5: Chapter 5, Step 1

The next morning at eight o'clock, Chairman Wang Shunyi woke up on his own.

Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, his mind was still replaying everything he had discussed with Park Min-ji yesterday.

Registering as a sole proprietor. This was the first step to doing business properly.

He rolled out of bed and went to the small bathroom to wash his face. The shock of the cold water refreshed his spirit a bit.

Returning to the room, he pulled out his phone and searched for "South Korea sole proprietorship registration process."

The internet said: one needs an Alien Registration Card, a passport copy, proof of business premises (a rental contract or proof of residence), an application form, and so on. Then, go to the local tax office to fill out the forms and submit the materials, and the certificate can be obtained in 3 to 5 working days.

He frowned as he looked at the requirement for "proof of business premises."

Would a semi-basement work?

He searched again. South Korean law did not explicitly prohibit registering a sole proprietorship in a semi-basement, as long as proof of residence like utility bills was provided.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He began rummaging through his documents. He had his Alien Registration Card and passport copy, and he found an electricity bill from last month. The application form would have to be filled out on-site at the tax office.

He glanced at his phone; it was nine-thirty. The tax office opened at nine, so going now was perfect.

At ten in the morning, Chairman Wang Shunyi arrived at the Seongdong-gu Tax Office.

It was an old building with some peeling exterior paint and a few self-service machines at the entrance. The lobby was crowded with vendors filing taxes, company employees handling business, and sole proprietors like him coming to register.

He walked to the information desk to ask about the process. A staff member handed him a form: "Fill this out and submit it at window three along with your documents."

He took the form and found an empty seat.

The form required his name, address, scope of business, and business premises.

He paused when he got to "scope of business." What did selling fire chicken noodles and self-heating hot pots count as? After thinking for a moment, he wrote: "Food Retail, General Merchandise Retail, Online Sales."

After filling it out, he organized his documents and walked to window three.

A middle-aged man with glasses sat behind the window, looking a bit tired.

"Hello, I'm here to register as a sole proprietor." He handed over the materials.

The man took them, flipped through, and looked up at him: "Foreigner?"

"Yes, Chinese."

"The business premises is where you live?"

"Yes."

"What are you selling?"

"Food, instant noodles and the like."

The man didn't ask any more questions and lowered his head to enter the data into the system.

A few minutes later, he returned the documents: "The materials are complete. The review takes 3 to 5 working days. We'll notify you by SMS when it's time to pick up your certificate."

"Alright, thank you."

Walking out of the tax office, he checked his phone; it was eleven o'clock.

He decided to have lunch first before figuring out the online store.

He found a small shop nearby and ordered kimchi stew with rice for six thousand won.

While eating, he sent a message to Minji: "Ah, Minji-xi, I just submitted my registration application at the tax office. I'll get the certificate in three to five days. What should I do next?"

She replied a few minutes later: "That's good. Next, prepare the online store. The main e-commerce platforms in Korea are Coupang, Gmarket, and 11st. You can pick one or two to start with. The process for each platform is slightly different, but they all require a business registration certificate, a bank account, and product information. I suggest starting with Coupang; it's the most popular and the operation is simple."

He replied: "Okay, thanks Minji."

She sent another message: "You're welcome. By the way, have you thought of a brand name yet?"

He thought for a moment and replied: "Still thinking. I'll tell you when I come up with one."

Returning to the semi-basement at two in the afternoon, he sat on the bed brainstorming names.

The characteristics of fire chicken noodles were spicy, punchy, and unique.

A bunch of ideas popped into his head: Flame Chicken—too tacky. Spicy Nemesis—didn't like it. King of Explosive Spice—too exaggerated. Korean Spicy Noodles—no character. Mr. Spicy—somewhat interesting, but not enough.

He thought all afternoon, but wasn't satisfied with any of them.

Just as he was about to give up, his eyes swept over a poster on the wall. It was a commemorative poster issued by the school when he graduated from university, printed with Korea University's motto: 자유·정의·진리 (Liberty, Justice, Truth).

"Liberty..." he muttered.

Wasn't the feeling of fire chicken noodles exactly about the freedom of spice, the thrill of spice?

"Freedom Spicy"? Didn't sound great.

"Spice of Liberty"? Too pretentious.

"La Ziyou"?

He repeated it a few times—La Ziyou. It seemed okay, with a sense of being free and easy.

That was it.

He messaged Minji: "Minji-xi, I thought of a name—'La Ziyou'. What do you think?"

She replied after a few minutes: "La Ziyou? It's quite interesting, it gives off a 'be as spicy as you want' vibe. I like it."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

The name was set. Next would be designing the packaging and registering the trademark. But right now, he had no money or energy for those things; he'd make do with simple packaging for now and deal with the rest later.

Three days later, the SMS from the tax office arrived.

The review was passed; he could go pick up his business registration certificate.

He dropped what he was doing and rushed over immediately.

The moment he got the certificate and saw the three characters "Chairman Wang Shunyi" printed on it, he couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he was very excited.

The first business registration certificate of his life.

He carefully tucked the certificate into his bag and messaged Minji: "Minji-xi, I got the certificate."

She replied quickly: "Congratulations! Then you can start opening the online store. Come to my company tomorrow afternoon, and I'll walk you through the operation."

"Okay, thank you."

The next afternoon, Chairman Wang Shunyi arrived at Minji's company.

It was in Gangnam District, not large, with about a dozen people, but it looked very professional.

Minji took him to a small meeting room and opened a computer: "Come, sit. I'll teach you how to open a store on Coupang."

He sat down and stared at the screen.

Minji opened the Coupang Seller Central website, explaining as she operated: "First, register a seller account. Fill in your name, email, phone number, business registration number..."

He watched intently, asking a few questions from time to time.

After an hour of effort, the account was finally registered.

"Then set up the store," Minji said. "Upload the logo, write the store description, and fill in the return address."

He followed her instructions step by step.

He filled in the store name as "La Ziyou Official Store."

For the store description, he wrote: "La Ziyou, giving you a different spicy experience. Exclusive Korean super spicy instant noodles, waiting for your challenge!"

He used the semi-basement address as the return address.

"That's about it," Minji said. "Next, upload the products."

She opened the product upload page and demonstrated how to fill in the information.

"The product name should clearly state the characteristics, for example, 'La Ziyou fire chicken noodles Super Spicy Instant Noodles 140g x 5 Pack'."

"The pictures should be clear and attractive. Take a few with your phone and touch them up slightly."

"In the product details, clearly write the features, how to eat it, precautions, and so on."

"You set the price yourself. I suggest still two thousand per pack. You can create different specifications: single pack, five-pack, ten-pack, anything goes."

He listened and took notes.

The two of them were busy until six in the evening. The store was considered live, but no products had been listed yet.

"Let's stop here for today," Minji said. "Go back and take some photos, then upload the products tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you, Minji-xi."

"You're welcome." She smiled. "By the way, what are your plans for the future?"

"Plans?"

"Yeah. You're only selling fire chicken noodles now, but what about later? Thought about selling other things? Or opening offline channels? Building your own brand?"

He was silent for a moment, then said: "I want to build a food brand. Start with instant noodles, then slowly expand to self-heating hot pots, river snail rice noodles, snacks, and all that. Then I want to get into convenience stores and supermarkets. Further down the line, maybe open my own factory."

Minji nodded, a hint of admiration in her eyes: "Ambition is good. But remember, ambition must be supported by strength. Take it one step at a time, don't rush."

"I know."

"Alright, that's it for today." She stood up. "Contact me anytime if you have questions."

"Okay, Minji."

On the way back, he pulled out his phone and looked at the store's backend, feeling full of anticipation.

The store was established. Once the products were uploaded, he could start selling.

Although it was just a very small beginning, for him, it was a turning point.

From today on, he was no longer working for someone else.

He had his own business.