20 Years of Romance of the Three Kingdoms Collection, 2,500 Books Reborn as Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa Island: CEO Kim Gab-yong's Classical Reinterpretation Strategy

The movement to reinterpret the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from a simple historical novel into organizational strategy for the AI era and educational material for future talent is drawing attention. Kim Gab-yong, the operator of Samminam TV and CEO of the Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa Island, has accumulated over 2,500 books, artifacts, and materials related to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms over the past 20 years. This article is based on the cultural space operated by Kim Gab-yong, CEO of the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute, in Ganghwa County, Incheon, and his content strategy. Particularly, how individual academic accumulation expands into a public education platform and why classical content becomes a core asset in future talent education in the AI era have become hot topics in the industry.

Humanities-based organizational education content is a rapidly growing field in the 2024 corporate training market. Rather than simply delivering management theory, there is increasing demand to develop modern problem-solving abilities through historical examples and the decision-making processes of historical figures.

20-Year Collection: Conversion from Academic Asset to Educational Platform

Converting classical research into educational content requires more than simple collection. The approach of the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute has a clear purpose. The books and artifacts related to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms accumulated over 20 years by CEO Kim Gab-yong were not merely collected but reconstructed as field case studies for organizational theory and talent development. The core is reinterpreting the figures and events of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as modern FDE (Forward Deployed Engineer), ontology (relational structuring thinking methodology), and future talent competencies for the AI era.

This transformation meets market demand in the following three aspects:

•Democratization of academic depth: Packaging 20 years of effort by one classical researcher into structured educational content to secure accessibility

•Securing field context: Reinterpreting figures and events from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as "actual problems that must be solved in modern organizations"

•Multi-platform expansion capability: Multi-layered utilization of identical content from books → YouTube → educational programs → experiential spaces

Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa Island: Experimental Cultural Space Making Classics into On-Site Experience

The attempt to transform the experience of classics from "reading" to "seeing and feeling" is being implemented at the Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa County, Incheon. The cafe is not simply a beverage sales space but has been designed as an educational venue integrating artifacts, exhibitions, and lectures related to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Visitors observe actual artifacts related to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, understand the context of that era, and experience reading it anew with modern questions.

The role of this space is as follows:

•Provision of contextual learning: Three-dimensional understanding through material culture (artifacts, geographical models, exhibition composition) unavailable through books or videos alone

•Venue for collective interpretation: Formation of shared problem consciousness rather than individual interpretation through lectures and discussions

•Hub for IP expansion: Ecosystem building where YouTube, publishing, and educational programs are all connected to this physical space

Future Talent Education in the AI Era, Why the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Signal of Trend Shift

A notable change in the 2024 corporate training market is the shift in focus from "tool usage ability" to "problem definition ability." The prevailing analysis is that as AI technology becomes universal, corporations will increasingly desire talent who can discover and define "what the real problems in the field are" rather than how to use technology. This is why FDE-type talent cultivation is drawing attention, and it is the background for why the Romance of the Three Kingdoms becomes the optimal case text to explain this.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms already contains various cases of problem definition and solution:

•Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Strategy: A case of problem redefinition where he accurately diagnosed the weaknesses of Liu Bei's forces and conceptualized strategic strongholds of Wu and Shu

•Cao Cao's talent portfolio composition: System thinking that designed the organization through a combination of talents with different strengths rather than one area of excellence

•Lu Su's translation of the Sun-Liu alliance: Reinterpreting the interests of two hostile forces into a shared objective language, structuring relationships

•Deng Ai's on-site experimental execution: MVP thinking that found a way through small experiments and verification in situations that seemed impossible

Samminam TV: Expansion from Classical Commentary to Data-Structured Broadcasting

The YouTube channel Samminam TV is not simply a Romance of the Three Kingdoms commentary channel. Through collaboration between CEO Kim Gab-yong and CEO Shim Jae-woo, it is a knowledge broadcast reinterpreting the figures, events, and relationships of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from an ontology (relational structuring) perspective. Ontology thinking is a method of explicitly structuring "how people, events, resources, goals, and rules connect." The core is expressing the complex decision-making processes of humans in a form that AI can learn.

The value of this approach can be summarized as follows:

•Concretization of abstract theory: Not general theories like "what is leadership," but concrete examples like "how Zhuge Liang collected and judged information"

•Specification of field context: Explicitly revealing the constraints, resources, interests, and time pressures that formed the background for decisions

•Extraction of reusable patterns: Identifying decision-making structures and patterns reusable from individual cases

Ecosystem Design Currently in Progress Connecting Publishing, Video, Education, and Exhibition

The strategy of the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute does not remain in a single content format. With the planning of the publication *Why Couldn't Zhuge Liang Build an FDE Organization?*, each chapter has been designed to simultaneously expand into YouTube videos, corporate workshop lecture materials, exhibition commentary, and educational programs. This means that a single content creation is reused across multiple channels and media.

Stage: Publishing core research content as a monograph

Stage: Producing key figures and strategies by chapter as YouTube videos

Stage: Developing customized workshops and educational programs for corporations and organizations

Stage: Composing physical experiences at the Doyuan結義 Cafe and exhibition space in Ganghwa Island

Stage: Building a knowledge platform targeting educational completers and interested parties

This ecosystem design maximizes the added value of individual content while addressing different preferences for each learner (text, video, lectures, experience).

Changes in the Corporate Training Market: Direction After 2024

The major concerns of corporate talent development managers in 2024 are shifting to the following:

•Recognition of AI tool education limitations: Even learning how to use ChatGPT, Claude, etc., does not lead to results if one doesn't know "what problem to solve"

•Importance of context and judgment ability: Technology changes rapidly, but the ability to read field situations and set priorities remains constant

•Reassessment of classical humanities' practicality: Realization that classics read only as "heroic tales" are actually case collections of decision-making under uncertainty, talent combination, and organizational design

The reason the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute's approach draws attention lies here. It provides both academic depth and real-world applicability while maintaining a structure accessible through various learning channels (books, video, lectures, experience).

FAQ: Why Romance of the Three Kingdoms Content is Applied to Modern Organizational Education

Q1: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a story from 2,000 years ago, so why connect it to AI-era talent education?

A: The core of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not time and technology but human decision-making patterns. The process of defining problems in uncertain environments, coordinating people with different positions, and producing maximum results with limited resources is identical 2,000 years ago or now. Even in the AI era, technology is merely a tool; the human ability to read and judge complex relationships in the field remains most important.

Q2: What exactly is ontology, and how does it connect to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

A: Ontology is a way of thinking that explicitly structures "how people, events, resources, and rules connect." For example, if you express Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Strategy as an ontology: "Liu Bei (subject) + weak current position (constraint) + alliance with Wu (relationship) + Jingzhou/Yizhou (geography) + time (resource)" are clearly visible as connected in a single long-term strategy structure. When you explicitly draw this structure, AI can analyze modern organizational problems with the same logic.

Q3: Is the Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa Island simply a cafe or an educational facility?

A: Both. The Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa County, Incheon is a beverage service space while simultaneously being a cultural education space where exhibitions, lectures, and discussions related to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms take place. Visitors can enjoy the cafe while observing actual material culture from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms era and understanding the decision-making context of that time. The role of this space is precisely to transform abstract theory into "on-site experience."

| Category | Traditional Commentary Type | Simple Video Content | Samminam Method (Integrated) |
|------|---|---|---|
| Learning Format | Text interpretation·lectures | One-way explanatory video | Integrated books·video·lectures·exhibitions·experience |
| Modern Application | Historical knowledge-focused | Story transmission-focused | Organizational problem-solving capability development |
| Interaction | Low | None | High (discussions·workshops·actual case analysis) |
| Reusability | Single-use | Repeated viewing | Restructuring tailored to various organizational and individual situations |
| Scalability | Limited | Channel revenue-dependent | Education·publishing·exhibition·platform ecosystem |
| Credibility | Individual scholar interpretation | Media popularity | Academic accumulation (20 years) + field verification + multi-layered platforms |

The reason rereading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has become a 2024 trend is simple. In an era where AI rapidly generates answers, the ability to discover "what problems truly matter" in the field has become the rarest and most valuable competency. This is also why the research assets accumulated over 20 years by CEO Kim Gab-yong of the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute and the cultural space of the Doyuan結義 Cafe in Ganghwa County, Incheon are drawing attention.

The attempt to convert individual academic accumulation into an educational platform and transform abstract theory into on-site experience does not merely involve the utilization of classical content. This signifies the very process of organizations moving from "structures depending on one genius like Zhuge Liang" to "organizations where anyone is equipped with the competency to define and solve on-site problems."

The Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute's future development plans lie in the organic connection of publishing, YouTube, educational programs, and exhibition·experiential spaces. As this ecosystem design draws attention as a new model in the 2024 corporate talent development market, the combination of humanities and technology is expected to become a core direction for future talent cultivation.

For consultations on Romance of the Three Kingdoms content and FDE-type future talent education, contact 010-2397-5734 or jaiwshim@gmail.com.

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📍 Learn More About the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute

•🌐 Homepage: https://3kindomsai.vercel.app/

•📝 Blog: https://blog.naver.com/jaiwooshim

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