Transcript: TTM - Tae Kim

Transcript of TTC with Tae Kim!

Tae: The abbreviation is IFEZ, and Incheon has received a really material amount of investments to build this economic free zone and starting from next year there will be a lot of opportunities for many companies to contribute to Incheon turnaround, their vision and their innovativeness to integrate blockchain within their supply chain, into the medical sector all the way from public services to private services throughout Incheon. They do want to be one of the first cities to actually integrate blockchain. So it's great news.

Mike: Do you think it's kind of like Florida trying to create their own blockchain City?

Tae: It might not be like that but I'm hoping that it might not even only be exclusive to Korea! But you know, especially if the government is pushing for a certain narrative or agenda, then you know the public will pretty much follow it. So  I think with the push and the influence from the government more people will be very more open-minded about blockchain and how just regular Web2 can integrate or transition into web3.

Mike: All right! So the next question comes from Chukwu. What strategies do you employ to navigate cultural differences and business norms in Korea to ensure successful relationship building efforts?

Tae:  Yeah that's a good question. Korean culture is very particular, there's like different mannerisms, different spoken and unspoken rules, different levels of politeness,  respect and it's definitely case by case as you have to know your audience. I've had no problems getting a meeting with somebody, sharing my thoughts and common interests and posing the deals. I’ve had no no issues so far. 

Mike: Okay so let's jump into the next question from Emmanuel. What are the specific regulatory and legal factors that we need to consider when implementing blockchain in Korea's Healthcare sector?

Tae: That's another really good question. So a legal and regulatory factor might be issues or barriers. Well,  I mean we can call it barriers but it's not again exclusive to Korea. Medical and healthcare related data is the most controlled form of data and it has the most limitations of where it can be used compared to other types of data. It's considered highly sensitive and highly confidential but I did mention before that if a patient or the user has control over their own data you know by using just the Care.Wallet, your own node, it will just alleviate a lot of these barriers to be honest because even though Korea has like a very good hospital system and  healthcare system, all that data is definitely still centralized, it is stored by the hospital, controlled by the hospital or the insurance company. However, through our solutions we eliminate a lot of these different silos and by doing so the user actually has control over their own data. So I feel like once our solutions are actually integrated into the healthcare systems here in Korea, we're going to be able to show the world and not only the world but specifically Korea that it can be done within the laws and within the regulations. To be on a safe side, we do have a legal team here at Solve.Care. So before we do anything it goes through vigorous legal team inspections. 

Mike: Definitely we're always on the side of compliance, so we always run everything through our compliance team. It is tricky being in blockchain and in healthcare at the same time but I think we’ve handled it quite well.  So the next question from Unique. What kind of support and training does Solve.Care provide to Healthcare Providers and Organizations in Korea to facilitate the adoption of their platform?

Tae: That's a great question. I think I answered some of that already. You know, once we sign a partnership agreement, an MOU or contracts, we spend a lot of time doing workshops for employees (that's not only in Korea but everywhere globally). So all the partners that we've ever had, we do workshops with them, with the staff, with the leadership team just so that they understand exactly what the network will do, what their journeys would do etc. People that follow Solve.Care and most of the people here in our communities knows that we use proprietary type terms like Care.Wallet, Care.Journey, Care.Cards etc and these are all new terms, so definitely all of these things needs to be explained and we dive deep into all of these topics so everybody that's working with us or new clients are super familiar with what we're doing.

Mike: That’s cool. We have a complex system so it is very challenging to explain all the terms and all the different layers of our platform. It's good that you have an initiative to try and educate these potential clients or signing partners on what we do and how it works because it's important to them. So this next question from Mike (not me but a community member). I would have probably asked that first, lol. As a Korean Regional Manager, what's your role in the team and what does your job description look like?

Tae: Are you sure it's not cheap because I think you did ask me that before. As a regional manager in Korea, I overview a lot of the activities including marketing, the condition of SOLVE and even like the bigger picture where I'm trying to create or increase accessibility of SOLVE for people in Korea and then also to create real utility and use cases for SOLVE. I overview partnerships and accounting ( I do have an accounting background). I also teach in the Blockchain College. Whatever is available at Solve.Care, like I'll just raise my hand saying “oh I'll do it”.

Mike: I'm the same way. I'm on so many different projects and things now because of that. Alright so Anita asks what strategies are in place to boost a Solve.Care brand in Korea?

Tae: Our branding has actually pretty improved over the past few months. We are definitely staying within the global brand and that's actually helping us a lot right because Solve.Care Korea before was in a space where you just literally translate English to Korean and we know a lot of times when that happens people miss the meaning, the intention of the message, it could be a joke, it could be really funny in English but then when once it is translated in Korean, it's like what the heck are they talking about. So we are trying, we are definitely localizing a lot of the terminologies that we're using and I think that has really helped the brand a lot and we plan on definitely continuing to improve in that field, in that area and and so definitely to better localization.

Mike: That’s great. It is difficult with the cultural differences, the language barriers. It's now that we have a full Community Management Team all based in Korea, they've helped so much with the translations and just keeping in touch with the community because I've used telegram for the translations and sometimes reading it makes no sense. So it's good to have them and to have that localization. 

So Anita asks about the Hillstone partnership. What kind of initiatives or upcoming projects are planned under the Hillstone partnership?

Tae: When we signed the partnership with Hillstone, it was under the basis of the Incheon Economic Free Zone. They do have a strong presence as well and so we thought that it would be very beneficial for both parties to team up to create solutions and provide services when the Incheon Economic Free Zone comes up next year. We're definitely always brainstorming and coming up with different plans on how we can use each other's resources to provide these services. Without going into too much detail, that's definitely the basis of our partnership with Hillstone.

Mike: I'm very excited to see the fruition from that because I feel like that's a big one. They're such a good name in Korea and it's such a great opportunity with the Incheon Economic Free Zone, so I'm excited for that. So another question from Chukwu. How do we demonstrate our credibility and expertise in blockchain within the Korean healthcare industry?

Tae: That's a great question. Our credibility, basically we're leading by example. A lot of other healthcare blockchain companies that may have started around the same time we did or even before are not really doing too much these days. They're not surviving because we all know that with blockchain it has to be very Tech-heavy (technology heavy) and the technology has to make sense, the solutions and types of innovativeness have to make sense, it has to be realistic. Our credibility comes (this is my personal opinion) from just leading by example. With all of our other clients globally, the great reviews and comments that they have for us even after we have provided that solution for them just speaks volumes. 

Mike: That’s definitely true. So on an unrelated note do you miss California?

Tae: I talk to my family often.  My family and my friend are still out there and they all tell me not to come back because things are not that great. It's not the California or the LA that I remembered or how I remember. There's a lot of things that's going on out there that's very unfortunate to be honest. 

Mike: Yeah they need big help with their mental health. I feel like Solve.Care can help them but it's pretty much the same for me, I just have a lot of friends telling me it's not the same. San Diego used to be like one of the most laid-back places on the Earth. Now everyone's working so hard because of the prices now it's changed but I miss Mexican food. 

Tae: Authentic Mexican food. San Diego has the best Mexican food too so close to TJ.

Mike: You know it all right. So I have another question from Anita. How does the Solve.Care audit score we just had from Xangle improve our ability to form a new Partnership?

Tae: I'm glad that somebody asked about Xangle and the audit score. I know that some of the community members thought that it was a very low score or relatively low score but to be honest, to get that even that type of grade from Xangle is near to impossible. Xangle is notoriously known for giving low scores. I was actually part of the consultation process with Xangle during that time and I visited them at their office and they were almost celebrating that we actually got a B+ because other projects, especially older projects failed to get anywhere close to the grade that we got even with new projects as well. 

The grade that we got, the other results that we have has opened so many doors for us. Normally we would have to go through different types of screening processes and another internal type of review with the project or clients that were meeting, but now just that report alone cuts the time of going through all that. I don't know if any other community members in Korea came to the opening ceremony for Blockchain College, the Manager for Xangle actually spoke at the opening ceremony and he gave us so many compliments throughout his time of presentation how other projects should be more like Solve.Care. He stated clearly Solve.Care is a meaningful project and if other people are trying to start their own blockchain company or anything like that then they should follow our lead. I was actually very floored when I heard Xangle's presentation during the Blockchain College Opening ceremony. To cut it short, it's been very beneficial for us.

Mike: Very cool and awesome. So we have one last question here before we wrap up. This one comes from Emmanuel. How does Solve.Care promote patient engagement and empowerment in Korea encouraging them to actively participate in their Healthcare journey through our platform?

Tae: That's a great question. I did mention this before but with the new release of R8, clinical trials and the clinical research, I think Koreans can definitely get a first-hand taste of how their personal data can contribute to different diseases, specifically that may resonate more with that user. Currently, there's nothing out there like that and there is nowhere in the world where you can actually do this. I'm so excited about it and I think it's going to be an amazing experience for a lot of people. 

Mike:  It definitely will. As a community member even before I took this bigger role with Solve.Care, I didn't get to see a lot of the inner workings of Solve.Care. I honestly found out about announcements a few minutes before they would come out and now that I've taken this bigger role I can see a lot more of what's happening on the inside and it's a lot more exciting. Is there anything that you see coming up within the next couple of months that's really exciting on the Korean side?

Tae: I'll just say that there's going to be a real use case and utility for SOLVE where people can actually use it for other things. It's going to be amazing! 

Mike: This is an open network where anyone can use, right?

Tae: Yeah!

Mike: That’s powerful! I know there's a lot of people that want to hear that and they have been waiting for it as well. We have one coming out very soon that people can start utilizing but I know the one you're working on is very well known and I'm excited for that one. We won't leak any more information about that okay.

So do you have any closing thoughts today? What do you want to tell the community?

Tae: Yes I do! I feel like we do have part of our Xangle Audit report that says our community is one of the strongest that they've ever seen and so I do appreciate our community and definitely I know that it could be difficult at times but we're working around the clock, we're working smarter not just harder,  we're definitely opening a lot of doors over here in Korea and we're going to have a real utility for SOLVE very soon. The rest of this year is going to be explosive. So I just want to tell the community thank you so much for all of your support and just to hang in there for a little bit longer because we're gonna get there.

Mike: Wow! It's great to hear from you. Alright! Thank you so much for joining. Just to let you guys know we will be running another poll to see who the next lucky guest is hopefully. I won't have to twist any arms to get them on. Thank you all! Thank you Tae, it's been a pleasure. 

I hope you guys all enjoyed it. I hope you got to have your questions answered and thank you all for joining and we'll see you next week.

Tae: Bye everyone and have a good night.