Ki-myung Kim and Hee-hwa Kim (no relation), both 30 years old, are rarities in Korea’s agriculture industry. Nearly three-fourths of farm owners in Korea are age 60 or over, while farm owners under the age of 40 account for only 1.2% of the nation’s total 1.03 million farms. Despite fears that these farms will eventually collapse due to the aging of the population, farmers like Ki-myung and Hee-hwa have been embracing technology and innovation to bring new life to the industry.

Ki-myung is a plum and persimmon farmer in Gyeongsangnam-do, who joined Rocket Fresh in the middle of last year and now consistently sells out his stock. “So far, we’ve sold out over 30 tons of plums and persimmons,” he said. “By selling plums in the spring and summer and persimmons in the fall and winter, we made 150 million won (around 120,000 dollars), which accounts for 20% of our total sales.”

Meanwhile, Hee-hwa, the owner of Sunshine Farm, grows figs and sweet potatoes in Jeollanam-do. She started her Rocket Fresh journey in September, and similarly made 150 million won in sales in just two and a half months. “I ship 200 to 1,000 kg of figs each day, and with Coupang, I typically sell out within two days,” Hee-hwa said.

The farmers attribute their success to several different factors. The most important is freshness preserved through Rocket Fresh. “I had never sold fruit so fresh before,” Ki-myung said. “Typically, farmers box their products and sell to the wholesaler, but with Coupang, we prepare the produce for final delivery to the customers on-site.” Hee-hwa also sees direct delivery to customers as a major benefit of Rocket compared to traditional distribution methods. “Figs delivered to offline distributors are repeatedly packed and exhibited on shelves at distribution centers, but their freshness deteriorates in the process.”

With Rocket Fresh, their products are usually shipped out at 1 or 2 PM and then delivered nationwide to customers the very next dawn through Coupang’s logistics network. The company employs various techniques to minimize the delivery time, such as by inspecting the produce in advance on-site and attaching an invoice to save even more time.

Another major benefit is the fact that Coupang handles everything from marketing and advertising to customer service and delivery, enabling the farmers to focus solely on growing and harvesting the best produce. In 2019, Hee-hwa had actually tried running her own online shopping page on a portal site, advertising her figs at a cost of 10 million won (around 8,000 dollars), plus a commission of 20% of the sale price to the courier company.

“The advertising cost was higher than the monthly sales,” said Hee-hwa, who eventually gave up due to the costs not just in terms of money but also in terms of the time involved to manage everything on her own. Now, Hee-hwa no longer has to endure such headaches. Ki-myung agrees—”I can now focus solely on the freshness and taste of my produce,” he said.

Rocket has also enabled these farmers to receive instant customer feedback to an unprecedented degree, empowering them to adapt and improve their processes to meet their customers’ tastes. “I realized the power of customers after seeing reviews such as ‘the figs are too soft,’ or ‘not sweet enough,’” said Hee-hwa. “Based on these reviews, we improved the environment and conditions to create the right balance. It gave me a greater sense of responsibility for my products.”

Young farmers like Hee-hwa are excited by the prospects of a future where farming and new technology go hand in hand. “It is time for young people in their 20s and 30s who are accustomed to cutting edge technology to tackle the challenge of farming. The future of agriculture is still bright,” she said.