korean food / seoul / Episode 1. The restaurant we loved, Shikigami – 1197

For those of you who eat a lot because you're lonely

For those of you who slept a lot because you were bored

For those of you who cried a lot because you were sad, I write

Chew your cornered heart like rice

Because life is something you have to digest anyway

Cheon Yang Hee, Bob

Let's eat a meal!

Since when are you saying you want to eat a meal just as a greeting? Why does the time spent eating while asking for greetings from someone sitting face to face feel like such a luxury? I don't know when it became so difficult and difficult to say that it's worth eating and eating.

We call a family a family (eating) in the sense that they live together and eat meals together. Eating together means talking to each other, sharing that time, and acting as a meaningful medium. As time goes by, I get along with the people I eat with.

Therefore, eating a meal has a social meaning that goes beyond just a meal. When we eat with someone, we constantly interact with them.

We worked to find points of contact between people. The location-based social media service “SEEON (SEEON)” was the beginning. Like the evaluation of Korean Foursquare, I focused on a service base where I could interact with friends around me. I wanted to create an environment where each person can record the places they have visited, share them with others, and have a conversation.

However, when I went after those people's “points of contact” and accumulated data, it was a bit strange and amazing.

Those who chase taste

People visited restaurants the most and spent a long time, as if they had promised a “dinner place” as a medium for meeting new people. Whether it's when a man and a woman meet and start a new relationship, or when they start an important business meeting, “Shall we have a meal?” It all starts with that word.

We created a new service based on data from over 100 million places where people have checked in at “Cion.” The name “Kookmin Gourmet Shikishin” was given to the service. As a result of analyzing the main popular places where people meet, we found that many people focused on the fact that the place they checked in was a “restaurant,” and they were most enthusiastic about delicious food.

So we decided to go find a restaurant ourselves. I wanted to introduce proven, high-quality restaurants so that the time you wait to meet people can be even more exciting. In the midst of a flood of advertising information pouring out after a one-second search on the internet and blogs, I decided to find the right “restaurant” and connect people.

Restaurants visited by real foodies

In fact, it was also true that I had confidence in the gourmet content. This is because I had my own hobby of enjoying the flavors by visiting restaurants called gourmet restaurants 2-3 times a week along with recommendations from friends around me.

I defined the criteria that people place importance on when looking for restaurants, and set priorities based on the restaurants they have visited in the past. Furthermore, a “food service” was created based on the criteria previously selected by organizing restaurants that are visited by many people using data.

When you're looking for a delicious meal in an area you're visiting for the first time, or when you're looking for a good place to meet your favorite people. When you're looking for a delicious place for many other reasons. “Kookmin Gourmet Shikishin,” a gourmet service connecting “taste” and “people,” was launched for that precious time.

I hope for a meal

Not only consumers but also restaurant owners paid attention. There was a “Taiwan Castella” uproar not long ago. Taiwan Castella caught on the radar of a TV program looking for an honest restaurant. The bosses, who were searching for their dreams in Taiwan's Castella with a broadcast program that was less than an hour long ago, had no choice but to close their doors.

After the broadcast, the confectionery industry raised objections that cooking oil is also used in chiffon cakes, but the closing of the business was unstoppable. The instability of popular franchises and the limitations of one-size-fits-all franchises had no choice but to be clearly revealed.

What would it have been like if we had covered the philosophy and daily lives of each franchise owner in a little more detail? Also, how great would it be if there were more consumers who could find and love “real” restaurants?

Finding the right restaurant and promoting its value

What I feel when expanding food and drink services is that the number of people entering the restaurant business is increasing, and the number of “restaurants” is constantly increasing, and the number of restaurants that are disappearing is increasing. The restaurant district in Yeouido became sluggish day by day, and Gangnam, which is always crowded with crowds, saw another store in the same location as the day was far away.

There must be a so-called “big hit” somewhere, and the store will be so crowded that you have to stand in line, but most stores just survive day by day dreaming of a “big hit.”

Furthermore, in October of last year, many restaurants entered a further stagnation due to the implementation of the Kim Young-ran Act. Finding the right restaurant and promoting its value. A “symbiosis” where customers and stores can live together. Wouldn't that be the “future together” that Shikigami from all over the country dream of? Connecting stores that pursue the right foods with customers who want healthy and tasty meals. At that point of contact, we found a way to be together.

Therefore, Shikishin was overshadowed by large franchises and gathered restaurants that were not showing their true value. They hoped that dining cards would change the game of restaurant vouchers that were only available to large companies and large franchises, and that they would be a trick to save the difficult restaurant industry.

In the future, I would like to meet “real” restaurants that are trying to win over the franchise with their own know-how, and the owners who are public figures hidden in them, and I will also introduce a warm spring day date course that you can enjoy with a dining card.

May Dorando sit face to face with loved ones and share their warmth with each other. I hope I can keep my promise to eat a meal even in the midst of my busy life. Sometimes I wish I could give you a warm time. I hope for a meal.