Story · Why Farming
In the oldest industry,
we saw the newest possibilities.Farming is one of humanity's oldest industries, and one we will always need. At the same time, we felt it was an industry where technologies like sensors, automation and data still have plenty of room to grow.
But farming works with living nature. We believe the purpose of technology is not to replace nature, but to help us observe and judge it better.
MIEDEN FARM is growing the next possibilities of farming in Jeju.
2023
Selected as a young startup successor farmer
2023 Started growing tangerines in Gungcheon
2024
Started growing mini kabocha and kohlrabi in Nakcheon-ri, Hangyeong, Jeju
- Completed more than 400 hours of agricultural training
- Interviewed by the YouTube channels <Failure Is My Strength> and <Dalgeudak TV>
2025
Selected for the 15th Youth Startup Academy · launched a health food brand
- Launched kohlrabi fermented enzyme & blood sugar care probiotics
- Joined PIONEERS, a global expansion program (Singapore & Vietnam)
- Developed processed agricultural products
- Expanded into instant food manufacturing and processing, wholesale and retail
- Developed freeze-dried chips using kohlrabi, mini kabocha, tangerines and more
- Selected as a resident company of the Jeju National University Business Incubation Center
- Selected for TYM's tractor donation program for young returning farmers
- Selected for Jeju's vegetable and flower greenhouse support program
2026
Started hydroponic growing of European salad greens with aquaponics
- Started operating a greenhouse of about 500 pyeong (1,650 m²) in Hangyeong, Jeju
- Built an aquaponics DWC hydroponic system
- Growing European-style leafy greens and salad vegetables under cover
- Selected for Jeju's customized support program for young farmers
2026 Built a DIY smart farm
- Running a young farmers' smart farm study under the Jeju Agricultural Research & Extension Services
- Built a DIY smart farm automatic control system for around KRW 2 million
- Running our own system for smart farm and farm journal data analysis using Home Assistant
- Selected for a government AI support program for small businesses: developing a smart farm data analysis service including the farm journal
2026 Fairs and partnerships
- Took part in events including the Jeju Food & Farming Fair (FUPAFE), the A-FARM SHOW in Yangjae, Vegan Festa, the Jeju Sool Festival and the Seogwipo Youth Festival
- Pursuing industry-academia cooperation and capstone projects with Jeju National University RISE and others
- Instructor at Hana Venture's Daejeon-area university IT & local startup camp
2026 Appeared on NBS 「I Am a Farmer」, episode 395
2026 AI-based business operating system
- Developed our own systems for content analysis, reference collection and social media automation
- Building automation for farm operations and marketing using AI
2027
Aquaponics gourmet experience program opening soon
The crops · The questions · Experiments
What we learned in the field
We've put the crops we grow, the questions we hold on to, and the experiments we've tried onto cards. Hover over a card (tap on a phone) and it flips to tell the story.
THE CROPS 01
Jeju tangerines
Tangerines are a familiar crop in Jeju, but MIEDEN FARM didn't leave that familiarity as it was. Growing them ourselves in our Hangyeong field, we kept checking and recording sweetness, harvest timing and how well they keep.
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THE CROPS 02
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is one of the crops we grow ourselves in our Hangyeong field, and its quality varied a lot depending on pest management and harvest timing. Keeping growing records to narrow that gap later led to how we manage smart farm data.
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THE CROPS 03
Mini kabocha squash
Mini kabocha was an especially tricky crop when it came to keeping size and sweetness consistent. Over several seasons we kept adjusting transplanting and harvest times little by little to find the best timing.
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THE CROPS 04
European salad
Unlike the lettuce commonly grown in Korea, these react more sensitively to changes in temperature and light. Growing them made MIEDEN FARM look at the environment in finer detail, and that experience has led to the precise environmental management we do today.
View product →THE QUESTIONS
The questions we keep asking
- Q1Is this crop really growing well?
- Q2Why does it grow well on some days and not on others?
- Q3What are the numbers we're looking at actually telling us?
- Q4Will this method work next season too?
EXPERIMENTS
Light · LIGHT
- ProblemIn summer, light in the open field was as strong as about 100,000 lux, while our unshaded indoor nursery reached only about 20,000 lux — a big gap from what the crops needed.
- MeasuredMeasuring actual light while applying shade nets section by section, we confirmed that 75% shading brought it down to about 7,000 lux.
- ChangedBased on these measurements, we applied different shading rates depending on the season and the crops' growth stage. Rather than fixing a single shading rate, we chose to adjust based on measured values.
EXPERIMENTS
Water · WATER
- ProblemIn hydroponics, pH, EC, dissolved oxygen (DO) and water temperature all affect one another, and for a while our pH sensor readings gradually drifted away from the actual water quality.
- MeasuredComparing sensor readings with separate measurements, we found pH had slowly drifted from 6.58 to 7.50. It was the sensor's own error building up over time.
- ChangedSince then, we regularly check sensor readings against measured values and calibrate them. We also changed how we manage things, recording water temperature, EC and DO together so we can catch warning signs sooner.
EXPERIMENTS
Air · AIR
- ProblemOn some summer days the nursery reached about 35°C inside, and kohlrabi seedlings grew leggy and fell over.
- MeasuredLooking at temperature and humidity data together as absolute humidity, dew point and VPD (vapor pressure deficit), we found environmental stress periods we couldn't see from temperature alone.
- ChangedWe moved away from looking at temperature alone, and now ventilation and cooling adjust automatically, taking VPD and absolute humidity into account.
THE SYSTEM
We started with very simple automation
- At firstWe started with very simple on/off automation — running the circulation pump 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off.
- NowEquipment turns on and off based on real conditions like temperature, humidity, pH, EC and water temperature.
- RecordsWe log every sensor reading and equipment action, and we're testing having AI organize and summarize those records.
- DecisionsAI only helps make the records easy to use — people make the final decisions.
ME:HUB · ME:HUB
MIEDEN FARM works with AI through an internal system we built, called ME:HUB
Farm work doesn't end in the field. Growing records, orders and inquiries, tax preparation, social media posts — on a small farm, a few people have to share all of this.
We started in autumn 2026. AI teams split by area each organize their own work and post it in one place, and the CEO reviews the results and decides.
Content
Suggests topics and writes draft posts based on how past posts did and the farm journal. The CEO decides what to write and when to post.
Farm Monitoring
Checks the smart farm's connections and errors every morning and reports the day's farm situation. Equipment runs on rules set in advance, and AI never turns anything on or off on its own.
Business Management
Summarizes SmartStore orders, inquiries and inventory, calculates cost by product and suggests improvements.
Accounting
Organizes tax rules and filing preparation and gives advance notice of deadlines. The CEO files and pays taxes personally.
Audit
Reads and double-checks the accounting and business results organized by the other AIs.
AI organizes information, writes drafts, checks and suggests. Deciding what to do, posting and filing taxes are still done by people.
It's still in an early stage, not long since we built it. We keep improving it, recording what works and what doesn't.
still growing · Still growing
We're not finished yet
MIEDEN FARM is still experimenting, recording and changing how we do things. Our smart farm technology keeps expanding, and we keep trying new crops and new ways of growing.
We haven't decided everything about what we'll become. But we'll keep to one principle: not hiding what happened in the field, and not talking about unconfirmed things as if they were confirmed. We post what's happening now more often, and more closely, on the NOW page.
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