Kim Jae-nam, who runs a small billiard corridor in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis
It was determined to quiet down after the governor was appointed in 2021
“Youngsters are flocking to billiard rooms as an alternative of PC rooms.
“I earn greater than 20 instances the native common wage.”
“I used to be assigned to the Vietnam department at work. After dwelling in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, I used to be extra happy with the dwelling atmosphere than in Korea. After leaving the corporate, I made a decision to dwell there. However I had no technique to make a dwelling listening to Ok-pop.
Inside a premium Korean-style billiards room operated by Kim Jae-nam (38) in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, Vietnam. Southeast Asia is named the blue ocean of the billiards business. In keeping with the worldwide market analysis firm Mordor Intelligence, the worldwide billiards tools market is predicted to extend by roughly 15.54% from $344.06 million in 2024 to $397.52 million in 2029. Vietnam’s market, one of many international locations that quickest rising, rising steadily 2.05% per yr till 2027. There’s somebody who has taken on the problem of a rustic with a lot potential. That is the story of Kim Jae-nam (38), who runs a premium Korean-style billiards corridor.
C. Introduce your self first.
“I’m Kim Jae-nam (38), at the moment working a small billiards corridor in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, Vietnam. I used to be working usually and was appointed to the Vietnam department in 2021. After dwelling in Vietnam, I used to be extra happy with my life than I anticipated After leaving the corporate, I settled with out returning to Korea “I made a decision to do it.”
Q. Why did you open an area billiards corridor?
“With a view to get a residence allow in Vietnam, I needed to discover a job to make a dwelling from leisure or cultural services for younger folks to take pleasure in after consuming “So, I grew to become extra assured in doing market analysis and thought that it might a billiard room is an effective match.”
C. Billiards is the nationwide sport.
“Vietnamese locals love watching and enjoying billiards has develop into a nationwide sport. experiencing prosperity. It will be straightforward to grasp should you assume again to the 80’s and 90’s when billiard halls flourished primarily within the college areas of Korea (laughs).
Q. They are saying it is laborious to discover a property on the market.
“It’s not very straightforward to discover a billiards room within the native space. It took me greater than 6 months to discover a appropriate place. In layman’s phrases, you may consider it as a scenario the place you can’t open a billiards room in okay. away even should you come right here with cash for numerous causes, such because the hire being too excessive or an absence of bike parking house trusting on-line info or native actual property brokers, you want do lots of digging.”
The empty inside earlier than Jaenam Kim (38) did the inside design. It’s mentioned that in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, Vietnam, it’s at the moment tough to discover a 100 pyeong property on the market with a parking zone on the primary flooring.
Q. What sort of billiard room is it now?
“It’s situated in District 2, Ho Chi Minh Metropolis (An Phu Phuong, Thu Duc Metropolis). Earlier than signing the contract, I visited in the course of the day and late at night time to verify the floating inhabitants by time of day. The sq. footage is about 100 pyeong, and 15 pool tables are arrange “We tried to create a extra refined ambiance than most Korean neighborhood billiard halls.”
Q. How do you use it?
“To compete with native billiard halls run by locals, we have to differentiate. We run the billiard corridor with 9 native staff. As labor prices are low in Vietnam, our motto is to rent extra staff to offer higher service to prospects. Vietnam billiard halls It was a money enterprise, not a card cost, so there was no downside as a result of the invoice adjustment machine helps Korean even when Vietnamese shouldn’t be good, however so as to function retailer and communication, we rent staff who might communicate Korean We additionally promote drinks like beer.”
Q. How a lot was the preliminary price?
“From the start, our aim was to create a premium product. As an alternative of utilizing low cost domestically distributed merchandise, we straight imported home billiards merchandise and made them branded merchandise. In consequence, the fee shouldn’t be a lot totally different from the price of opening a billiard room in Korea The truth is, customs clearance and abroad delivery prices are added Nevertheless, the inner prices and labor prices of putting in a billiard desk are greater than 50% cheaper than home costs, which n offset by inner prices together with air-con tools, indicators, and many others., 15 pool tables, and billiard tools It prices about 120 million gained, which could be very low contemplating that there isn’t any rental deposit other than the owner in Vietnam, so that you solely should pay 3 months of month-to-month hire. This performed an enormous function in lowering preliminary prices.”
Q. How are the gross sales?
“It has been 3 months since we opened early this yr. We’re at the moment recording month-to-month gross sales of round 200 million dong, or simply over 10 million gained in Korean foreign money. As it is just the start, we anticipate gross sales to rise additional because the variety of common prospects will increase “We’re aiming for 400 million dong from the second half of this yr Contemplating that the common wage of Vietnamese workplace staff is 500,000 gained in Korean foreign money, that is an quantity considerably.”
Exterior a billiards corridor operated by Kim Jae-nam (38) in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, Vietnam. There are a lot of motorbikes parked right here, that are a necessary type of transport for locals.
Q. How is it totally different from Korea?
“There’s a clear distinction within the age of the purchasers. The primary buyer base of home billiard halls are middle-aged males, however right here the primary buyer base is from youngsters to folks of their 30s. Because it focuses on pocket balls, then Many feminine prospects Not solely {couples} but additionally girls come to the billiard room aside from the billiard room, however in Vietnam, the climate could be very sizzling, so indoor play areas are inevitably extra fashionable than within the open air.”
Q. Have there been any epistles or difficulties?
“As it’s a communist nation, it’s not pleasant to foreigners who earn a living by doing enterprise within the nation. The police typically come to arrest folks and demand cash as a high quality. They are saying you get the dangle of it. I do. I do not know Vietnamese. It was necessary to rent a supervisor who’s accustomed to the native scenario and who can remedy such a scenario simply when she hires a supervisor who can communicate Korean nicely, like me.”
Q. What are your future market prospects?
“The native market can be fiercely aggressive, so we take a look at it positively. youngsters and 20-somethings will proceed to be billiard corridor prospects for the subsequent 30 years or extra.”
Q. Give us a last phrase.
“As of late, because the home self-employment market is experiencing a protracted recession, I like to recommend searching for alternatives in international markets. I do know that within the Korean market, traits change too shortly and buyer expectations are very excessive, so it’s not straightforward to succeed as a self-employed enterprise. You’ll by no means succeed abroad with out thorough preparation and market analysis. We suggest that you simply take motion for now, however search skilled assist.”
A e-book containing behind-the-scenes tales of ‘N-professionals’ in search of monetary freedom is accessible in bookshops. Covers the monetary tales of those that managed to restart their lives. is revealed each Saturday. By subscribing to the reporter’s web page, you’ll by no means miss an article. Likes actually assist.
Correspondent Bang Jun-sik silv0000@hankyung.com
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