IT Platforms Lead to Two-jobs for Office Workers

Office worker Park always writes web novels in a café after work. This is because he wants to write his own web novel about a martial arts comic, which he used to enjoy reading. He is now in the process of drawing up a basic plot framework and aims to start free-running on the web novel platform Munpia after writing a few episodes in the beginning.

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With the creation of IT-based platforms ranging from writing to product sales and painting, more and more office workers are working on 'two jobs'. As IT platforms replace complex distribution, management and settlement, it has become convenient to engage in two-job activities at any time and convenient places, such as home and weekend morning cafes, after work.

The most notable area of recent years is web novels. As the number of consumers of web novels increased, platforms such as Naver Web novels, Kakao pages, and Munpia rapidly grew. From dramas such as "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" and "Love in the Moonlight" to movies such as "The Priests", web novel-based secondary content has also been steadily released.

In particular, many web novel star writers have been working and writing in their spare time, and the challenge of office workers who dream of becoming a 'the next star writer' is also increasing.

In some cases, some use a writing platform aimed at making immediate profits. Some post promotional messages of products sold by Coupang by Coupang Partners on their social network services (SNS) or blogs, and receive a 3% commission when they are sold.

Those seeking 'two-jobs' are selling their products directly use Amazon and Naver smart stores too. Amazon's strength is that it can not only sell goods to consumers around the world, but also take advantage of the FBA (Fullfillment by Amazon). Using FBA, Amazon provides inventory management, delivery and customer service instead of sellers. Naver Smart Store also supports operating methods and consulting for sellers. As all basic support is provided on the IT platform, entry barriers to become a seller are lower than in the past.

There is also a platform that easily sells 'goods' designed by an individual. Marple Shop is a one-person commerce platform that allows individuals to sell freely designed items. Because the Marple Shop is responsible for both production and sales, it can be sold without any burden of distribution and inventory. In fact, an office worker of 7 years used Marple because he wanted to wear his own sweatshirt in the tennis club. Since then, Marple Shop has been selling its own designed products. "It seems to get a good response because we can only focus on design by running without any burden such as inventory", said Wonly Toon.

Since launching the service in early March, more than 6,000 creators have applied for sales and more than 35,000 goods are currently being sold, according to Marple. "As Generation Z who wants to express themselves and share interests is becoming the main body of the consumer market, Marple Shop is also drawing attention", said an official at Marple Shop.