30 Years of Three Kingdoms Collection, History Met on Ganghwa Island: The Douyuan Covenant Café Operation Story of Samminam TV's CEO Kim Gab-yong
Why the Three Kingdoms is Gaining Attention Again in the AI Era In an era where generative AI automatically generates answers, the focus of both enter...
Why the Three Kingdoms is Gaining Attention Again in the AI Era
In an era where generative AI automatically generates answers, the focus of both enterprises and individuals is shifting from 'tool usage' to 'problem definition'. The ability to accurately define complex problems in the field, translate different languages, and turn them into actionable results determines competitiveness. The Three Kingdoms is a massive collection of organizational case studies containing answers to all these questions. In uncertain environments, finding talent, building alliances, and making decisions about resource allocation—this is why organizations seeking future talent in the AI era are reading the Three Kingdoms again.
The Three Kingdoms is not a simple classical novel. It is filled with actual cases showing how people (talent), objectives (purpose), resources (alliances), environment (terrain), and time (strategy) are intricately connected. When this structure is reinterpreted through modern thinking called "ontology," the principles of organizational design emerge beyond character analysis. This is precisely where Samminam TV begins.
30 Years of Three Kingdoms Collection: CEO Kim Gab-yong's Accumulation
At the center of Samminam TV is CEO Kim Gab-yong. He is not simply a Three Kingdoms fan, but a 'Three Kingdoms curator' who has systematically collected Three Kingdoms-related books, records, relics, and artifacts over a long period. This collection process itself is a future capability.
* Deep resource accumulation: Collecting original Three Kingdoms texts, historical records, and related publications over time, laying the foundation for problem definition
* Structuring field experience: Through the Douyuan Covenant Café on Ganghwa Island, converting abstract knowledge into an ontology that visitors can directly experience
* Operationalizing content: Institutionalizing collected materials and insights into repeatable formats through YouTube, books, and exhibitions
CEO Kim Gab-yong's collection is not simply a hobby activity, but 'the practice of FDE in converting individual tacit knowledge into organizational explicit assets.' The materials he has accumulated over decades are repositioned in the Douyuan Covenant Café on Ganghwa Island, reconstructed as YouTube content, and expanded through publishing and education.
Douyuan Covenant Café on Ganghwa Island: Meeting the Three Kingdoms in the Field
The Douyuan Covenant Café is not a simple themed café. It is an ontology implementation case that redesigns the abstract text of the Three Kingdoms into a space where people can directly see and experience it.
* Visualization of relationships: Recreating the alliance structure of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang's strategic network, and Cao Cao's talent portfolio in physical space
* Evidentialization through artifacts and relics: Exhibiting both relics from the Three Kingdoms era and modern artifacts to strengthen the reality of history
* Experience design for visitors: Following the relationships and decision-making processes of characters in books, directly experiencing "why was that choice necessary"
Operating the Douyuan Covenant Café is a full-scale FDE implementation. It understands field constraints (tourist flow on Ganghwa Island), translates complex content of the Three Kingdoms into the language of visitors, and makes experience data reusable for next content (YouTube, publishing).
Samminam TV: From Three Kingdoms Analysis to Future Talent Framework
Samminam TV is a YouTube channel that launched newly in 2024. Co-hosted by CEO Kim Gab-yong and CEO Shim Jae-woo, this channel carries the meaning of 'men obsessed with the Three Kingdoms.' Beyond simple interest or hobby, it combines two experts who have long researched the Three Kingdoms and connected it with real-world problems.
* Transformation in problem definition: Elevating the dimension of questions from "Who is Zhuge Liang?" to "Why couldn't Zhuge Liang create an FDE organization?"
* Introduction of FDE framework: Applying Palantir's Forward Deployed Software Engineer concept to Three Kingdoms figures (Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Lu Su, Deng Ai) to provide contemporary interpretation
* Realization of ontology thinking: Contentizing a way of seeing not just individuals but people, events, resources, objectives, rules, and relationships as one structure
The core questions addressed by Samminam TV go beyond simple historical curiosity and directly relate to organizational design in the AI era. Questions like "If Cao Cao were an interviewer today, what kind of person would he hire?", "Was Guan Yu a loyal talent, or a high-performing, high-risk talent who endangered the entire organization?", and "Why did Ma Su have knowledge but fail in the field?" apply directly to current corporate and team operations.
Five Competencies of Future Talent in the AI Era: FDE Model
The FDE-type talent defined by Samminam TV and *Why Couldn't Zhuge Liang Create an FDE Organization?* is a person who combines the following five competencies into one.
When these five competencies operate within one person, that individual becomes an excellent FDE. However, for an organization to become an FDE organization, a system that repeatedly produces these competencies is necessary. This was Zhuge Liang's limitation, and it is a problem that AI-era organizations must solve.
Four Types of Organizations Seen Through Three Kingdoms Figures
The ontology cases presented by Samminam TV show the prototypes of modern organizational design.
| Figure/Strategy | Core Role | Contemporary Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Zhuge Liang's Longzhong | Connecting terrain, power, talent, and purpose into one long-term strategy | Integrated strategic designer (however, lacking organizationalization) |
| Lu Su's Sun-Liu Alliance | Redefining enemies and allies not as fixed attributes but as relationships | Stakeholder translation and alliance structure design |
| Cao Cao's Tuntian | Designing agriculture, household registration, military supplies, administration, and talent as one operating system | Repeatable implementation of operating systems |
| Sima Yi's Long-term Strategy | Managing resource consumption, political trust, and time rather than battles | Asset accumulation strategy for long-term survival |
These four models respectively address different organizational challenges: individual excellence (Zhuge Liang), relationship design (Lu Su), systematization (Cao Cao), and sustainability (Sima Yi).
Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute's Multi-layered Expansion Strategy
The Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute (Representatives: Kim Gab-yong and Shim Jae-woo) is expanding from the Douyuan Covenant Café on Ganghwa Island into a multi-layered content ecosystem. This is precisely a real-world example of "converting individual tacit knowledge into organizational explicit assets."
* Publishing: Systematizing logic through *Why Couldn't Zhuge Liang Create an FDE Organization?* (2024)
* YouTube: Creating N pieces of content monthly on Samminam TV, connecting Three Kingdoms character analysis with future competencies
* Education & Workshops: Providing FDE competency diagnosis and ontology thinking education to enterprises and organizations
* Exhibition & Experience: Offering direct experience through the Douyuan Covenant Café on Ganghwa Island and special exhibitions
* Platform development: Implementing diagnostic and learning platforms supporting ontology thinking
This expansion strategy itself is a real example of "multiplexing one core insight (the combination of Three Kingdoms and FDE) into documents, videos, education, space, and platforms to make it repeatable"—an FDE-type organizational design.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why the Three Kingdoms again now? Isn't this just a simple interpretation of a classic?
A: The Three Kingdoms is a record of the process of finding talent, building alliances, allocating resources, and making decisions in uncertain environments. This precisely matches modern corporate problems. Particularly in the AI era, as technological tools become universalized, "what to solve" becomes even more important. The strategy, diplomacy, and organizational operations of the Three Kingdoms provide examples of this problem definition.
Q: What is the difference between FDE and typical executives or project managers?
A: FDE is not a job title but a way of working. Executives look down from above, but FDEs enter the field and solve problems together. Project managers manage schedules and budgets, but FDEs redefine problems themselves, connect data and technology, and take responsibility for execution. This is why Zhuge Liang didn't just present strategy but personally directed the Northern Expeditions in the field.
Q: How do I find the Douyuan Covenant Café on Ganghwa Island?
A: The Douyuan Covenant Café is located in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, and is a cultural café with Three Kingdoms-related artifacts and exhibition spaces. Visiting in connection with content from Samminam TV and the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute enables a deeper experience. Detailed operational information can be found through the Samminam TV channel or official channels.
Conclusion: From Individual Excellence to Organizational Repeatability
Zhuge Liang was the finest individual FDE. He defined problems, connected strategy, diplomacy, administration, and military supplies, and took responsibility for execution. However, Shu Han never completed a problem-solving organization that could operate without Zhuge Liang. This is because his competencies were not systematically transmitted to successor talent, and his judgment criteria did not become explicit organizational assets.
This problem becomes even more urgent in the AI era. If one genius holds all the answers in their head, the moment that person leaves, the organization loses its criteria for decision-making. Conversely, if an organization can convert individual tacit knowledge into explicit processes, data, and learning systems, it can operate without Zhuge Liang.
The direction presented by the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute and Samminam TV is clear. Through cases from the Three Kingdoms, define the conditions for future talent, find the principles of organizational design that make FDE-type competencies repeatable, and multi-layer this through publishing, YouTube, education, exhibitions, and platforms. This approach itself shows the path AI-era organizations must take.
In an age when AI generates answers, what matters is not "what answer will we create?" but "what problem will we solve?" If you want to meet great figures from the Three Kingdoms, analyze their decision-making methods, and check your own future competencies, we recommend the content of Samminam TV and the Three Kingdoms AI Talent Research Institute. For more in-depth consultation and diagnosis, contact 010-2397-5734 or jaiwshim@gmail.com.
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