[Blooming Lunch] Chaerin Kim "Blockchain still has many opportunities to become a pioneer"

Chaerin Kim Solana Foundation APAC Growth

Joined Solana while at university

"My conviction grew after experiencing the FTX incident"

Promoted to 'DevRel' in one year

"The crypto scene never leaves time to be bored"

'Meeting good people and having good conversations.' This is the basic intent of Blooming Lunch. We meet good people in the Crypto Scene (blockchain·virtual asset ecosystem) and convey their work and lives.

Chaerin Kim, Solana (Solana·SOL) Foundation Asia-Pacific (APAC) Growth, dropped out of university last month. It was four years after she entered university. Kim Growth said about leaving school, "Basically, there were many business trips, so it was difficult to pursue my studies simultaneously," and added, "Even while working I kept my university enrollment, so I sometimes felt like I was still a junior."

Kim Growth has worked at the Solana Foundation since 2022. The catalyst was the blockchain club she joined right after entering university, 'Ewha Chain.' At the time, Kim Growth, who served as president of Ewha Chain, said she invited Solana Foundation representatives to club events several times. "The Solana Foundation offered me a job first," Kim Growth said, "Since I was still at school, I said I would try working part-time first, which led to full-time work."

I met Kim Growth at 'Restaurant Uobo' in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It has received the Blue Ribbon every year since 2022. The Blue Ribbon described Restaurant Uobo as "an Italian restaurant where fresh pasta is popular," and added, "Besides pasta, you can also enjoy various starters and steaks." Kim Growth said there is a restaurant near her home, so she often goes there when she wants fresh pasta.

We first ordered the appetizer, flounder carpaccio. It is a dish of aged flounder sashimi served with lemon, pomegranate, black olives, and so on. After eating the focaccia served as pre-meal bread, I tasted the carpaccio. The fruit's freshness and the chewiness of the aged sashimi combined to create umami. Kim Growth said, "(The carpaccio) is a menu item I always order when I come to this restaurant," adding, "Its tanginess seems to whet the appetite."

Promoted to 'APAC Growth' in one year

We continued the conversation while eating. Early in her time at the Solana Foundation, Kim Growth's role was 'DevRel(DevRel·Devloper Relations).' DevRel is a role that manages and supports developer communities. Kim Growth explained that she majored in computer engineering and had strengths in communicating with developers. She said, "Originally I wanted to be a developer building blockchain core," and added, "But while working I found that I enjoyed thinking about how to apply technology to reality more than digging only into technology itself."

Not long after, Kim Growth was promoted to 'APAC Growth.' It was one year after joining the Solana Foundation. Her scope of work expanded from supporting developer communities to managing the Solana ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region. Kim Growth said, "Working at the foundation strengthened my conviction not only in the crypto scene but also in Solana's potential."

The catalyst was Solana's annual conference 'Breakpoint.' Kim Growth said, "I attended Breakpoint around November 2022," and explained, "I remember the FTX incident happened on the way to the airport after the event." The FTX incident was the bankruptcy of FTX, the world's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, in 2022 due to a liquidity crisis. Because many Solana-based cryptocurrencies were listed on FTX, the Solana ecosystem also suffered considerable damage at the time.

Kim Growth said, "(Immediately after the FTX incident) Solana's price, which had been in the $30–$40 range, fell to around $8." She explained, "(Due to the FTX incident) liquidity in the Solana ecosystem also plummeted," adding, "This was why there were many views that the Solana ecosystem was in crisis at the time."

"FTX incident gave me confidence in Solana's future"

As we talked, the ordered tomato pasta and bottarga pasta arrived. The richness of the cheese piled on the tomato pasta enhanced the umami of the tomato sauce. The bottarga pasta was an ink pasta with butter sauce mixed with ground roasted garlic and served with bottarga. The combination of bottarga and butter sauce was impressive. The bottarga pasta is a menu item that Kim Growth always orders along with the flounder carpaccio when she visits Restaurant Uobo.

After tasting the pastas in succession, Kim Growth continued. She said, "Ironically, that incident made me confident about Solana's future," explaining, "(Even despite the FTX incident) the human fundamentals of the Solana ecosystem were not shaken at all." She added, "Among the colleagues I worked with at the time, hardly anyone left the foundation or the Solana ecosystem after the FTX incident," and said, "All my colleagues sincerely worked to maintain and rebuild the Solana ecosystem."

Kim Growth emphasized, "Being part of the Solana ecosystem is like having friends all over the world." She said, "It's hard to express exactly in words, but there's a particular cohesion unique to the Solana ecosystem," adding, "This cohesion is what enables solidarity within the Solana ecosystem." Kim Growth said that when her Solana ecosystem colleagues visited Korea, they once rented a large bus and toured together.

While talking, we ordered ragu pasta. It is a pasta made with ragu sauce simmered with beef and red wine. As we were considering ordering more, Kim Growth recommended it as "a menu I often order." Thick tagliatelle fresh pasta mixed with olive oil was topped with rich ragu sauce and peas.

When asked what sparked her interest in the crypto scene, Kim Growth answered, "When I was in Jeju." Kim Growth spent her school years in Jeju until entering university. Attending a blockchain seminar by chance while in high school was what led her into the crypto scene. She said, "When I first encountered blockchain technology, I was fascinated by the concept of 'decentralization,'" and explained, "Looking back, it was interesting because it directly questioned the conventional systems we normally think about."

Jeju made efforts in 2019 to attract a blockchain special zone. It was when Jeju competed with Busan, the current blockchain special zone, to host the special zone. This context is also why domestic blockchain companies held workshops and seminars in Jeju at the time. Kim Growth said, "After first encountering blockchain, I attended various seminars to study the technology and gradually realized how significant decentralization is," adding, "I usually get bored quickly when I start something, but I never felt boredom with blockchain."

"Many opportunities to be a pioneer; next year is the last"

After finishing the meal, we moved to a café near the restaurant called 'Fresca 29 Coffee.' It's a specialty cafe that roasts beans in-house and brews coffee directly. Kim Growth and I ordered two filter coffees brewed with the 'El Salvador El Angel Pacamara' beans from the shop. A small note that came with the coffee listed tasting notes for the beans: apple, black tea, pumpkin candy, dried fruit.

Over coffee we discussed the appeal of the crypto scene. Kim Growth said, "(Because the crypto scene) changes daily, you can't structurally repeat the same work," explaining, "This means people who quickly get bored with repetitive tasks won't have time to feel bored." She added, "Another advantage of the crypto scene is that if you let go of some obsession with stability, there are really many opportunities to try new things."

She cited 'opportunity' as another attraction. Kim Growth said, "In traditional industries you primarily need a degree to prove your qualifications," and added, "In contrast, the crypto scene offers opportunities to work even without proving yourself by a degree." She said, "Because the crypto industry's history is short, there are still many opportunities to become a pioneer," and added, "(However) I think next year will be the last chance to become a pioneer."

Kim Growth predicted, "The industry will grow in earnest from next year." She said, "Next year will be the period when the stablecoin industry's performance becomes visible," adding, "Although you cannot predict performance precisely, I think stablecoins will emerge as an indispensable business in most industries."

When asked about hobbies, Kim Growth answered, "I like both watching and playing soccer." She said she had a one-on-one soccer lesson scheduled even after the interview. "I tried many hobbies from a young age and settled on soccer," she laughed.

After some small talk, the interview ended. Kim Growth said she will get married next year. After congratulating her, we said goodbye in front of the cafe. The snow that had been falling since morning had now stopped.

This interview was not supported or paid for by any specific restaurant or brand and was conducted without commercial intent. The 'Blooming Lunch' corner aims to capture casual, free-form interviews at the interviewee's favorite regular restaurants.