Family Businesses

[Anchor Lead]

Countless young Koreans struggle to pass the public service exams or find a job in a large corporation. But some young people are paving new career paths for themselves by taking over their parents' businesses.

[Pkg]

This young man in his 30s wearing an apron of his own design cuts a piece of fabric. It's been two years since he took over his mother's 20-year-old fabric shop. He is expanding the business by working on his own designs and collaborating with other designers.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-sik(Fabric Shop Owner/Seomun Market) : "We sell fabric online. Online sales can take place locally or within Korea, but some are for overseas. I have a different approach."

This bakery in Daegu has been in one family for 60 years now. Over the past 15 years it has grown to be a solid medium-sized business with 32 outlets nationwide.

[Soundbite] Park Seong-wuk(Local Bakery Owner) : "The system allows customers nationwide to experience the original tastes of a famous local bakery."

This young man in his 20s quit his corporate job to run a 50-year-old butcher shop that's been in his family for three generations. His latest marketing strategy is to target young consumers with low-fat Korean beef.

[Soundbite] Kim Min-su(Butcher Shop Owner/Seomun Market) : "I run this shop with the pride of continuing this 70-year-old business, which started with my grandfather."

These young merchants are becoming stalwart pillars of their respective local economies, as they succeed their family-run stores and pioneer new business opportunities.