Elementary school was the highest level of education he completed. From the age of 13, he made a living by working as a dishwasher, manual laborer, and delivery worker, and he also spent nights working on a pig farm. He lost all his assets due to business failure and was once caught up in an unjust incident that led him to spend 14 months in detention.

Yet today, that same man stands as the chairman of YOUTHMETA, a global AI data analytics company with users in 27 countries and around 60,000 members.

Glosoeum Publishing’s new book, Is It That You Can’t Make Money, or That You Don’t?, published on June 1, is a self-development book that presents the life philosophy and execution principles of Iron One, chairman of YOUTHMETA. More than a simple success story, it is a record of survival by a person who started from the bottom and endured until the end. It also poses questions to readers about their attitude toward life and the choices they make.

“Is it that you can’t make money, or that you don’t?”

Throughout the book, Chairman Iron One repeatedly asks one question: “Are you truly unable to make money, or have you simply not started moving yet?”

He points out that many people define themselves as people who cannot make money, when in reality, they often turn away from opportunities and possibilities or fail to choose them.

This is not a book that introduces investment techniques or formulas for financial success. Instead, it focuses on changing one’s attitude toward the world and one’s standards of thinking. The author emphasizes the importance of action and execution, saying, “If you stay seated, all you see is a wall; if you move, you begin to see a path.”

A record of survival drawn from the depths of despair

Rather than presenting a polished formula for success, the book contains moments of despair that the author personally experienced.

It recounts the shame of his childhood, when he had to sit by a riverbank and eat a friend’s lunchbox through tears; the despair of burying 200 pigs due to an epidemic; the business failure that cost him all his assets; and 14 months of detention. Yet even at dawn on the day after everything collapsed, he wrote a new life plan.

The conclusion he reached is clear: “Deprivation is not poison — it is an engine.” Even while living in a single-room apartment with a 5 million won deposit, he took out a 6 million won loan to enroll in a CEO program, not for money, but to learn from people. He did not hide the limits of his academic background. Instead, he chose to learn more from more people, starting from a lower place. The conviction he gained from that experience was this: “Money invested in people never disappears.”

A man with only an elementary school education who could not speak a sentence of English now leads a global company in 27 countries

YOUTHMETA is an AI-based digital asset data analytics platform company. It develops and operates solutions that analyze data through deep learning technology and provide insights into market trends and direction. In the industry, the platform is regarded as a kind of “navigation system” that helps users understand the complex digital asset market in a more structured way.

The story of a man who could not properly speak a single sentence of English and could not even use Excel, yet came to lead a data analytics business in the global market, surprises many people. This book calmly explains how such an unrealistic-looking reality became possible.

Five execution principles that change life

Is It That You Can’t Make Money, or That You Don’t? consists of five parts.

Part 1, “The Deeper the Deprivation, the Stronger the Engine,” deals with the process of turning shame and deprivation into a source of growth. Part 2, “You Learn a Little When You Win, and Much More When You Lose,” introduces real examples of transforming failure into an opportunity for growth.

Part 3, “Human Relationships Are Money,” highlights the value and importance of relationships. Part 4, “Your Thoughts Create Your World,” explains the difference between execution ability and mindset. The final part presents practical methods for turning dreams into numbers and deadlines.

The book has also received recommendations from major figures in the industry.

Jin-young Choi, publisher and CEO of Herald Economy and The Korea Herald, described the book as “a moving record of survival and miraculous time, in which one soul collapsed to the very bottom and rose again by stepping on the fragments of despair.” He expressed hope that the book would become a light of hope for those passing through their darkest nights.

Jin-moon Doo, former CEO of Woongjin Coway, who built the so-called “Coway miracle” from nothing, also recommended the book to those who want to become the protagonists of the future. He said, “His insight — to prepare by moving, rather than waiting for the perfect timing — is the very essence of business.”

Meanwhile, Is It That You Can’t Make Money, or That You Don’t? is not simply a book about how to make money. It is a record of the author’s life, showing how deprivation, failure, and despair can be transformed into engines for growth. It also carries the message that only those who take action can change the future.