▲ Yeadam Gogan / CEO Sungchul Jang

Gangneung Joonang Sijang (Gangneung central market) is famous for local foods: garlic bread, ice cream pancake, grilled kimchi pork belly, chicken skewer, seasoned cockle and sweet and sour chicken ball. Recently, ‘oranda gangjeong (sweet rice puffs)’ is rising as a must-try among the residents and visitors alike. ‘Citron oranda gangjeong’ in particular is attracting a great attention. 

Introduced by Yeadam Gogan, it contains naturally fermented food and bamboo salt and CEO Sungchul Jang says it is good for elderly, children and patients suffering from cancer and diabetes. Oranda has no sugar and oil and is not oil-fried which keeps tender and moisty taste for 6 months. Some of other hot sellers of Yeadam Gogan are: gamtae oranda gangjeong, puffing brown rice cake, fermented vinegar and bamboo salt.  

Jang has studied fermented foods for 23 years. His naturally made fermented foods are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and some of them are being exported. His devotion to fermented food research and products attracted media’s attention and he was invited to a number of TV shows. 

Joining the business
As an ardent Christian, Jang is ambitious to run 153 Yeadam Gogan stores nationwide. The idea comes from John 21:11: So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore, It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.”

“I’ve self-developed 22 kinds of ‘han-gwa’, traditional Korean sweets and cookies, and I’m targeting people aged over 65 for my ideal business partners because they are slow but honest. When completed, the 153 stores nationwide will make contribution to promoting people’s health for they are healthy foods” says Jang.

Social activities
Jang majored in theology at Yonsei University Graduate School of Theology. He served ministry for 2 years before he brought up his business name Yeadam to mean ‘Jesus-like’. He offered free ‘han-gwa’ to visitors at Gangneung Joonang Sijang alongside helping people in need. 

Apart from his pastor’s and CEO’s roles, Jang has served as an adjunct professor of natural healing at Kyonggi University Graduate School of Business Administration and currently is serving as the president of the International Natural Healing Association. 

“I learned natural healing from my teacher Dusuk Jang. He has healed many people suffering from diseases and I was impressed. After accumulating considerable amount of knowledge and methods, I’m now giving my helping hand for cancer and diabetes patients. I’m confident with my health as I wear t-shirt in winter and can sit in cold water bath for 25 minutes. That’s my way of natural healing.”

 
When you lose health, you lose everything
Jang emphasizes that there is a saying ‘When you lose money, you lose part but when you lose health, you lose everything’. “When you are closer to nature, you get remote from diseases. When you are remote from nature, you get closer to diseases. This is what I’m saying the natural healing. So when you get ill, shift yourself to nature where the sun is abundant, the air fresh and the water clean.”

When asked about future plan, Jang said that he was writing a book of natural healing. “I’m going to point out in the book that action is more important than knowing. Also, I’m going to explain that symptoms are a process of healing rather than diseases itself and many of incurable diseases we know in fact are diseases from eating habit and life style. I hope my book will help people keep or regain their health.”

Jang added that he wished the happy virus of his book would enliven the lives of people who were tired of novel coronavirus.