South Korea's self-employed struggle under growing debt load

One restaurateur finds niche in catching, cooking freshwater fish

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Vacant storefronts in central Seoul. In the first quarter of this year, 11,341 small-business owners defaulted on loans, bringing the total number of self-employed people in default in South Korea to 72,815. (Photo by Steven Borowiec) 

STEVEN BOROWIEC, Nikkei staff writer

YEONCHEON, South Korea -- Kim Eun-beom spent eight years working in an unsatisfying office job before he decided to take a literal plunge.

He found his next vocation in the chilly waters of the Imjin River in his rural community north of Seoul and south of the border with North Korea. There he starts each day pulling freshwater fish out of traps submerged below the water's surface. Kim spends the rest of the day preparing fish stew for sale online and in two restaurants he runs with his wife.

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