Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho took pictures of products sized of a red bean, which were exiting the extruder. The products were coming out in different colors which indicate their different uses. Some were to be used for home appliances and some were meant to be used for automobile parts. In a plastic factory, these products were used to produce plastic plates or various sorts of parts or tools after they melt them again and molded them into the desired shape.

“Did you say you don’t export any of these products outside Japan?”

“All of the products that we produce at this factory are used in Japan.”

“Hmm…”

Gun-Ho nodded.

On the second day of Gun-Ho’s trip to Japan, Amiel took Gun-Ho’s party to Yonehara Golf Club. They took a shuttle bus and arrived at the golf club after an hour. The golf course was located at a 400,000 pyung hill.

“Wow. This is so beautiful.”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim who had been in many different golf courses before was amazed.

“I feel like I can breathe better here.”

The clubhouse was pretty as well. The building was constructed in a western style.

“If Jien Wang was here, he would have said that this was built in Seobanah (Espana in Chinese pronunciation) style.”

Gun-Ho was talking to himself, and Attorney Young-Jin Kim seemed to have heard him.

“Seobanah? What is Seobanah? This is a Spanish style building!”

“Seobanah means Spain. Chinese people call Spain—Seobanah.”

“Oh, really?”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim laughed.

Just in time, Gun-Ho’s phone rung.

“Huh? It’s from Korea. Maybe it’s from my office; did something happen?”

The phone call was actually from Gun-Ho’s high school classmate—Won-Chul Jo who was working in a big company as a manager.

“Gun-Ho? It’s me, Won-Chul Jo.”

“Yes, hey, what’s up?”

“Did Suk-Ho call you about the gathering? We are trying to have a gathering with friends from high school.”

“Yes, I heard it from Suk-Ho.”

“I want to talk to you about the gathering. Do you have time tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is not good for me. I am in Japan right now. I’m taking this call in roaming.”

“Really? What are you doing there?”

“I’m playing golf with friends here.”

“Really?”

Won-Chul didn’t say anything for a second then continued to talk.

“Are you playing golf with some of our friends from high school? I can’t think of anyone from our friends who would go to Japan to play golf.”

“I’m with other friends you don’t know.”

“Who are they?”

Gun-Ho was wondering why Won-Chul wanted to know who he was playing golf with. Won-Chul was being nosy, Gun-Ho thought.

“An attorney friend from Kim&Jeong and a president of the Japan branch office of Lymondell Dyeon.”

“Kim&Jeong law firm? Wow. You are living large.”

“I’m coming back to Korea the day after tomorrow. I will call you then. I gotta go. It’s my turn to tee off.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I will let you go.”

“This is my first time being in a golf field.”

Jeong-Rok Han who came along with Gun-Ho’s party to the golf field to interpret for Gun-Ho and Attorney Kim said. He was watching them play golf with a curious look on his face.

“Hmm, then watch how badly I play golf.”

“What?”

Jeong-Rok Han laughed.

A good golf player—Attorney Young-Jin Kim and Amiel—continued to make a birdie while Gun-Ho keeps making a bogey. Even with a lot of bogeys, Gun-Ho was doing not bad at all; he played along with Attorney Kim and Amiel. His ball was once dropped into the bunker at the 8th hole. Except that, he was doing fine. They finally finished 18 holes.

“My ball was moving by itself against my intention.”

“President Goo, you lost the game no matter how you look at it. You’ll be buying us a drink.”

After Gun-Ho’s party left Yonehara Golf Club, Amiel took them to a bar in Shinjuku City.

The bar was luxuriously decorated. Its yard was very well landscaped with flowers, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Amiel teased Gun-Ho.

“Hey, President Goo. This bar is so special that not many Korean has been here before. Even a minister of Korean government wouldn’t be able to come here just because they want to. It is very expensive here.”

“How much do they charge? I think I can handle it. Let’s get in!”

Amiel chuckled.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You can’t just go in there and expect to be served with liquor. They selectively accept their own customers, and you have to make a reservation in advance; it is a must.”

“Really? Are you saying you already made a reservation with them?”

“I actually did. I told them that I will bring a very rich Korean man, who has a joint venture with China. I also told the chief hostess that this man is an important figure so they’d better serve him well.”

Amiel kept smiling while he was saying it.

“Irasshaimase (Welcome in Japanese)”

Two young women who were wearing Yukata came out and greeted Gun-Ho’s party.

“Amiel-san desu ka? (Are you Mr. Amiel?)”

“Hai (Yes).”

Once Gun-Ho’s party get on the floor, a middle-aged woman who was also wearing a Yukata came out and greeted them.

“Oh, Amiel-san. It has been a while.”

“How are you Mama-san?”

The floor in the room where Gun-Ho’s party was shown to was neatly covered with tatami, and in the middle of the room, there was a floor table. The four men sat at the table: Gun-Ho, Young-Jin Kim, Amiel, and the interpreter—Jeong-Rok Han. Jeong-Rok was busily looking around the room; it seemed that he had never been to a place like this before. Gun-Ho recently gained a bit of weight, and he was not skinny anymore, probably because he had been well fed lately. He now had a fine presence. Mama-san recognized Gun-Ho at a glance.

“Oh, this must be the Goo-sama (Mr. Goo) who is running a big business.”

Mama-san placed her head on the floor to show Gun-Ho her respect and to give a bow.

“I am Segawa Joonkko. I’m very pleased to meet you, sir.”

Mama-san did the same thing to Attorney Young-Jim Kim and also gave a slight bow to Jeong-Rok.

Fancy and neat Japanese dishes started coming out.

Some tasted just like Korean sashimi so Gun-Ho could comfortably eat them. Gun-Ho couldn’t digest some spices since those spices tasted strange. The liquor they brought along the food was a type of sake; the liquor had a tender and clean taste.

After Mama-sang left the room, two women entered the room with a Japanese traditional musical instrument—Shamisen. They both looked like in their 30s. They kneeled on the floor gently and started playing Shamisen.

It was a new and pleasant experience for Gun-Ho to drink liquor while listening to Shamisen. Gun-Ho felt like he became some sort of a lord in ancient Japan.

Once they had a good time drinking with music, Amiel called for Mama-san. He seemed to ask something very special to Mama-san.

“Joonkko-sang, I brought a very special guest here today. Please bring the most beautiful dancing geisha—Mori Aikko—who used to be very famous in Gion (Kyoto’s famous geisha district).”

“Hahaha. You can’t just call for Mori Aikko like that.”

“Please tell her that a billionaire from Korea is here.”

Gun-Ho was startled and said,

“Hey, what are you talking about? I am not a billionaire!”

Mama-san made a comment to what Gun-Ho’s said,

“Hahaha. I can tell he is a billionaire. I’ve been seeing a lot of people because of the nature of my business. I know how to read people’s face and know what kind of people they are. I know you are a billionaire.”

Everyone in the room laughed. Gun-Ho was the only one who felt a bit uncomfortable.