Tanaka Kazuhiki.
He was an entrepreneur and former chef who ran “Karasushi,” Japan’s most famous and largest conveyor belt sushi franchise. His love for sushi was immense, and his arrival in Korea was purely coincidental.
If it weren’t for the typhoon that hit Korea, he probably would never have come. It wasn’t that he disliked Korea—he just had no business reason to visit and no particular interest in the country. Managing his numerous stores in Japan alone was a full-time job.
But due to the typhoon damage, he came to Korea for corporate-level support. If the typhoon hadn’t struck, or if the damage had been minimal, Tanaka Kazuhiki would have had no reason to set foot in Korea.
Anyway, his visit to Korea wasn’t entirely coincidental. After finishing his schedule, he stopped by a local sushi restaurant. After all, he was an entrepreneur who loved sushi enough to eat it for all three meals of the day.
However, he didn’t expect much from the local sushi joint. He thought there was no way sushi in a neighborhood restaurant could rival that of Japan, the home of sushi.
“As expected, it’s just a local sushi place. Nothing special,” he muttered in Japanese after seeing the sushi brought out by the chef. To him, the sushi looked no different from what he’d find in Japan.
“No matter how well they make sushi, how could foreign sushi ever beat what we make in Japan?”
The interpreter, tagging along for smooth business relations, chimed in to agree with Tanaka Kazuhiki. After all, in Japan, those who couldn’t play along with social niceties had long been weeded out.
“But isn’t it strange how crowded this place is for a local sushi joint?”
“You’re right. It’s unusually packed for a neighborhood spot.”
Oddly enough, the sushi restaurant was full. If Tanaka’s group hadn’t arrived early, they would’ve had to wait. Outside, a line of people was already forming.
Setting aside his doubts, Tanaka picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of sushi.
!!!
In that moment, Tanaka Kazuhiki’s eyes widened in shock. The interpreter had the same reaction.
“This… this is…”
“Tanaka-san…”
Tanaka was stunned by the incredible flavor. It wasn’t the fish on the sushi—that was just average, even slightly stale.
In landlocked Seoul, it was impossible to get freshly caught fish. While freshness could be maintained with portable tanks, it still couldn’t compare to fish caught straight from the sea.
What Tanaka focused on was the rice—the very foundation of sushi. The taste of the rice was nothing short of magical.
“How does rice like this exist in Korea?”
Tanaka was so baffled he had to put down his chopsticks. Could such fantastically delicious rice really come from a small neighborhood shop? Do Koreans grow up eating rice like this? What a blessing!
This wasn’t just a gourmet’s subtle distinction—it was a flavor anyone could appreciate. Even the interpreter, who knew nothing about sushi, could taste the difference. Tanaka quickly finished his meal and asked the chef, through the interpreter, about the rice.
The chef explained without hesitation—it wasn’t a trade secret, after all.
“Ah, we recently changed the rice we use for sushi. Customers have been loving it. Even I can tell the difference in taste.”
“Is there a way to get this rice?”
“The government released it as public rice… but honestly, that’s the problem. The rice I bought is running out, and they’re not releasing more. They said they wouldn’t have released it if it weren’t for the typhoon.”
The chef continued with a regretful tone.
“Customers’ standards have risen now. I’m not sure if they’ll be satisfied with other rice…”
“What’s the brand of the rice?”
“It’s called Starlight Rice.”
The interpreter relayed the chef’s words to Tanaka Kazuhiki without missing a beat.
Tanaka was supposed to fly back to Japan the next day, but after hearing this, he changed his plans. There was a very important place he needed to visit before leaving.
——————————————————–
Kim Sehee had an important decision to make. The release of Starlight Rice to the market had caused an overwhelming response. Due to the typhoon, there was a rice shortage this year, and Starlight…
People tasted the rice, and then Starlight Food’s website got flooded like it was on fire.
They were like, “Why not sell it instead of giving it away as public rice?” But Kim Sehee hadn’t entered the market yet due to government mediation.
Starlight Rice was so overwhelmingly delicious that it could pretty much overshadow traditional rice farming. If Starlight Food started mass-producing and releasing it to the market, it’d probably sell out 100%.
But the government seemed scared of that, throwing all sorts of regulations and laws in the way. Still, the domestic rice market was so tempting that they wanted to break through those barriers. Just stepping into the market could mean sneaking into a 10 trillion won industry.
First, they’d stick their head in, then figure out the rest. Of course, the production volume wasn’t enough to meet the total domestic demand yet. It’d probably take a few years. But the faster they could shorten that time, the more money danced in front of Kim Sehee’s eyes.
The only problem was potentially alienating millions of farmers. That’s why Kim Sehee was agonizing so much. A company’s image was more important than people thought.
The friendly, kind image of the company could turn into one that tramples Korean farmers. Plus, they didn’t have the political connections to ignore all those farmers and the government to sell rice.
If they sold the rice and got on the government’s bad side, they’d face tax audits or political pressure. The rice market was a business where countless lives were at stake. It wasn’t like the green tea or coffee markets.
Then, Tanaka, who visited her for business, brought what might be the answer Kim Sehee was looking for.
“I want to distribute Starlight Rice in Japan.”
Tanaka Kazuhiki postponed his plans to go to Japan and came to see Kim Sehee. He couldn’t meet her right away due to the sudden schedule, but he and his team waited until they could talk to her.
“Distribute Starlight Rice in Japan?”
Kim Sehee felt like all her worries were suddenly swept away. If not domestically, they could sell overseas. But there were still a lot of hurdles for her.
“Our Starlight Food hasn’t been around long, so the overseas sales department is small…”
Just last year, Starlight Food was struggling to sell even in the domestic market. They didn’t have the energy to look overseas. Plus, they didn’t have any standout items to break into the international market. It wasn’t like they had something uniquely delicious or special.
They did have some interest in overseas sales. Recently, they gave up on China due to guanxi and regulations, and even trying to break into Japan had its own challenges.
The agencies offering to handle it demanded outrageous fees.
“40% of the profits as a fee? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Domestic export companies demanded excessive fees in exchange for using their Japanese distribution networks. Kim Sehee angrily hung up the call.
“I’d rather squeeze the liver out of a flea!”
But her right-hand man and loyal advisor chimed in.
“Honestly, we can’t do anything. Do we even know any companies in Japan? Or do we know anything about the Japanese market? Heck, does anyone in our company even speak Japanese?”
Sure, there were tons of Japanese-speaking experts online, thanks to the popularity of Japanese culture. But in Kim Sehee’s company, Japanese speakers were rare. There were probably more people who spoke English.
“Even if we want to sell something, there are so many laws and regulations different from ours. It’s natural they’d demand high fees. Has our company ever exported before? I bet even finding a cargo ship would be hard.”
Kim Sehee had no comeback. It was all true.
