Before making filming plans with Choi Jin-woo, I searched for the broadcast footage of Park Jung-nam’s previous appearances.
There was a video of Park Jung-nam on a network TV program where he performed a segment identifying different types of pork belly. The premise was to lay out ten types of pork belly and guess which was which.
In the video, Park Jung-nam picked up the meat one by one and answered with confidence. He acted like a man who knew everything.
“This looks like brand-name meat that was well-managed in a facility like our company’s.”
“This one seems to be domestic.”
“This looks like frozen meat that’s been thawed.”
“Hmm… This one seems imported, but… It’s imported, right? No?”
The result, however, was that he only got about five out of ten right. And even then, it wasn’t an exact match; he mostly just squeezed his vague answers into the correct categories.
What I couldn’t understand at all was the attitude of the other guests, who treated Park Jung-nam as if they were serving a god.
“Wow, you’re truly amazing, CEO!”
“You really are an expert!”
“CEO, how do you know things like that?”
Park Jung-nam laughed with a triumphant expression.
“My goodness, you have to be at this level to run a butcher shop. It’s the basic of basics. People must think business is a joke. These days, people starting their own businesses should study at least this much before they begin.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Considering the editing, it was highly likely he hadn’t even gotten five right in reality. They probably only edited in the parts that made him look the most plausible.
In truth, even if you use all five senses, it’s not easy to accurately distinguish meat before tasting it. No, in most cases, you wouldn’t know even after tasting it. It was a difficult task even for someone with as much experience as Park Jung-nam.
However, the other guests praised him to suit the show’s flavor. The viewers admired Park Jung-nam’s expertise without any resistance. Park Jung-nam also seemed to enjoy the reaction.
Looking through the internet, not everyone was enthusiastic about him. However, the opinions of those questioning his abilities were ridiculed as the jealousy of a petty neighbor.
If Park Jung-nam vaguely got five out of ten right, I intended to get more than that exactly right. If Park Jung-nam had the help of editing, I would do it without a single second of editing… I planned to make Choi Jin-woo’s broadcast my first stage.
***
“Hello, Boss.”
Choi Jin-woo appeared at Branch Three with his equipment.
“You’re here, Jin-woo.”
“You’ve been busy opening the new store lately, haven’t you?”
“I’m sorry. We were supposed to do this every week…”
“No, it’s fine. It couldn’t be helped. But what topic are we going with for this week’s broadcast? Are we going with the meat story as you mentioned last time, or is there something else…?”
“I’m planning to do something a bit special this time.”
“Something special?”
“Jin-woo, don’t you want to properly learn how to choose pork belly?”
Choi Jin-woo’s eyes sparkled.
“Of course I want to learn. The viewers will love that kind of content, too.”
“Then let’s do this. Without telling me, go and buy pork belly from various places.”
“What? Without telling you? Will you be okay? If you mess up…”
“Yes, it’s fine. Without knowing where it was bought or what brand it is, I’ll try to distinguish what kind of meat it is based solely on the appearance, without any bias.”
I didn’t specify which brand he should buy, but I was confident. Anyone who buys meat in this country wouldn’t leave out Megameat. If someone like Choi Jin-woo bought meat from various places, Megameat would inevitably be included. In fact, it would be weirder to form a sample set while excluding Megameat.
Choi Jin-woo wore an understanding expression.
“Ah, it’s like a blind test.”
“Exactly. And please film the entire purchasing process. What store you bought it from, what packaging it was in, how much it cost—everything. Buy as diverse a range as possible.”
“Whoa… then it’ll literally be an objective evaluation.”
I was planning to show off a one-man show under the guise of an objective evaluation. If Park Jung-nam’s weapon was public popularity, I intended to match his level of influence to some extent.
“You can just buy pork belly. Bring a variety—imported, domestic, frozen, chilled—don’t leave anything out. Also, buy from diverse sources like large marts, famous brand butcher shops, neighborhood butchers, online… things like that.”
“Yes, I understand. So, you’re going to guess what kind of meat it is just by looking at it?”
“That’s right. And I’ll explain in detail why this meat is good and why that meat is bad.”
Choi Jin-woo nodded with an excited expression.
“Then the viewers will actually know what to look for when they buy meat.”
“Yes, and at the end, let’s actually grill them and compare the taste. We’ll show how good meat and bad meat differ when cooked.”
“That’s going to be some jam-packed content. We might run out of time.”
Would this be enough to sufficiently attract people’s attention?
“Then when should we film?”
“How about you buy the meat tomorrow morning and we film in the afternoon? If the meat gets too old, it’ll be hard to give an accurate evaluation.”
“Got it! I’m really looking forward to this, Boss.”
Whether it was 2025 or 2157, people thought famous people were more trustworthy. This was despite the fact that the opposite was more often true.
That was exactly the strategy Park Jung-nam had used until now. He prioritized the brand power of Megameat and his own name recognition over the product itself. People began to believe that Park Jung-nam’s recognition was equivalent to the quality of the meat. And that strategy had worked very well so far.
My idea that people would just know if I sold good meat was naive. Reality was different. I had to admit now that fame was sometimes a more powerful weapon than the truth.
***
The following afternoon, Choi Jin-woo was scheduled to visit Branch Two with one staff member. Branch Two, which handled packaging work, was much more convenient for filming than Branch Three, where customers came and went. I left Branch Three to Min-jae and headed to Branch Two.
“Hello, Boss! I’ve prepared all the pork belly.”
Choi Jin-woo greeted me along with his staff and began setting up the equipment.
“Well then, Boss. Could you stand back and turn around while we prepare the pork belly? We’ll film this scene too.”
“Yes, understood.”
I stood with my back turned, waiting while looking toward the packaging workbench in the back. I heard the busy sounds of Choi Jin-woo and the staff moving behind me. The sound of tearing plastic packaging, the sound of placing meat on plates, and Choi Jin-woo even recorded the audio.
“How many did you buy, Jin-woo?”
I asked while keeping my back turned. Choi Jin-woo was filming this scene as well.
“I bought from fifteen different places in total. Since I bought a real variety, it’s going to be very difficult.”
“It’s fine. We’re doing this for fun anyway.”
I heard the sound of the staff moving around with the camera.
“Boss, I’m honestly curious too. How you’re going to get it right.”
“Well, I wonder how many I can get right myself… Let’s just film this thinking of it as a fun event.”
Of course, I was confident, but I spoke as humbly as possible. It was about image-making.
If Park Jung-nam was the warm neighborhood uncle, I had to be the sharp expert. Above all, I had to look like a person with real skill.
While Park Jung-nam captured people’s hearts with laughter and jokes, I had to compete with accurate knowledge and systematic explanations. If he appealed to emotion, I would appeal to logic. I had to be even more careful in front of the camera. I couldn’t look too conceited or arrogant, but I also couldn’t look too intimidated. A balance of appropriate confidence and humility was necessary. The image of an expert who is recognized for his skill but isn’t arrogant.
“Oh, and Boss. I felt this while I was out buying meat, but the difference between shops is really big. Some places have completely different colors.”
“That’s right. I’ll explain those differences in detail today.”
The sound of plates clinking came from behind.
“Boss, everything is ready! You can turn around now.”
I slowly turned my body. Fifteen white plates of the same size were lined up on the workbench. Pork belly was placed on each, and even at a glance, clear differences were visible. Although I could finish the task in 5 seconds per plate, I had to show the process of observing step-by-step for the camera.
“Now, first, let’s take a look from a distance. Since I don’t know the prices, I’ll look at the quality of the meat first.”
I took a step back from the workbench and slowly scanned the fifteen plates. Choi Jin-woo looked back and forth at the plates with an interested expression.
“Wow, this is really fascinating.”
“What’s fascinating?”
“When I looked at the meats one by one, I thought they were all just similar pork belly. But looking at them all in one place like this, they look completely different. I don’t know if the viewers will be able to tell the difference on the screen.”
The accompanying staff scanned all the plates once with the camera. I nodded with a smile.
“It is difficult to judge when you’re looking at only one piece of meat. However, when you lay several out and compare them, the differences become clear.”
“Even to me, the color of the meat already looks different for each one?”
“That’s right. You can gauge the quality and freshness to some extent just by looking at the color. Even so, this method wouldn’t work when we’re actually buying meat, right? We can’t buy meat from several places, compare them, and then choose.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
“I’ll first teach you a method that the viewers can follow. Honestly, it’s not easy, but it’s worth a try for those with a good eye.”
“Yes, let’s start with the first method.”
I pointed to the first plate.
“Now, look at this meat first.”
Choi Jin-woo brought the camera closer.
“This meat has too deep a color. Can you see that it has a very faint brown tint?”
“Yes, this pork belly definitely looks dark.”
“Right? Good pork belly should be a pale red color.”
“What color exactly is pale red?”
“You can think of it as a clear red. This pale red is evidence that the myoglobin in the muscle is still alive.”
“Right. Myoglobin.”
“Yes, it’s the pigment component of meat. As time passes and it reacts with oxygen, it turns brown.”
Choi Jin-woo nodded and focused the camera on the first piece of meat.
“Then, this meat has been sitting for a while?”
“That’s right. And another important thing is the gloss.”
“The gloss?”
“Fresh meat has a subtle juice forming on the surface, making it sparkle. It’s not good if it looks too dry or, conversely, if it’s dripping with moisture.”
Choi Jin-woo looked at the other plates and compared them.
“Ah, there really is a difference. Then why is it bad if it’s dry?”
“If it’s dry, it means it’s been on display for a long time and the moisture has evaporated. If it’s dripping with moisture, it’s often a case of frozen meat being thawed.”
“Wow, just knowing this would completely change the way I choose meat.”
“Exactly. If you correctly identify the color and gloss, you’re halfway there.”
The meat on the fifth plate caught my eye.
“Now, shall we look at the fifth plate over there? It’s the exact opposite of the brownish meat we saw earlier, isn’t it?”
Under the lights, the pale color of the meat was clearly revealed.
“The color is too pale, right? The red tint is so faint it’s almost white, and it’s hard to find any gloss either.”
Choi Jin-woo tilted his head and stared intensely at the meat.
“Huh? You’re right. Comparing it to the other meats, it definitely feels pale. Could it be that this one is fresher?”
“No, it’s easy to be mistaken, but this meat is actually on the less fresh side. This color is a typical characteristic that appears when frozen meat is thawed. Of course, keep in mind that even thawed meat can maintain its color to some extent if the storage and distribution conditions are good.”
Choi Jin-woo made a deliberate expression of surprise.
“What? You can tell it’s frozen and then thawed just by the color?”
“There’s a scientific reason for this. When you freeze meat, the moisture inside the meat freezes and creates very fine ice crystals.”
“Ice crystals?”
“But these ice crystals tear and burst the meat cell membranes. It’s the same principle as frozen vegetables becoming mushy.”
He nodded as if he understood.
“Ah, so that’s why frozen vegetables get mushy when thawed.”
“Exactly. When the meat is thawed again while the cell membranes are destroyed, the myoglobin, the red pigment, escapes along with the meat juice that the meat was holding.”
“The myoglobin escapes?”
“Yes, this is commonly called drip. You’ve seen the red liquid that comes out when thawing, right?”
He looked up and stared at the camera in front of him. A YouTuber of Choi Jin-woo’s level wouldn’t lack this much knowledge. However, his exaggerated reactions for the broadcast were adding to the fun.
“Aha!! So that’s what it was!! I’m sure the viewers have seen it at least once while cooking.”
“That place where the pigment and juice have escaped is what looks pale and slightly crumbly in texture. Meat with a lot of drip will inevitably be dry and have a weak meaty aroma when cooked.”
Choi Jin-woo looked closely at the meat again.
“Then this pork belly won’t taste good if you grill it?”
“Pork belly, in particular, relies on its juices, so if it’s this pale, it’s hard to expect good flavor. Even if it looks okay on the outside, the core components of the flavor have already escaped. I don’t think I even need to try this meat… If you’re curious, you can eat it, Jin-woo.”
“Ah… I’ll… pass as well. Haha.”
This time, I pointed to the meat on the third plate.
“Look at this meat.”
It was the moment I slightly lifted the meat on the plate with my fingers. I found a familiar passage within the information passing quickly through my head.
[Product Information]
Item: Pork Belly
Grade: Grade 2
Freshness: 88% (Good)
Processing Date: 2 days ago
Storage Condition: Good (Steady refrigeration)
Color: Slightly pale
Texture: Lacking elasticity, excessive moisture
Odor: Slight odor
Fat Distribution: Signs of artificial rapid weight gain
Feed Information:
Crude Protein: 16% (Corn gluten, soybean meal)
Crude Fat: 6.5%
Lysine: 0.85%
Methionine: 0.25%
Antibiotic components detected
Stress hormone residues detected
Overall Evaluation: Quality degradation due to rapid breeding, signs of stressful breeding
‘No, wait.’
Stress signs. Signs of weights being rushed. Above all, this feed ingredient ratio!
It was exactly identical to the special mixed feed that CEO Lee had shown me at the Eumseong Megameat exclusive farm. It was the feed whose ingredients I had personally witnessed at Megameat’s mass production site.
Then, this meat is undoubtedly Megameat.
‘Found it!’
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