Children’s famous book ‘What is it?’ published by Baba Books. A masterpiece!’ series. Provided by Baba Books
Not long after introducing her first steps in an interview (No. 1455) titled ‘After becoming a mother, the only thing left to do was start a business’, the day came quickly when I would be asked for another interview. Baba Books, a children’s art book publisher that started with books focusing on infancy and expanded its scope to include word cards and collections of famous paintings, has grown to the point where it is on par with large publishers in just one year. Baba Books is a publishing company created by Park Soo-kyung, an art director with 10 years of experience, and book designer Hee-jae Lee with 35 years of experience. The two are mother and daughter. We met again with Park Soo-kyung, CEO of Baba Books, who recently concluded a chapter in her business and is preparing for a new leap forward.
“It was really hard.” These were CEO Park’s first words as he looked back on the past year. Starting a children’s publishing business in Korea, a country with a low birth rate, was a more difficult road than expected.
―From being a ‘mother entrepreneur’, you have now become a true CEO! How have you been over the past year?
“Baba Books grew with the love of customers, but the initial production costs were always a big burden. Due to the nature of manufacturing, we spent a lot of money to pay production costs, but when the off-season overlaps, business is prone to disruption. There were a lot of really good signals in the market. One time, I was in a difficult situation and wondered if I should sell the bag I received as a gift, but my husband was against it. I tried to dissuade him by saying, ‘I think it will become a bad habit.’ That’s correct. So I walked on thin ice, avoiding the temptations and risks that were everywhere. At that time, I passed the first round of the placement program (startup contest program for early stage startup investment) run by Primer, a startup planning agency for startups like Dongajul, and got to give a face-to-face presentation. “I wasn’t selected for the final Primer Club (a company Primer invests in), but fortunately I was selected for the preliminary mentoring team.”
―How was the mentoring process?
“Whenever I went to a mentoring meeting, I met young entrepreneurs who were full of energy. Not to be outdone, I also took on the artificial intelligence (AI) hackathon. As I maintained first place in popularity polls throughout the contest, I thought, ‘Am I a unicorn company (an unlisted startup with a corporate value of more than 1 trillion won)?’ I also started to have expectations. But on the day of the presentation, I realized my shortcomings compared to other teams. Still, one of our primer partners showed interest in us. I decided to help, saying, ‘Good content like this should last a long time.’ I cried during the meeting because of the suggestion that seemed to have penetrated my concerns. After carefully reviewing the terms for a month and finalizing the contract, I said, ‘I will definitely grow and create a win-win situation,’ and he said, ‘I’m not asking you to make money, but to contribute to society with good content.’ “Those words still resonate in my heart.”
In a start-up ecosystem that requires investment through trendy technologies, CEO Park Soo-kyung competed with analog publishing. And after meeting an investor who recognized the value of Baba Books’ content, we were now able to draw a long-term picture together.
―What dream do you want to achieve with Baba Books in the future?
“I think all publishers were excited when author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Although the genre is different, I did the same. Baba Books also dreams of seeing our content appear on the global stage. I often imagine the kids’ art books we created being displayed at the Museum of Modern Art or the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s art shop in New York, and the designs developed by Baba Books being displayed throughout the building. It still touches my heart when I imagine parents and children laughing while reading a book together. “I think the more things like that happen, the more we can help, even in a small way, with the problem of low birth rates.”
At the end of the interview, CEO Park Soo-kyung found and showed photos of an exhibition planned by French graphic designer Jean Julien and creative director Heo Jae-young on her cell phone. Watching him live with sensuous images that stimulate children’s curiosity on his cell phone, I thought that Baba Books’ dream would soon become a reality.
Sujin Kim Culture Director
Provided by Park Soo-kyung
Park Soo-kyung’s playlist
❶ Netflix: Ilse Crawford
British interior designer Ilse Crawford creates ‘spaces that are comfortable and energizing’ rather than focusing only on the beauty of space. Products are no different. The best design is a priority, but practicality and sustainability must be included. That’s what good design is.
❷ Conductor Daniel Barenboim and his student Chinese pianist Lang Lang
You may be thinking, ‘Why a piano lesson video?’, but this video contains advice about life. My favorite part is ‘the importance of relaxing well.’ The teacher dissuades Lang Lang’s energetic performance. ‘It’s too urgent. Have you ever thought about why you need to be strong in the part where you hit hard?
❸ Interview video with artist Lee Ufan
This is a very short video that tells the story of how a master’s work is done. This is one of the videos I always show when giving art history lectures. Artist Lee Ufan’s words, ‘The role of an artist is to open your eyes to another dimension and an unusual space,’ strike a chord.
*Namply, Other People’s Playlist: This is a column in which Culture Director Kim Soo-jin and Video Convenience Store CEO Producer Jeong Seong-eun were recommended YouTube videos by an ‘acquaintance’ and recommend them to readers again. Serialized every other week.
