SMALL BUSINESSES TURN TO DIFFERENT SECTORS

[Anchor Lead]

Small businesses are having a particularly hard time during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the economy to shrink and labor cost to soar. In order to survive the difficult times, small businesses are cutting down on rent and personnel expenses to invest in delivery service and branching out to different business areas.

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This is a shared kitchen that opened last year. Inside, four restaurants share the large kitchen space and provide delivery-only services. Kim Myeong-wun, who failed to find a job, opened up his own business here two months ago. He didn't have to spend much to start the business and shares his know-how with other restaurants in the kitchen.

[Soundbite] KIM MYEONG-WUN(BUSINESSMAN IN SHARED KITCHEN) : "I was able to save about half the cost because basic kitchen facilities were already in place."

As the demand for food delivery service soared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many other businesses are inquiring about opening shop here.

[Soundbite] CHOI JAE-HOON(SHARED KITCHEN OWNER) : "The system is already there so that you can start your business right away. I receive more than double the inquiries compared to the past, about space rental because the delivery service market has grown recently."

This father and son duo has been operating a roller skating rink for four years.
But they have also been running a delivery-only restaurant on weekdays for the past three months. The roller skating rink brings in almost no income, yet costs tens of millions of won in monthly lease. So they looked for a way to keep the business open.

[Soundbite] KIM BYEONG-IN(ROLLER SKATING RINK OWNER) : "We opened the roller skating rink only on weekends because people were told to avoid indoor group facilities. But that wasn't enough to make ends meet, so we started the delivery service."

Self-employed businessmen are struggling to keep their establishments open as the economic slump brought on by the outbreak threatens their livelihoods.