Defector broadcaster and CEO of a food business, Lee Soon-sil, revealed her monthly sales.
On the broadcast of KBS2’s ‘Park Won-sook’s Let’s Live Together’ (hereinafter ‘Let’s Live Together’) aired on the 1st, Park Won-sook was seen inviting Hye-eun, Hong Jin-hee, and Lee Soon-sil to her hometown, Namhae.
On that day, Lee Soon-sil stated, “Since filming ‘Let’s Live Together’ in Yeongdeok, sales have increased significantly. (Monthly sales) have fluctuated between 2.3 billion and 2.5 billion.” Park Won-sook exclaimed, “It’s not 2.4 billion, it’s 24 billion.”
When asked, “How many employees do you have in total?” Lee Soon-sil replied, “About 40. In the case of the dumpling factory, it can be 70 to 80. All are defectors due to job creation for defectors.”
She continued, “Even if defectors come out with confidence, they feel intimidated when they go to a company where Koreans work. Their tone changes, and their confidence drops. So they end up leaving after a while. That’s why I tell them, ‘Come work here.’ Since they work in a North Korean way, even though the start time is 8 AM, they come out at 7:30 AM to prepare themselves.”
She added, “They sit down, have a cup of coffee, and shout the slogan, ‘If it doesn’t work, make it work.’ They are so full of energy. So I tell them, ‘Have this confidence. There’s nothing you can’t do. If it doesn’t work, make it work.’”
When Hong Jin-hee asked, “Is Lee Soon-sil the most successful among defectors?” Lee Soon-sil replied, “No. There are friends who have achieved more than I have, but they are not well-known yet, so people don’t know them. However, since I keep cooking and eating on broadcasts, people come to me saying, ‘Lee Soon-sil is a person who cooks.’”
She added, “I became known thanks to broadcasting, but in fact, there are many people who have achieved more than I have. There are a lot of defectors living diligently.”
Additionally, Lee Soon-sil stated, “When you come to Korea, you start a second life. You might think starting a business is a success in life, but the first success is coming to Korean soil. The fact that I live here with an ID card and a passport is the first success in life. The second is living diligently and running a business.”
[Lee Se-bin, Star Today Guest Reporter]
