About what?
No matter what kinds farming they did, only ugly veggies were on their table
Good ones are only for sale
So, the bad-shaped, the less-matured, the injured, the over-sized, etc
Those are all going to farmer’s kitchen
That is why I started organic online market for half price
It started this year
For those who know the value of organic vegetables and fruits
Although they are not perfectly marketable
Not sure of its success Anyway I am doing it
Beside what I’ve said There are two more reasons why Jang-an lettuces are special
That will be my last message
Jang-an lettuces listen to the music by a tube audio 300b and Tannoy speakers
Music is for the sky, the land, cows, farmers and lettuces
Somebody might say anybody can do it with money
One more effort to make our lettuces special
One old lady in our lettuce farm has prayed every morning for 17 years
‘God bless all who eating our lettuces with happiness, health and wealth’
Her sincere prayer in this lettuce for 17 years
And mine too
My book has made it to its 14th printing, which was the first written by a farmer
This is from my book
‘It’s not that we don’t have hope or we are not given hope
but we give up having it’ This is what I wanted to say from the book
I wanted to share my stories of lettuce farming
and other interesting episodes with you
But I was too nervous to speak in a calm and orderly way
With the lettuces you eat everyday And the stories I shared today
I hope you can go home with a head of lettuce which is called ‘hope’ in your mind
I really hope that lettuce is growing well in your warm-hearted farm
Thanks for listening to my humble story
English subtitle by - Donghyun Kim (kimdonghyun80@gmail.com) - Agnes Choi (dooook@gmail.com) - Bumjoon Koo (cbs15min@gmail.com)
Reviewed by - Donghyun Kim (kimdonghyun80@gmail.com)