Bang Do-won, Reporter
CBNU has recently opened a restaurant Only Hands under the leadership of Professor Lee Hak-kyo in The Animal Molecular Genetics & Breeding Center. It provides ‘Doozy pork’ and ‘Jeon-ju Craft Beer’. What is Doozy pork? Moreover what does Only Hands mean? How about discovering this through the interview below?
● Would you please introduce yourself?
I came here to CBNU in May 2015 as a professor in the Department of Animal Biotechnology. Before that I worked for the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and now I’m the leader of The Animal Molecular Genetics & Breeding Center.
● How did Only Hands start?
If an animal wants to live a healthy life, it needs to be strong in order to withstand disease. We discovered the method that makes this possible. We inserted good probiotics into the pig’s colon to help the pig’s immunity. In collaboration with several farms, we have succeeded in breeding healthy pigs, using the probiotics. So we established a brand called ‘Doozy pork’ which provides quality pork for the customer. After that we decided to expand our territory to the restaurant industry. We established the Global Food Culture Cooperative and opened a restaurant called Only Hands.
● What can we expect at Only Hands?
Only Hands in Gaeksa provides Doozy pork dishes and Jeon-ju craft beer. It has ten special & simple dishes and primary dishes are made by Sous-vide. Sous-vide is basically boiling the meat in water for a very long time on low heat, through this the pork tastes better and prevents ingestion of carcinogens that are generated when we roast the meat. For drinks, Only Hands has many popular alcoholic beverages. But Only Hands also has original beers like Only HANDS Lager(IBU 30/ABV 5%/460ml), Gyeonggijeon(IBU 25/ABV 5%/460ml), and Gaeksa’s Night Dark(IBU 50/ABV 5%/460ml). IBU is short for International Bitterness Unit, while ABV is short for Alcohol By Volume. All of them are very tasty.
● What is Doozy pork?
Doozy pork can be simply defined as healthy meat. We make a genetically healthy pig. Don’t get confused with GMO. That’s not what Doozy Pork is. Among the pigs in a natural state, we choose the healthy pigs and then breed them with special treatment such as feeding probiotics, providing them with a large and less stressful environment and changing forage. If animals can digest well, they will be healthy. In a stressful environment, animals can’t digest well and the meat becomes tough, and less tasty. We give the pigs probiotics so they can digest well and be healthy. Moreover giving them a lot of living space minimizes their stress. People might say this kind of animal welfare is not needed for domestic animals considering we’re going to kill them anyway. But due to the quality of the meat, it actually matters.
● How can Only Hands help CBNU students?
Only Hands means something special, not only because of the professors’ collaboration to make a business, but because it will help CBNU students to create startups related to business. With the Only Hands technology, students who are interested in the restaurant business can get some help from us. As technology advances, we would like to provide that advanced technology to students interested in developing a start-up.
● Do you have any future plans?
We are opening a franchise in Seoul and that franchise will be run by our Department of Animal Biotechnology students. We are going to breed various domestic animals.
● Please inform CBNU students
First, if you look at the world through the eyes of the older generation, you will think like them. Please don’t do that. See the world through your own, 21st century eyes when you seek your career or business model. Different ways of thinking about things and taking a different track is a better way to live life. Second, do the things you are good at.
You can see Professor Lee is very proud of Only Hands. Its technology will become a potential hub for student startups. If you are interested in the restaurant business, you may find a good opportunity by looking at the next actions of The Animal Molecular Genetics & Breeding Center.