Revival Meetings and the Young Lambs

Religious groups often run 'revival meetings' as a means to reinforce faith. Everyone gathers to testify about their faith, share the happiness and experiences gained from practicing that faith, and aim for group reinforcement. It is a very important practice within religious groups, and rather than being limited to a specific religion, it takes place in most contexts that involve faith.

The reason I am suddenly talking about religion is that, in personal conversations with several people, I realized that these kinds of revival meetings are happening frequently. This is something I have criticized before in a post below. I don't know if it's just catching my eye more often lately, but there are certain gatherings where they bring people together under the banner of challenges and study groups to hold what are essentially revival meetings. This happens even more severely targeting juniors or people trying to start something new. Here, I will refer to them as beginners.

Haebom[Editorial] Startups, Knowledge Business, and the Lecture Market?Startup culture has been regarded as a symbol of innovation and transformation, but the reality hidden behind it is often not as beautiful as its gleaming image. Recently on YouTube, there has been an influx of videos exposing the exaggeration and consumer deception by traditional success gurus or people selling courses on how to make 10 million won a month. What if we apply this to startup culture? Startups set out with the audacious goal of changing the world. However, many of them excessively package their mission and innovation, and despite actually offering nothing more than minor feature improvements or basic services, they advertise as if they are revolutionary inventions that will reshape the world. Well, while I sometimes wonder if it's somewhat for IR purposes, expressions that cause exaggeration and misunderstanding are frequently used. (Inflating user numbers, inflating revenue, claiming to be #1 in unknown categories, etc.) Moreover, packaged under terms like marketing and hooking, these are overly sensational and, in many cases, outright lies from the start. We have socially agreed and know that the method of 'just shoot first and match the numbers later' is extremely dangerous, yet some people still seem to view this as meaningful storytelling. Revenue and profit, or annual salary and sales, are distinctly different concepts, and investment capital and earnings are also clearly different concepts, but cases where these are mixed up to mislead customers, investors, and users are already far too common. Whether on crowdfunding sites, lecture platforms, social media, or anywhere else. Let's return to the startup story. The illusion and its reality: In this process, the startup ecosystem is writing a history of spectacular failures, and behind these failures lie the stories of countless workers who burned out or were laid off after being unable to endure the relentless pressure and stress. Looking at the workforce and careers that were actually ground down by the glamorous challenge of entrepreneurship, it really can't be called purely great. Investment money is one of the main factors fueling this illusion. To attract venture capital, founders package their ideas as revolutionary and strive to mimic the image of innovators like Steve Jobs. However, this is hype marketing for unproven ideas and is closer to selling illusions rather than substantial value or innovation. I've even seen cases where, despite the product yielding no real results, founders gave interviews claiming they were building the best product out there, deceiving their team members and even themselves. In such cases, beyond seeking investment, they seemed more like the type of people who simply wanted to become famous. (Though I believe they have gone out of business by now.)haebom.dev ↗

Haebom[Editorial] Lately, Too Many Course Ads Are Popping Up.The Era of the Great Knowledge Industry In recent years, the market known as the creator economy has met a new renaissance. Centered around YouTube, personal streamers, influencers across social media, and in-depth articles delivered through newsletters like Substack... all of these have created massive social and economic waves powered by individual creativity, knowledge sharing, and entertainment. Lately, no matter what site I visit, whether it's Google ads or in-app ads, if it's not a game ad, it's a course ad. Of course, that might just be because I'm being targeted that way, but hearing people around me say that the faces in ads run by lecture platforms show up way too big, I think it's mostly similar for everyone, even if the specific courses shown are different. Changing Goals from the Starting Point Many people start social media activities to turn their hobbies into professions and their dreams into reality. As stories emerge of people becoming YouTubers who share cooking secrets with the world from a small kitchen, or sharing their methods for brewing their own coffee beans, all of these journeys seem to stem from pure joy and boundless creativity. However, as everyone knows, over time they are pressured to produce more content and acquire better equipment. These demands ultimately boil down to the realistic issue of money. And from a certain point, there are cases where the purpose itself shifts entirely to money, or where people start solely with money in mind. Is Sponsorship the Future? Sponsorship models including YouTube channel memberships, OnlyFans, and Patreon gave a message of hope to many creators through Kevin Kelly's old '1,000 True Fans' theory. The alluring phrase, 'As long as you have true supporters, you can make a living with your content,' sounds plausible. After all, if a thousand people who like me each give 10,000 won a month, that's an income of 10 million won a month. But in reality, creators are lucky if even 5% of their followers convert to paid subscribers, often falling far short of expectations. Furthermore, there are increasingly more cases where people cross the line with their demands behind the scenes of such sponsorships.haebom.dev ↗

Haebom[Editorial] What We Need Is Not 'Self-Improvement', but Social SupportOver the past few years, the publishing industry has been swept up in a self-improvement craze. Pushing oneself hard, working out diligently, sticking to a healthy diet, exercising, making friends, and becoming happy. But no matter how many books are published and read, Koreans are still not happy, not healthy, and don't put into practice anything they read in those books. I too used to read many books in the self-improvement genre, but recently I realized what a waste of time it was to try to improve my life by hovering around the periphery without ever touching the core of the problem. In truth, most problems Koreans face are difficult to solve at an individual level. In an environment rampant with long working hours and overtime, it's not easy to have the leeway to invest in hobbies or self-development. It is a fact that structural problems such as high real estate prices, education costs, and precarious employment conditions are difficult to resolve through individual effort alone. They say Nordic countries are happy...? A happy and healthy life isn't achieved solely through individual effort; it is determined by the social system to which one belongs. In this context, Denmark's case offers a lot of food for thought. Denmark is ranked among the happiest nations in the world, and the secret lies in broad social support for its citizens. The Danish government implements various welfare policies that guarantee the basic livelihoods of its citizens, including healthcare, education, childcare, maternity leave, and unemployment benefits. They also put considerable effort into establishing public infrastructure to enhance citizens' happiness. Through short working weeks of 34 hours, work-life balance is prioritized, and excessive work is actually viewed negatively. An interesting fact is that 57% of Danish citizens answered that they would not quit their current job even if they won the lottery. For those who work for self-realization and happiness, their career is merely a part of life, not everything. Furthermore, citizens' voluntary activities and sense of community are highly developed. Of course, all of this comes at the cost of high taxes. That's always the case with Nordic countries. However, it seems well worth paying taxes if it means improving the quality of life. In Korean society, which has long emphasized diligence and self-made success, it might be difficult to adopt a Danish-style system right away. But isn't it time to face the problems caused by excessive individualism and shift our perception toward looking out for one another as a community living together?haebom.dev ↗

In these gatherings, they organize study groups or challenges centered around new ventures and goals, and along the way, participants boast about each other's success and progress while encouraging one another. This in itself is not an issue. Rather, it plays a major role in building a healthy community. The problem arises, however, when excessive exaggeration and false claims begin to intertwine. Especially when inexperienced beginners accept these exaggerated claims at face value, there is a high likelihood of experiencing disappointment and frustration.

Why Beginners Are Easily Swayed

Because beginners have relatively little experience, it is easy for them to be swayed by someone's exaggerated words or inflated promises. In particular, when exaggerated slogans like "Leverage AI to boost your productivity by 5x" or unverified goals are presented as if they were gospel truth, beginners are prone to taking those words literally. Because they lack extensive experience, they inevitably lack the ability to discern the authenticity of information. That's why, if it comes from a seemingly trustworthy senior or expert, they readily believe and follow it. However, this carries a high risk of falling into misplaced expectations and ideals, leading to frustration. When hearing such stories, Rather than falling for sweet buzzwords like "Artificial Intelligence," "Productivity," and "5x," we need to discuss rationally and pragmatically how we previously defined and measured productivity, how that 5x figure was derived, and what kind of artificial intelligence is actually being referred to.

An Attitude of Moving Forward Without Getting Trapped in Past Glories

This phenomenon can also be linked to the webcomic that trended online, 'The Child Who Eats Live Octopus Well'. In childhood, eating live octopus well is seen by many people as a special and unique talent. However, once you become an adult, eating live octopus is nothing special. In other words, it offers the lesson that rather than being consumed by past achievements or brief moments in the spotlight, it is important to continuously seek newness and develop oneself as an adult. The same applies to beginners. They need to move beyond early small wins or recognition and constantly strive toward new challenges and growth.

Realistic Advice for Beginners

• The Importance of Reliable Information: Rather than unconditionally accepting any piece of information, you need an attitude of identifying its source and reliability, approaching it critically. Cultivating this habit is especially crucial for beginners.
• Setting New Goals and Evolving: Rather than obsessing over past achievements, you should adopt an attitude of using them as stepping stones to continuously set new goals and take on challenges. Amid rapidly evolving technologies and environments, continuous self-development and new learning are essential.
• Building Your Own Growth Strategy: While beginners are busy chasing fast-changing trends, rather than blindly following along, they should devise their own growth strategy and develop in a way that yields results over the long term. For example, instead of merely learning AI or the latest technology, it's better to explore concrete ways to apply them to real-world tasks or projects.

The passion beginners possess in the early stages of their careers is an invaluable energy that cannot be replaced by anything. However, so that they do not experience frustration by being swayed by false information or inflated expectations, they need an attitude of setting realistic, achievable goals and striving for continuous growth. I hope beginners avoid deceiving themselves, build genuine competency, and grow their careers.

People who fall into cults or multi-level marketing schemes don't fall for them because they are stupid or foolish. When you have no peace of mind or feel a sense of lack, need somewhere to lean on, and want to solve immediate problems, situations arise where you simply can't help falling into temptation. Anyone can be deceived, but you need to be able to recognize it quickly and get out, or look back and acknowledge that something went wrong, even if it is painful. That will serve as a stepping stone to moving in a better direction.