An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 15
At that same moment, Ha Yoon was elsewhere.
“Cough! Cough!”
The acrid dust of sawdust and the fragrant scent of fresh wood irritated his nose. The mess of shavings scattered about refused to let his coughing subside.
Rustle.
Ha Yoon stepped carefully into the Carpentry Workshop and offered a modest greeting.
“Good day.”
“Who is it?”
An old man planing wood didn’t even turn his head as he spoke.
“I’m looking for someone called Master Hwang the Carpenter. Is that you?”
“Day labor only.”
The old man still had his back turned.
Ha Yoon drew a breath.
He steadied himself and explained the reason for his visit.
“I’m a manager from Mansang. I’ve come because I need to ask you for something.”
“Mansang?”
At the mention of Mansang, the old man showed interest.
Scrape.
A moment later, the old man turned and asked.
“What brings someone from Mansang to my workshop?”
“As I said, I need your help. I hear your craftsmanship is the finest in these parts?”
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong, I suppose…….”
Pleased by the compliment, Master Hwang’s stern expression softened considerably.
Ha Yoon carefully lowered the bundle of Yeongwang Dried Fish he’d been carrying on his shoulder onto a Bojagi cloth.
“I’ve come because I’d like you to make a wooden box to package this dried fish.”
“A wooden box for dried fish?”
“Yes.”
Master Hwang let out a hollow laugh as if baffled.
“Why go to the trouble of making something like that? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just sell it as is?”
In response to Master Hwang’s reaction, Ha Yoon gestured to the dried fish bound with straw.
“Master Hwang, do you eat dried fish every day in your daily life?”
“Me?”
Master Hwang answered as though the question were absurd.
“Of course not. How could I eat something so expensive every day? I’m grateful if I can have it even once in a while.”
“Exactly my point.”
Ha Yoon clapped his hands together sharply.
“Dried fish is a gift for someone special on a special occasion—so naturally the packaging should be special too, shouldn’t it?”
“Hmm, there’s something to that.”
“That’s why I need a wooden box to hold the dried fish.”
“I see, but…….”
Master Hwang rested his chin in his hand after hearing the explanation.
He still looked uncertain.
“Why spend money on an expensive wooden box? Couldn’t you just wrap it in paper instead?”
Ha Yoon answered with confidence.
“Because it doesn’t look as good that way.”
“That’s the only reason?”
“Don’t you know the saying—fine-looking rice cakes taste better too?”
The reason Coca-Cola rose to become the world’s greatest carbonated beverage company.
That distinctively shaped bottle played a crucial role in it.
Just as the distinctive curved form of the bottle alone conjured the image of carbonated soda, sales changed dramatically depending on how a product’s form was designed.
‘Yeongwang dried fish isn’t that different from other dried fish in appearance. If that’s the case, the only way to compete is through packaging design.’
Knowing this, Ha Yoon had come to the Carpentry Workshop to have the wooden box made.
“Well……, I suppose if a wooden box for dried fish looks nice, it would be presentable.”
By now convinced by Ha Yoon’s words, Master Hwang asked.
“So what method should I use to make it?”
“I’ve brought a blueprint. Please use it as reference for the work.”
“Hmm.”
The blueprint Ha Yoon had drawn was surprisingly simple, designed with mass production in mind. It had a straightforward rectangular shape with a detachable lid.
After examining the blueprint, Master Hwang asked as though it seemed uncomplicated.
“How many of these do you need me to make?”
“Please start by making a hundred of these for now.”
“A hundred? That’s quite a lot.”
The carpenter’s eyes widened at the larger-than-expected quantity.
“It’s nothing compared to how many I’ll need to sell. If things go well, I might need several times this many.”
“Goodness, how much Yeongwang Dried Fish are you planning to sell?”
“A great deal. A very great deal.”
Ha Yoon answered with confidence.
Seeing his conviction, the carpenter began calculating a rough timeline.
“Let me think… at this volume, it’ll take a good week.”
“A week? And the price?”
“You have quite the gift for negotiation, so I’ll do you a special rate—five nyang for the lot.”
“Five nyang…”
Ha Yoon’s mental calculator whirred into motion.
Five nyang was the price of one bundle of Yeongwang Dried Fish, but considering the profits he’d reap later, it was an investment well worth making.
Ha Yoon nodded readily.
“That works for me. I’ll pay when I come to collect them.”
“With Mansang’s name behind it, I doubt you’d skip out on payment. Fine by me.”
The privilege of running a large enterprise.
Credit came easily.
Having completed the commission without difficulty, Ha Yoon pressed on.
“By the way, could I see a sample first—to know how the wooden boxes will turn out?”
“Right now?”
“Yes. I’d like to check it now, so there’s no trouble later if something goes wrong.”
Design Supervision.
It was a task Ha Yoon had grown weary of during his designer days—a habit from visiting factories before prints were released to check colors. That old instinct was stirring to life here in Joseon.
Whenever posters or product boxes were ready, Ha Yoon would take hours verifying the finished work with his own eyes.
“Understood. Sit there and wait just a moment.”
“Of course.”
The carpenter picked up his plane and chisel without hesitation.
After a few clacks and taps, a smoothly planed paulownia wood box was placed before Ha Yoon.
“Here it is.”
“Thank you.”
Ha Yoon examined the box from every angle.
He felt it with his hands, held it up to the sunlight, and repeatedly opened and closed the lid. The reputation of Uiju’s finest carpenter was well-earned; the craftsmanship was flawless.
Yet there remained a problem—something was missing.
‘It’s too simple.’
The wooden box itself was beyond reproach, but other elements were lacking.
It was like a luxury handbag without a logo.
Because the form had been necessarily simplified, there was insufficient visual distinction.
“Hmm…”
Ha Yoon set the box down and asked thoughtfully.
“Is it possible to carve letters into it?”
“Letters?”
“Yes. I want to write ‘Yeongwang Dried Fish’ to emphasize that it comes from Yeongwang Mountain.”
Hearing this, the carpenter’s brow furrowed.
“That would double my work. Carving letters is precision work, you see.”
“I understand. I’ll pay extra for it.”
With the added process, the unit cost naturally rose. The carpenter quoted the new price.
“Ten nyang in total. And I’ll need to extend the timeline to two weeks.”
“Ten nyang!”
Double the original budget. Double the time.
The tail was wagging the dog, but Ha Yoon didn’t deliberate long.
‘This isn’t just carving letters. I’m carving a brand.’
When he thought of it as launching a new brand, the price was a bargain.
Ha Yoon accepted the revised price at once.
“Yes, please do.”
“I need to know exactly how the letters should look. I don’t know many characters myself.”
“Just write it like this.”
Ha Yoon handed over the paper with the characters written out.
The carpenter took the paper, retrieved a smaller chisel, and held it against the lid of the wooden box.
“Should I write it here?”
“In the lower right corner, small as you can make it. Just barely visible.”
“What? That small?”
Hwang the carpenter asked, puzzled.
“If you make it that small, will anyone even see it? What’s the point of carving letters if no one’s going to notice them?”
Ha Yoon answered with a faint smile.
“Visibility isn’t what matters. It’s about refinement—the sensibility of it. What’s important is showing how much care we’ve put into this product.”
Hwang the carpenter looked at Ha Yoon with newfound interest. Despite his youth, there was something uncommon about him.
Hwang the carpenter nodded and picked up the smallest chisel he had.
“Understood. I’ll do it your way.”
“Thank you.”
As if carving a Buddha statue, precise characters began to be etched into the lid.
Shk, shk—
The sound of the chisel biting into wood echoed through the workshop. Beads of sweat formed on Hwang’s brow as he concentrated.
After a moment, Hwang the carpenter steadied his breathing and set down his tool.
“Done.”
“Thank you for your work.”
Ha Yoon took the wooden box and examined it from every angle.
Mansang, Yeongwang Dried Fish.

The characters reading Mansang, Yeongwang Dried Fish had been carved with exquisite precision—no larger than a fingernail.
The formerly plain wooden box now possessed an air of classical refinement.
‘Perfect!’
Ha Yoon exulted silently at the design unfolding exactly as he’d envisioned it.
Click.
He then opened the box to proceed with the remaining work.
Swish, swish, smooth—
With care, he lined the interior of the wooden box with Korean paper coated in paste, and laid fine straw on the bottom to create a bed for the dried fish.
“And finally…….”
As if drawing a hidden weapon, Ha Yoon produced something from his sleeve—a skein of silk thread.
Smooth.
Ha Yoon immediately began to unwind the silk thread.
Then, one by one, he began to bind the dried fish with it.
“Th—that’s madness!”
Hwang the carpenter cried out, startled.
“Using precious silk thread just to bind dried fish?”
Creating a single skein of silk thread required countless hours and steps.
Silk had to be drawn strand by strand from cocoons, then carefully joined together, boiled, twisted, and dried before even one skein was complete.
The value of a finished skein of silk thread was equivalent to a bundle of dried fish.
The materials already invested in this work alone exceeded ten silver pieces.
‘It’s fine. Better to commit fully than to do something halfway.’
Still, Ha Yoon remained absorbed in his task.
“There. Finished.”
Moments later, Ha Yoon wiped the sweat from his brow and set the completed item on the ground.
“Magnificent!”
Hwang the carpenter could not contain his admiration.
“It’s truly luxurious! This isn’t dried fish—it’s a treasure!”
The elegant paulownia wood box and the carefully arranged dried fish within emanated an ineffable dignity.
Ordinary dried fish had been transformed into something worthy of presentation to the King himself.
“Perfect. Exactly right. Please proceed with production like this.”
Seeing the finished work, Ha Yoon’s lips finally curved into a satisfied smile.
Ha Yoon wrapped the completed wooden box in a bojagi cloth and spoke.
“I’ll come collect it in two weeks. You must keep the promised date.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll have it finished no matter what!”
Hwang the carpenter struck his chest confidently.
Seeing Ha Yoon’s work, his heart burned with inspiration.
“Then please do your best.”
With that, Ha Yoon left the Carpentry Workshop, the completed wooden box wrapped in bojagi in his hands.
“Now for the next step…….”
Ha Yoon’s gaze turned toward a distant rooftop.
Glazed tiles warmed by the sun gleamed brilliantly, casting light across the expansive roof.
Uiju’s finest Yangban household.
Min Seung-ji’s Residence loomed above it all.
“Time to break through to the suppliers.”
Ha Yoon set out for Min Seung-ji’s Residence, carrying Mansang and Yeongwang Dried Fish.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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