Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

“I have something to tell you since we are all here together.”

Everyone looked at Gun-Ho.

“Once we made an actual contract for the joint venture next month, we will have a presentation in Seoul to attract Korean companies into the industrial park.”

“Where will it be held?”

“We haven’t decided the exact location yet; however, I am thinking of the Koreana Hotel since its location is easy to access.”

“Koreana Hotel? The one close to Gwanghwamun Gate?”

“Yes. When Mr. Min-Hyeok Kim and I go to China next month we will discuss more details with our co-venturers. Once we decide the location, I will let you know. Then you will have to make a reservation right away. Manager Kang, I want you to make a reservation for the hotel.”

“Okay.”

“There is a large hall called Gloria Hall in Koreana Hotel. I was told it could hold about 200 people. I want you to make a reservation of that hall.”

“Okay, sir.”

“Also, check the price of advertisement of the size of about 17 centimeters by 37 centimeters. I am considering newspapers of Economics and Jojoongdong for the ad.”

Gun-Ho continued to talk about the roles that everyone needed to take for a successful presentation.

“Ms. Ji-Young Jeong, please prepare drinks and take care of the reception.”

“Should I prepare for 200 people?”

“We might not have 200 people that day; however, we should prepare for 200 people. Let’s have green tea and coffee. We will also have to distribute pamphlets that will be prepared by China. We will prepare a guest book as well.”

“Okay.”

“And, Min-Hyeok, make 200 copies of the pamphlet. We will need to translate the pamphlet into the Korean language. I know someone who can do the translation; he is a Chinese language instructor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. I will ask him. We will also have an individual interview with the participants after the presentation. I will take Group A, and you take Group B. You will have to study and memorize about the industrial park when we visit China next month.”

“Okay. I will visit the site in China again and will memorize the contents of the pamphlet.”

“Also, make the presentation material with PowerPoint and if you incur any cost by doing so, just let Ms. Ji-Young Jeong know.”

“Okay.”

“Ms. Ji-Young Jeong, for all the expenses incurred in preparing the presentation, we will send a bill to the joint venture, so make sure not to mix with the receipts of GH Development.”

“Okay, sir.”

“I am sorry if I talked too much about work. We are here to enjoy our lunch, don’t we?”

“That’s okay, sir. We really liked the lunch. Thank you.”

Manager Kang said. Min-Hyeok also added to it; his face was already red because of the liquor he drank.

“I’ve been stressed about what I would have to do in preparation for the presentation. But since you clearly assign the work to each of us, I feel relieved. I think I can handle my part.”

While Gun-Ho was paying for lunch at the counter, Manager Kang, Ji-Young, and Min-Hyeok were making a joke to each other and laughing together. His employees looked happy.

After dropping them off at the office, Gun-Ho wanted to take a rest. He felt sleepy, probably because of the glass of liquor he had during the lunch.

“Let’s go somewhere to take a rest. I don’t want my employees to see me take a nap in the office. It would look ugly and not appropriate.”

Gun-Ho headed to Novotel Ambassador Hotel which was close to his office. He sat at a café in the lobby and fell asleep. He had a dream.

In his dream, he was still working at the plastic factory in Hwaseong City as an injection molding worker. It was the time when he first started working at the factory. The factory manager was yelling at the production team leader.

“This product, R-1640. Who did this? The new worker, Gun-Ho Goo did this? What did you do when he was making a mess like this?”

The factory manager kicked the team leader’s shin.

“I’m… I’m sorry, sir.”

“Your saying sorry doesn’t help the situation at all! What are you going to do with all these 6,000 products?”

“What’s wrong with Gun-Ho Goo? He is a college graduate, right? Then how come he can’t do a better job than the other workers who didn’t even finish high school? It has been a year already since he joined our factory!”

“I’m so sorry, sir. I will let him go.”

“We will have to take all our products back. You go to the client site and take care of it! And take Gun-Ho Goo with you!”

“I will do that, sir.”

Gun-Ho got slapped in the face by the team leader.

“You stupid a*shole! I can do better work than you even when I am drunk. Get in the truck! We will have to go to the client site to take our products back!”

The truck was heading to somewhere else instead of their client site.

“Shouldn’t we go to Wonil Tech in Bongdam Town?”

“You, idiot f*cker! We take parts from Wonil Tech to assemble and send the product to JoyangMobis. You don’t f*cking know that yet?”

“I… I see.”

“JoyangMobis claimed for defective products to Wonil Tech, so Wonil Tech asked us to take them back! You stupid f*cking as*hole!”

JoyangMobis was located in Namyang Town, Hwaseong City. It was a huge company with all sorts of modern technology. At the entrance, a guard asked them to write down their name and address on the visitor book and to hand a photo ID to him before they could get in.

“Whoa, it is huge.”

“You, f*cker, you are not here to have a tour! Put the visitor’s pass on your chest and follow me!”

The production team leader took Gun-Ho to a storage. The sign on the storage was written in English.

Inside the storage, there was a pile of products with company names that delivered the products to them. At the storage entrance, a staff in a uniform let people in, only those who had an authorized ticket to take products back.

“We are from Hwaseong Industry. We came to pick up R-1640 that was returned to Wonil Tech.”

The production team leader told the staff at the entrance in a servile attitude with a smile.

“What about Wonil Tech? Are they not coming?”

“They will. We are their subcontractor and we came to pick up their products for them. Here is the ticket.”

A forklift truck started loading the 2.5-ton truck that the team leader drove, with the products that were returned.

Gun-Ho looked around the factory. It was so big that it looked several times larger than a playground in high school. There were a lot of workers as well.

“Sir, they probably have more than 1,000 workers here, right?”

“Why do you want to know about it? You, son of b*tch. They said they have over 3,000 workers.”

“Wow. I wonder what kind of person owns this large factory.”

“There is a rumor that the president here is a relative of H-Group’s daughter-in-law. You f*cker.”

Gun-Ho felt said and thought,

‘A person can’t succeed in Korea without the right family, academic education and network. Then what should a person like me do? I want to work at a company like this. That is probably impossible in this life, huh?’

“Whew.”

“You son of b*tch, don’t just stay there and sigh. Get ready to go back to our factory!”

“I’m sorry, sir. You had to come here because of me…”

“You know that huh? You can just get fired and find another factory to work at. But what am I going to do?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Do you see all the products that were returned there? It’s a waste, don’t you think?”

“Can’t we recycle it?”

“Recycle my as*. You son of b*tch! Not everything can be recycled. Those products cannot be recycled, you stupid f*cker!”

“All of them?”

“Disposing of those products cost money too, and those are industrial garbage. You help create more industrial garbage, you human trash!”

Gun-Ho eventually got fired. The work experience at the factory left him a missing nail and burn scars on his left arm. He had to go through this harsh life just because he couldn’t pass the level-9 government job exam.

In the dream, Gun-Ho was in someplace else. He was in a farmland somewhere in Hwaseong. He was sitting on the farmland while crying. Someone was walking toward him. It was Chairman Lee from Cheongdam Town.

“Chairman Lee.”

“Oh, Gun-Ho Goo. Why are you crying here? I heard you built a huge factory on a 10,000 pyung land this time, and your factory is bigger than JoyangMobis. Congratulations.”

Chairman Lee was extending his hand to Gun-Ho for a handshake when Gun-Ho woke up from his dream.

That was the dream Gun-Ho had while he was dozing off at the café in Novotel Ambassador Hotel. Gun-Ho drank his coffee that was placed on the table. The coffee became already cold.

Gun-Ho bit his lips.

“That’s right. My goal is not just to invest in some real estate or stocks. I want to have an enormous factory with several thousands of employees.”

Gun-Ho gulped down the cold coffee as if it was cold water.