The final winner who got his own store was Joo Hyun-wook.

On the 22nd, the final episode of ENA‘s ‘Baek Jong-won’s Les Miserables’ aired. The 100-day long journey in which 20 challengers with intense narratives fought a Spartan-style survival battle to seize what might be their first and last chance to turn their lives around has come to an end. The challengers who started out with earnestness have gradually shed the ‘loser’ label and begun to transform into true businessmen. And the main character who seized the chance to turn his life around by winning the final was Joo Hyun-wook, number 16.

On this day, the TOP3 (Choi Jeong-hyun, number 08, Son Woo-sung, number 16, Joo Hyun-wook) who made it through the fierce semi-finals received the final mission for the finals. They each opened a store in Namwon Gwanghallu and did business for three days. The final winner is determined by the net profit from the three-day business. CEO Baek Jong-won explained, “It’s a mission that’s very close to real business. Since the standard is net profit, there’s a lot to worry about, including turnover, inventory management, and profit margin. It’s the most difficult mission.”

The TOP 3 each approached business with a firm determination. Choi Jeong-hyun, who wants to succeed and take revenge on the parents who abandoned her when she was young, has the shortest cooking experience among the TOP 3, but she put her best effort into her friendliness and customer service skills. Son Woo-sung, a father in his 40s in South Korea who owes 500 million won, is determined by his sense of guilt and responsibility toward his family. Joo Hyun-wook, 16, gave up his major, sports, and took up a wok to make a living because his father, who was addicted to multi-level marketing, owed 400 million won. Joo Hyun-wook, 16, jumped into the finals based on his solid cooking skills and diligence.

The TOP 3 each had clear strengths and weaknesses. CEO Baek Jong-won and the four-person team of chefs (Kim Min-seong, David Lee, Lim Tae-hoon, and Yoon Nam-no) watched the finals with cheering hearts as they accompanied the TOP3 on their 100-day journey. However, as expected from the finals, the TOP3 were pushed to the edge both mentally and physically. Choi Jeong-hyeon (08), who had been calling out to customers at the top of her lungs, had lost her voice, and Son Woo-seong (14) suffered from severe pain that reminded him of his past chronic illness, so he had to take painkillers to endure it. Joo Hyun-wook (16) was exhausted from the barrage of orders.

However, what caught attention was the changes and growth of the TOP3. In particular, Joo Hyun-wook (16) created a restaurant in Namwon that had people lining up in line in just 3 days with the menu of fish-flavored eggplant that he completed with the help of his mentor, Chef Im Tae-hoon. As a result, the final winner was Joo Hyun-wook #16, who recorded a total sales of 11,616,000 won and a net profit of 6,036,060 won over 3 days. The final winner, Joo Hyun-wook #16, was given 50 million won in start-up funds and a chance to turn his life around by opening his own store.


Joo Hyun-wook #16 said, “I trusted Chef Im Tae-hoon and followed him diligently, and I‘m grateful that I was able to achieve results. I’m also really grateful to CEO Baek Jong-won for creating this opportunity for me. I will work hard to show you a better side of me in the future.” He also said, “I really wanted to learn cooking, but I had no idea. After seeing Chef Im Tae-hoon, I thought that was the only way I could succeed. He said, ”I feel like I‘ve gained hope.“

After the final winner was announced, CEO Baek Jong-won said in an interview with the production crew, ”I’ve been on numerous broadcasts, but I‘m worried about what to do after winning first place. I’ve trained for real-life situations, so it‘s a shame. Shouldn’t we teach them more and give them more experience to increase their chances of success? I want to show them examples of ‘Les Miserables’ contestants succeeding and establishing themselves. That way, more people will try their hand.“

Then, the eliminated contestants from ‘Baek Jong-won’s Les Miserables‘ appeared on the screen: Choi Yoon-seong (02), Jeon Dong-jin (03), Yang Kyung-min (04), Kim Kook-heon (06), Choi Jeong-hyeon (08), Yoo Hyo-deok (10), Son Woo-seong (14), and Lim Yeong-jun (18). After four months, they gathered their hearts at the Yesan Permanent Market and began new training to become merchants. Their challenge had been going on for over 100 days and had been going on for half a year. Along with this, the final winner, Joo Hyun-wook, 16, also revealed his own store preparations.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter projecthong@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.