Comedian Jang Dong-min once again showed his side as an "environmental entrepreneur" on a variety show.
On the Nov. 11 episode of MBC variety show Get Me Home, a luxury villa listing was revealed. Jang Dong-min, who appeared on the show that day, drew attention by introducing a patented product he developed while touring the house.
Jang Dong-min said, "The world uses horizontal labels, but what I developed is a vertical label," and took out an eco-friendly one-touch label. Cast members who watched this exclaimed, "The idea is so good."
When Yang Se-chan said, "If the world uses this idea, the patent holders would have everything," Jang Dong-min surprised viewers by revealing, "I have completed patent product registrations in nine countries." He went on to explain the specific process, saying, "You apply to the Korea Intellectual Property Office and then register. You have to pay an application fee, an examination request fee, and costs every three years after registration." He added, "Overseas patents cost at least several million won."
Earlier, Jang Dong-min drew attention as an "environmental entrepreneur" after winning the excellence award at the Ministry of Environment's startup competition in 2023. Having developed the world's first vertical label that year, he established a corporation called "Pure Sky" on Jan. 1 of the same year and has stood out as a businessman alongside his primary work as a comedian.
He revealed his startup philosophy on the YouTube channel "Jisik Inside" and explained the background for developing the patent to remove PET bottle labels. He said, "During the COVID-19 period, living alone and taking out the trash myself, the PET bottle labels wouldn't come off and I hurt my hands. That's when the idea came to me." Afterwards, he devised a structure where the label naturally falls off when the cap is opened and even won the Minister's Award.
Particularly, although offers to collaborate poured in from major overseas corporations in the early stages of the business, he turned them all down. At the time, Jang Dong-min explained the reason, saying, "Many global companies, including those in the United States, contacted me. But I wanted to start in Korea first. I wanted to show the world how Korea practices eco-friendliness." He also admitted there were some disagreements with staff over expanding overseas.
However, recently Jang Dong-min changed his mind and proceeded with overseas patent registrations. He said on the broadcast, "I have already completed patent registrations in nine countries," and, aiming beyond Korea to the global market, he took another step forward as an environmental entrepreneur.
[Photo] Get Me Home, OSEN DB
[OSEN]