This was a thought-provoking episode. There's a lot of substance from this episode so get ready and put your thinking caps on! The episode was released on December 15, 2015.
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Today's episode starts with an introduction of the one-day guest Mark from America. He lived in Korea for four years and works at his own company. Tyler said that he has heard of Mark before due to Mark's successes. Since Mark is from Princeton University and Tyler is from Chicago University, the MC's ask which school is ranked higher. Tyler acknowledges that Princeton is ranked higher.
Everyone is wowed when it is revealed that Mark is from New York. The MC's say that people have a good image of New York and many want to live there.
Mark says that there is a misunderstanding of New York's image. There are two popular ideas of New York. One is a Sex in the City image, in which everyone is dressed in high-class fashion and everything is like a magazine. The other is a CSI image, in which there is a lot of crime and violence in the city.
It's time for the Global Cultural Conversation:
MC Sung Si Kyung says according to Bloomberg News, Korea is #1 for most innovative country in the world. Korea also is #1 for the fastest internet in the world and also for the usage of smartphones. The MC's ask what the other countries are #1 at.
- China has the fastest bullet train in the world. Takuya says that Japan has fast bullet trains, but Zhang says that China broke the record. However, Takuya says that Japan's trains are safer and Zhang says that's because their trains are slower, which makes everyone laugh. Takuya retorts by saying some people in China are too scared to ride the trains, but Zhang retorts back that those people are mostly Japanese, which makes everyone laugh again. Then, everyone things about how great it would be to travel from Asia to Europe on train one day.
- Belgium has the #1 best concept store called the Lochriste. Alberto asks what concept the concept store as and Julian can't answer, lol. This leads the others to tease Julian.
- Before Guillaume can even open his mouth, everyone tells him to not talk about hockey, lol. So Guillaume takes another approach and says the world's best coffee franchise is owned by Canada's best hockey player, Tim Horton. He adds his original #1, which is that Canada is #1 in ice hockey skills. The others just say that hockey is only played in Cada, haha.
- Italy's #1 is the best bicycle racer Vincenzo Nibali. Daniel adds that in Germany, bicycling while drunk is illegal. The police actually take away your driver's license.
- America is #1 in space exploration. Tyler says that 3D Printing in space revolutionized space travel. Taking many things to space is a waste of space. 3D Printing allows astronauts to make things as they need them. America is also #1 in start-up businesses and is a very good country for entrepreneurs.
- France is #1 in luxury and well-known brands. This leads to a conversation between Robin and Zhang about which country's people carry real luxury brands. France also was #1 in selling wine, which was a title previously held by China. Zhang retorts by saying it's too expensive to live in France and spending so much money on brands is a waste of money.
- Everyone wants to skip Daniel's turn because Germany won the World Cup in 2014, haha.
- Takuya surprisingly says Japan is #1 in baseball. The U.S. used to top the IBAF ranking, but Japan topped the list in 2014. Tyler and Mark disagree. Tyler says that the U.S. is still #1 because Japanese teams wanted to best the U.S. and worked exceptionally hard this year. The MC's take Takuya's side by giving an analogy that even though the Premier League is in England, Germany won the World Cup.
- Ghana is #1 in cocoa production. Daniel says that Germany is #1 in chocolate production and Korea's Jeju Island is #2.
- Introducing the Korean representative
Today's Korean representative is Lee Sangmin, a member of former popular group Roo'ra. He introduces himself as a singer who debuted in 1994. He failed a business in 2005 and has returned to broadcast in 2012. The agenda that he has is from a Korean civilian.
I'm in my early 30's and worked for my current company for five years. Everyone wants to work for the big company that I work at, but instead of wanting to work under someone else I want to start my own business. My friends told me to keep my stable job. However, I want to leave my stable position and start a business. Am I abnormal?
Only Takuya presses the button. Takuya thinks that for his parents, he shhouldn't start a business. He knows that the concerned person wants to start a business to succeed, but instead of thinking about oneself, the person should think about his family first.
Alberto says that the person as a dream. Takuya says that for his family he shouldn't quit his job. Alberto asks him if he could do the same if he were in the same position. Without hesitating, Takuya answers, "Yes."
- The MC's ask a question:
I have a family but I want to quit my job and start a business. Am I abnormal? (No gender is specified, but let's just say that he's male)
Six press the button and six don't.
Zhang says that since the man's life is stable right now, he is too greedy to suddenly want to chase his dreams. He is not thinking of his family and has a low sense of responsibility.
Alberto says that if his businesses becomes a success, then his family will be happy too. Sam responds by saying that it's not certain whether the business will do well.
Tyler says that quitting your job doesn't mean not being considerate of your family. The person is working for a big corporation so he must work long hours every day. Working at his current job isn't exactly perfect either.
Sam says that he might have to work the same hours at his own business. Alberto says that even if his business doesn't succeed right off the bat, he will still be happy. Sam responds by saying if it's enough to just be happy when your situation isn't so good.
Mark, who succeeded in his own business, thinks that instead of thinking about whether your business will succeed, you need to think of ways to prevent your business from failing.
Lee Sangmin, who failed at his business, says that a person needs to have a taste of failure to become stronger.
Daniel says that even if people fail at their businesses, when they look for a job afterwards, their failure will help them find a better job due to more experience. He thinks that the concerned man should at least try.
Takuya says that it takes a lot of time to start your own business so it might be better to just stick with what you have. Julian says that even though a lot of work goes into starting a businesses, you can't lose the timing to do it.
Alberto says that it's important to take little steps when starting something new instead of trying to take one big step.
Tyler thinks that ideas are different from reality so the person must think of whether the person's business idea can be possible in real life.
Mark says that starting a business suddenly is dangerous. It is better to consult several people and get their opinions.
Alberto says an idiom, "In order to continue, you have to discontinue." You have to give up some things to be able to take a new road.
- Si Kyung changes the topic of the conversation by asking if the summit members have heard of the word Lifetime Worker (it's one word in Korean). It basically describes a person who works for only one employer and does only one job his or her whole life.
Takuya says that the word does exist in Japan, but the actual practice of it is decreasing. The MC's are surprised because Japan used to be a model for Lifetime Worker.
Zhang says that the idea does exist in China too. His mother was actually one because she worked for only one company and wouldn't work outside of China.
Tyler says that in America people change work often. Reasons vary, but a common reason is to find a job that fits yourself. According to a study, people who change jobs actually earn more money.
In Italy, people sometimes have to change jobs due to outside circumstances that they cannot control. Alberto himself changed jobs to find a job that he likes even though there was nothing wrong with the job that he had.
Mark says that he did change jobs in America. What's important about changing jobs is being able to leave a company in a good manner. He brings up the saying, "Don't burn your bridges."
- Si Kyung asks another question:
I was scouted by a company so I quit my current job and joined the company. However, it hasn't been a year since I started working and I think that my new job isn't a good match for me. Should I find new work or just continue working?
Five people think that they would want to change jobs and seven think that they would want to find new work.
Julian, who is in favor of change, makes an analogy. If a restaurant tastes bad, he would go to a different restaurant next time. However, if the new restaurant tastes worse, he would go to another restaurant next time.
The others disagree by saying that changing jobs is not as easy as changing restaurants.
Mark says that even if a person doesn't like his superiors, being patient is also a skill. There is no perfect job.
Julian says that stress from job-related work is also an issue because stress can lead to health issues.
Daniel thinks that there should be no problem with changing jobs in this century. He makes an analogy to finding true love after being in several relationships.
Robin thinks that having experiences in several jobs are good for applying to new jobs. Also, experiencing many jobs is good so you know what you want.
Zhang says that if you change jobs and your new job is worse, then there's something wrong with you. If a person changes jobs again, he will find fault in his new job and the cycle will continue.
Takuya agrees with Zhang that the person will not be satisfied in his new jobs. He believes that one must work at a company for at least three years before judging it.
Alberto says that workers also have a responsibility for the company so leaving a company on good terms is very important.
- The MC's change the topic to handing in resignations. They decide to act out different scenarios.
Scenario#1- Si Kyung is the employee and Zhang is the employer
Si Kyung tells Zhang that he wants to quit his job and Zhang asks why. Si Kyung says he wants more money. Zhang agrees to give him more money so Si Kyung says he'll think about it more.
Ha, everyone agrees that the scenario failed.
Scenario #2- Alberto is the employee and Se Yoon is the employer.
Alberto: I have something to tell you.
Se Yoon: Alberto! You are the jewel of my company! The reason the company grew! You are my reason for living! (Everyone laughs.)
Alberto: I think the same about you. I learned so much from you.
Se Yoon: No, I learned from you!
Alberto: I don't know if I can say this...
Se Yoon: *starts to cry* You want to go, right? (Everyone laughs again.)
Alberto: Let's leave the company together.
Se Yoon: Really?
Alberto: You take care of me well so I want to work with you again.
Alberto: You take care of me well so I want to work with you again.
Hahaha, scenario #2 is so funny.
Mark says that there's no perfect worker as there is no perfect job. Sometimes employers have to make employees happy so that they'll stay, as Se Yoon did in praising Alberto in the beginning.
- They move onto a different topic.
The MC's say that in Korea, more young people dream about staring their own businesses right out of college. They want to know what it's like in other countries.
Daniel says that in Germany about 70% of 25-34 year olds dream about starting businesses. The government actually helps people start their own businesses.
Takuya says that it's very rare in Japan. About 5% of people have their own businesses.
Julian says that it's difficult to start a business in Belgium and the minimum wage is high so employers generally don't want to hire a lot of employees. There are many one-person businesses there.
Zhang says that in China people do businesses from home. Women especially have online shopping malls. These people make a lot of money.
- The MC's ask if the summit members have an idea for a new item that they want to sell by starting their own business.
Guillaume talks about a chocolate ice cream factory, similar to Charlie's Chocolate Factory.
Julian talks about a waffle business in Korea. Belgium's waffles are much more delicious than Korea's waffles so he wants to bring the correct taste of waffles to Korea.
Takuya wants to make a Runway Cafe. He is interested in fashion so he wants to fuse a clothing store and a cafe. On a special day there could be a runway so people who drink coffee could watch. Julian says that it would be difficult and the others agree.
- The MC's ask another question:
Is there an item in Korea that's popular that we can introduce to other countries?
Mark immediately talks about a bell that Korean restaurants use to call waiters instead of having waiters lurk around. Sam says that a yogurt and a patbingsoo (Korean shaved ice) would be immensely popular in Ghana because it is hot there year-round. Robin wants to start a friend chicken business in France because there is none over there. The summit members suddenly think about whether they should start a fried chicken franchise and they get excited.
They take turns talking about people who succeed by starting their own business like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.
The final vote for the agenda is held. It is still tied at 6:6. Se yoon allows Hyunmoo to conclude the summit. Hyunmoo sings his normal abridged line from the song "Some:" You seem normal, is not normal, is normal (play on with the original song and the title of the show)
My Comments:
I've heard a lot about entrepreneurs and starting your own business since I live in America. People encourage each other to do something different and think of new ideas to make the world a better place. However, I never really thought seriously about starting my own business because it's too difficult. After this episode, I think that it's definitely a road that one can take instead of taking the usual road of working for an existing company.
However, after watching so many dramas and variety shows, it seems like everyone in Korea who starts a business fails. You know, there are so many dads who fail businesses and make their family suffer through debt. Starting a business is definitely not something to take lightly. There is a possibility of it failing, but I agree with Mark's idea that instead of focusing on possible success, you should focus on preventing your business from failing.
The montage at the end of successful business owners shows that it is possible to succeed, but it is a relatively new road and a very difficult road. The Abnormal Summit episode made me open my mind to new possibilities. Perhaps taking the less traveled road isn't a bad idea.
What are your thoughts on the agenda? Is it enough to take the "safe" road or the road that *may* take you to your dreams?
