Kilmo Kang lives a densely packed life. He believes that time is given equally to everyone, so only by living intensely can one reach areas others haven't explored. He calls those who live this way "outliers," and he strives to be one himself. For six consecutive years, he represented Seoul in the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s rubber-powered airplane competition, and his passion for sports even took him to the National Sports Festival for swimming. Kilmo’s intense energy is palpable from the moment you meet him, but his true strength lies in his approach. In everything he does, he seeks to start from the fundamentals, aiming to create experiences that are incomparable to anything before. He applied this same approach to making rubber-powered airplanes. From third grade through the second year of middle school, he competed in rubber-powered airplane contests where extending airtime was essential. Starting with a simple wooden piece, he tested and altered wing angles and placements, witnessing the impact on performance. Experimenting from the basics allowed him to build a better airplane. This approach extended to sports like judo, kickboxing, weight training, and swimming. For example, he would plan his judo training by studying a training manual, then spend an entire hour focusing on one exercise to build a strong foundation. He believes that a solid foundation is essential to achieving greater goals—a conviction reinforced by his experience.

As an outlier, Kilmo dreamed of building airplanes. After middle school, a teacher told him that he needed good grades to achieve his dream, so he attended Seoul Science High School and later KAIST. At KAIST, students choose courses that define their major, and Kilmo, still determined to build airplanes, was one of only six who selected aerospace engineering. However, the reality of his studies differed from his expectations. Because aerospace engineering is tied to the defense industry, much of the essential knowledge was inaccessible in school. He sensed limitations in Korea’s system, and realized that, as a foreigner, it would be challenging to pursue core work in the US, where aerospace engineering is advanced. Confronted with this reality, he began questioning his dream of building airplanes and deeply considered what he truly wanted to achieve beyond the concept of airplanes.

Kilmo aspired to make a significant impact on the world. Upon entering Seoul Science High School, he recalled the principal’s words about contributing to society. He saw impact as contributing something meaningful to people’s daily routines. This belief drove his decision to pursue a career in business. After earning a master’s degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Seoul National University, he joined Samsung Electronics to gain experience in global business. Working in Samsung’s Strategic Marketing division, he collaborated extensively with Facebook, introducing innovative systems that hadn’t been done before. He planned and executed advanced marketing methods using Facebook’s data, achieving double the performance of existing methods. No one had asked him to create such a system, but his desire to make the most impactful contribution led him to create something out of nothing. He introduced this system in 50 countries and established governance systems as well. He decided it was time to start his own business. Leaving his comfort zone behind, he walked a new path, determined to work on projects essential to human life.

Choosing a business area was not difficult. His desire to make an impact on people’s lives and focus on fundamentals naturally drew him to the necessities of life—food, clothing, and shelter. Observing that the current distribution structure was unsustainable, he resolved to feed the world with the best sustainable products. Confident that a strong foundation would help him go further toward this grand vision, Kilmo and Future Connect have committed to building every part of the process from the ground up. Currently focusing on vegetables, they handle everything from smart farms and offline stores to online apps to provide people with quality food. The physical spaces, including kitchens and tables in their offline stores, reflect the company’s philosophy that every product should embody Future Connect’s vision, and they’ve directly designed and built each element. This includes their operating locations in Segok, Gyodae, and Bangbae.

Listening to Kilmo’s story, one can’t help but marvel at his dense, action-filled life. As a graduate student, he once fainted while submerged in a pool, developed severe pneumonia as a side effect, and was admitted to the ICU. The doctor told his mother that he had only seen five cases progress so quickly, three of whom did not survive. With 70% of his lungs compromised, he lay at the edge of life and death, losing 12 kg in just three days. Surviving this crisis, Kilmo left the ICU with a firm resolution to waste no more time hesitating—every moment would now be devoted to action.

For Kilmo, Future Connect is like a team riding the same vehicle with a shared goal. With the dream of “providing the best sustainable food,” he wants to go as far as possible with his team. Customers describe Future Connect’s salad stores, Livfarm, as “Livfarm zones,” a term that reflects how they see Livfarm as a benefit rather than just a store or brand. Currently, this value is only accessible to a portion of people in Seoul, but Kilmo and Future Connect’s vehicle aims to go farther than any other team, ensuring that everyone, not just in Seoul but globally, can experience this value.