After asking to speak in private, only Professor Park and I remained in the lab.
Even without him saying a word, I could tell just how unwelcome I was. The piercing glare he cast down at me was filled with contempt.
“Professor.”
“Before I hear what you have to say, let me say one thing first. You’re late.”
“...Pardon?”
“You’re here because of an investment proposal, aren’t you? When I was in Korea, you people all slammed the door in my face. Why come looking for me now that I’m finally able to get by?”
“...”
“Today, we already signed an MOU with Tysun, and they promised us an investment in the ten-billion-won range. They’re giving us three times more than all the research funding we received in Korea up to now.”
He had every reason to be angry.
In 2018, when the very concept of cultured meat barely existed, he formed a research team with what little manpower he had, despite people around him laughing and asking, “Why should we eat artificial meat like North Koreans? It’s a meaningless field of research.”
The five years that followed were, in a word, humiliating.
Every year, he had to fight with his heart in his throat to secure research funds. When absurdly low funding was allocated, he even went to the government-funded research institute and staged a sit-in. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his team’s success in recreating taste, texture, and marbling had been the result of sheer tenacity.
But when the full amount of his research funding was cut under the R&D reduction policy, he realized he could no longer hold out on tenacity and stubbornness alone. He gave up all his positions and was driven here, to the other side of the world, as if fleeing for refuge.
“...Professor. Congratulations. I’m glad you’ve received development funding on good terms.”
“Thank you. Then I don’t think we have anything more to discuss, so please be on your way.”
“However, the world of research and the world of management are different. The more successful your research becomes, the more money and facility investment you will need.”
“What did you say?”
“You’ll have to maintain close relationships with many investment firms going forward, and your connection with us won’t be a trivial one.”
When I finished speaking, Professor Park let out a dry cough.
“Well. It seems I was too worked up today. That was rude of me.”
“Not at all. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a little about your research team’s achievements.”
“What part are you curious about?”
“The current state of cultured meat research and its limitations. I’d like to hear both at once.”
After thinking for a moment, he picked up a piece of meat lying on the desk and held it out to me.
“Seeing is believing. Rather than explaining a hundred times, it would be better for you to try it once. Would you like to taste it?”
Without refusing, I promptly put the meat in my mouth.
“How is it?”
“Mm... Hmm...”
“Do you feel any difference?”
“No. It just tastes like meat.”
“Yes. That is our research team’s current achievement. We have reproduced taste, texture, and marbling by 97%... In practical terms, we have succeeded in recreating meat quality to the point that ordinary people can’t feel any difference at all. If it were used in processed meat like canned food, even a five-star chef wouldn’t be able to tell.”
I was surprised. It really did taste just like meat.
“The problem is the cost. Based on 100 grams, our cultured meat production cost is about two to three times higher than ordinary meat. This is the concern of every cultured meat research team, and the industry has entered a fierce competition to lower costs.”
“Ah... I see. What is this, then? Is this the chicken being distributed in the United States?”
“Yes. That’s right. Try it.”
I also tasted the cultured chicken currently being sold in the United States.
Just as I was marveling once again that there was no difference from ordinary meat, I heard Professor Park sigh.
“This is the difference between Korea and the United States. Korea is far behind not only in R&D support, but also in institutional support.”
“...”
“Even the United States, which has more than enough food, approved the commercial distribution of cultured meat in 2023. But Korea, whose food self-sufficiency rate is less than 40%, what on earth is it so confident about? Wheat, barley, and corn are all below 1%. To be honest, I don’t understand why the Korean government is so relaxed.”
“...”
“People get furious when Japan keeps meddling with Dokdo, but aren’t they upset about paying Japan billions of won in seed royalties every year? No matter how I look at it, I can’t understand it. Korea is a wasteland for seeds. It doesn’t even seem to have any intention of cultivating that field. I’ve given up my lingering attachment.”
With a bitter expression, I swallowed the chicken.
Before coming here, I had heard plenty about his background. He was someone who was sincere about agriculture.
When he was in Korea, he played a central role in the smart farm business and actively supported the entry of corporate farming. But each time, he was blocked by various vested interests and met with repeated frustration. When even cultured meat, the last thing he had believed in, was obstructed, he gave up on the country called Korea altogether.
“Well. I’m having a hard time controlling my emotions today. To think I’d be complaining to someone who has nothing to do with it...”
“Not at all. If anything, it was good to see your sincerity, Professor.”
“If so, I’m glad. In any case, I resolved the investment issue today, and for the time being, I want to focus only on my research. Thank you for coming all this way.”
Professor Park bowed and rose from his seat. It seemed to mean he wanted me to leave quickly.
“Professor. How does twenty billion won sound?”
“...Pardon?”
“Thank goodness, I’m not too late. Tysun must have demanded a majority stake. Under the same conditions, we will invest twenty billion won.”
“What are you talking about? I told you we signed an MOU today.”
“An MOU is a scrap of paper with less legal effect than an engagement ring. I’ll say it again: the world of research and the world of management are different.”
“No, what are you saying...”
“If you wish, I can write up an MOA for you right here and now. That is a memorandum with legal effect. Twenty billion won. What do you think?”
When I spoke firmly, he looked flustered.
Of course he would. In just a few hours, his valuation had doubled.
“...No. I don’t want it. Korea is a seed wasteland!”
“Even so, isn’t that better than having your patents snatched away wholesale?”
“Wh-what?”
“If you received investment from Tysun, there must be toxic clauses such as joint ownership of patents or transfer of management rights. They’re businessmen. They’re not the kind of people who would spend ten billion won like charity.”
“...”
“But our pension fund does not make demands regarding patents. No matter how much equity we hold, we do not interfere in management either. Then which option would give you more freedom in your future research?”
“...”
“I looked into it, and you’ve already established a corporation in Korea. If you transfer equity to us, we will also help with the listing process. If you proceed with a formal IPO, there will be many major food companies that recognize your team’s achievements.”
“...Are you saying you’ll help us list on KOSDAQ?”
I nodded.
“Yes. Within a month.”
“Th-that’s absurd. Even I know the procedures needed for listing take at least two years. Especially for a research team like ours, which has no revenue and can only post losses right now, how could we list?”
“If the pension fund holds equity, that listing procedure will be wrapped up within two weeks. After all, the listing process exists to verify a company’s credibility, and that would no longer be necessary. And you don’t need to worry too much about the deficit issue you’re concerned about. Social commerce, delivery apps... businesses like those also posted nothing but losses for years in their early stages.”
“...”
“Even if a company is losing money right now, if it shows vision, that is not a problem. That is the capital market.”
The anxiety in his eyes said everything. His heart was already wavering at these unprecedented offers.
I quietly slipped the Tysun MOU out of his half-relaxed fist.
“Professor. Please come back to Korea. We will treat you with better conditions.”
*
“What? Twenty billion?”
Nine in the morning, the pension fund director’s office.
At a single report from Chief Oh, the director leaped from his seat once again.
The report Sejun had sent from the other side of the world could only be called shocking.
The fellow explained the name of a professor he had never heard of and the achievements of this research team, then insisted they had to buy the equity for twenty billion won. But no matter how he looked at it, this was a business sector that was bound to remain in the red for years.
“Chief Oh, no matter how much I prefer lazy investments, isn’t this too lazy? Cultured meat? Just how long are we supposed to wait before it turns a profit?”
“...”
“If it were materials, parts, and equipment for semiconductors, I could at least understand. But is it possible to make money from agricultural and marine products in Korea? If we invested in something like this and failed, the prosecution would think I laundered money. Please, let’s not do this.”
Chief Oh smiled bitterly. Even in his opinion, twenty billion won was far too much money.
“Director...”
“Not this time. Please don’t even think about persuading me.”
“...If you put it that way, how can we make venture investments at all?”
“What?”
“Ninety-nine out of a hundred startups fail. And yet, if we are given an allocation and told to invest, it must mean we’re supposed to discover that one.”
“Even so, shouldn’t you recommend an industry that shows some potential?”
“It’s in Assistant Manager Lee’s report as well. Korea’s venture investments are all concentrated in semiconductors and IT. I agree with that opinion.”
The director pressed a hand to his forehead.
“You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?”
“I think it’s an industry with grounds for investment. Not only for food security, but it also aligns with the low-carbon policies pursued by global society. If they can get the cost right, it will be sufficiently competitive.”
“Even a passing cow would laugh. If this technology is possible, Korean beef would become cheaper than American beef. Are you saying we’ll become a powerhouse in agricultural and marine products?”
“The man who says we should go to Mars every time he opens his mouth is now the richest man in the world. Wouldn’t Korea becoming a livestock powerhouse be more realistic than humanity traveling through space?”
“Chief Oh...”
“We have to try. Assistant Manager Lee’s report that all of Korea’s investments are skewed toward semiconductors and IT is valid. From the perspective of securing original technology, support for this kind of technology is well worth attempting.”
The director clicked his tongue.
“What kind of ghost has possessed you this time?”
“Rather than a ghost... I suppose I’m worried. Haha.”
“Worried?”
“Director, please look objectively at the situation up to now. Assistant Manager Lee convinced us, people who had decided to invest more conservatively than anyone else in Korea, with a single report. And his predictions have always been right.”
This time, even the director could not refute him.
“But do you really think the rest of the investment industry won’t recognize his true value?”
“Urgh...”
“I don’t think so. If Assistant Manager Lee submitted the reports he gave us to other companies as part of his resume, they’d be falling over themselves to recruit him. No, to be honest, he’s the kind of guy it wouldn’t be strange to see starting his own private equity fund.”
“...”
“Director, in any case, aren’t we in a position where we have to fill the venture investment quota designated by the state? This time, instead of another semiconductor-related industry, I’d like us to invest in a truly new business, a next-generation source of growth.”
The director let out a short sigh and said,
“So are we really going to help them with the IPO too?”
“Yes. Assistant Manager Lee says that once the company goes public, major domestic food companies will definitely recognize its value and jump in to secure equity. To be honest, I find that part hard to believe too, but he predicts that if the listing succeeds, we’ll recover the twenty-billion-won investment in no time.”
“He really does have guts... So how far have the talks gone?”
“The cultured meat research team signed an MOU with Tysun Group, and the promised investment there was supposedly ten billion won. Fortunately, though, it was an MOU.”
“...”
“Assistant Manager Lee seems to want to draw up an MOA as quickly as possible and lock them in. He says that if you give permission, he’ll sign the contract immediately.”
An MOA had legal effect. In other words, it could not be taken back.
The director’s worries deepened further, but there was one comforting fact.
If Tysun, the largest food company in the United States, had made an offer in the ten-billion-won range, that meant the industry clearly saw high potential in it. In that sense, he could understand why the fellow had called twice the price.
After a long bout of thought, the director opened his mouth.
“MOA...”