Small business owners striving to survive coronavirus crisis
A couple wearing face masks walks along on a nearly empty shopping street in Seoul, Aug. 23, 2020. AP
Like many other self-employed professionals here, Julia Mellor, an Australian specialist in traditional Korean alcoholic drinks, is striving hard to keep her business running, under COVID-19 and strict social distancing restrictions.
However, Mellor couldn't just wait for the pandemic to be over; she has responded to the drawn-out unpredictability by resetting her business model in order to turn the crisis into another opportunity. An invariable asset is her can-do spirit.
What also remains unchanged is her goal of helping more people around the world get familiarized with makgeolli, Korea's indigenous rice wine, and other alcoholic beverages, under the catchall name of "sool.”
"The recent rapid coronavirus spread has indeed impacted our business once again," Mellor said, noting South Korea is teetering on the brink of a new wave of massive nationwide transmissions.
For years, Mellor has been in the vanguard of efforts to publicize Korean sool.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, she had focused on researching Korean sool production and offering related in-person classes for expats and travelers at her lab in the Insadong District of Seoul.
The taster program came to a halt in early spring, when the country suffered a large-scale coronavirus outbreak.
She reopened the group class in May coupled with an additional local brewery and gourmet restaurant tour project.
Unfortunately, a round of new rapid infection clusters, centered in the Seoul metropolitan area this time, derailed her plan.
"While we just finished the first batch of students, we were set to start the second course in the first week of September ― but whether or not we will be able to do that remains unclear," she said.
In late June, the government introduced the three-tier social distancing guidelines. This Friday it announced the formal extension of the current Level 2 restrictions by another week in Seoul and adjacent areas.
Additionally, it imposed some new restrictions, including pick-up orders only at Starbucks and other major coffee franchises in the region, effective from Sunday. Eating in at restaurants and bakeries after 9 p.m. will be banned, although takeout will be available after the deadline. The health authorities said further toughening of social distancing rules to Level 3 will be used as a "final means," saying they will be prepared to enforce it immediately if necessary.
Mellor, who has gone through a number of challenges living in South Korea for 14 years, is adapting to the growing uncertainty with her down-to-earth stance.
She's shifting her main business model to online education, marketing and PR activities for the country's alcoholic beverages to tackle the "new normal."
"We are taking a realistic, if not pessimistic, approach that further waves will likely happen and we need to be prepared for that."
Mellor is working on virtual brewing training, with a makgeolli production course coming soon. She's also campaigning to support the export of Korea's alcoholic products.
Sool Connection is at the heart of her fresh initiative.
It is designed to serve as a portal or platform on everything about traditional sool; while she has a longer-term aim of establishing a related research center.
The coronavirus-caused troubles are shaping up as a turning point for her career and business. Someday, Mellor may see time-honored makgeolli fermenting listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity just as Korea's tradition of kimjang (also spelled gimjang), the making and sharing of kimchi.
"Of course, any positive recognition for the tradition of makgeolli brewing in the international sphere is good progress," she noted.
Han Sook-choung, a veteran English-language tutor and education program developer based in Seoul, is another energetic person busy seeking to turn the coronavirus crisis into an opportunity by moving her work online.
She used to offer offline one-on-one coaching to company workers or job seekers, including flight attendant hopefuls. Han also runs a meeting and event space to share, named URLounge, in southern Seoul.
"Last year, fortunately, I diversified my business portfolio from in-person tutoring and space leasing to internet marketing," she said. "The coronavirus outbreak has killed my face-to-face lessons and space leasing revenue almost completely."
The forced break has given her some time to recharge herself and reconsider her business strategy.
"I had no other choice but to streamline and remodel my business focus. I've shifted the weight to online, which has turned out to be a big success."
Currently, Han concentrates on online lessons using Skype, which has enabled her to meet an increasing number of students "regularly and more conveniently."
She's also preparing to publish an English education book, tentatively titled "Changing English Speaking Habits: 14 Days of Home Training."
Afterwards, Han plans to spend more time and energy on creating YouTube content.
The coronavirus crisis, in a sense, has opened up new opportunities for innovating her work routine, according to Han, also known by her English name Stella in the market.
"It's a silver lining. Rather than grumbling over the coronavirus, or being depressed, I've tried to see a potential bright side," Stella said. "For a sole proprietor like me, I think the importance of positive thinking can't be overemphasized." (Yonhap)