Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

“Haha. That’s true. I don’t have to worry about sales, right?”

“Of course not. You just focus on writing and editing. Your salary will be determined by President Jeong-Sook Shin. I determine her salary, but she will handle the salaries of the other workers in that company. Enjoy working with her.”

Manager Kang from GH Development called Gun-Ho to let him know that he had completed any legal and administrative process to form GH Media. Therefore, GH Media officially had been established.

“Good work, Min-Hyeok.”

“I completed registering the company with the tax office as well.”

“What about President Jeong-Sook Shin’s new desk?”

“A new desk and a chair for her arrived already. I also bought a table for a guest.”

“That’s good. There is one more thing I need you to take care of. Please prepare one vacant room in our OneRoomTel. The chief editor will stay there.”

“Which OneRoomTel would be good for him?”

“Since the office is located close to the Gangnam Station, let’s place him in the OneRoomTel in Yeoksam Town. They have a vacant room, right?”

“Yes, they do. It’s not a busy season for a OneRoomTel business right now, so we do have vacant rooms there.”

“Don’t take rent from him though, at least until the publishing company becomes financially stable.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gun-Ho then made a phone call to President Jeong-Sook Shin.

“It seems that everything is ready. The company has formally been established and the relevant paperwork is all done. The office is ready and the workers are there already. You just need to go to the office to join them. When do you plan to start?”

“Thank you, President Goo. I will start working on Monday.”

“Sounds good. Then on Monday, why don’t you come to my real estate development office first? It’s near Gangnam Station. I will introduce you to the workers.”

“I am a bit nervous about all these since it is a start-up company. I don’t want to disappoint you, President Goo. I’ve selected five books based on the list provided by an agency that introduces foreign books. With the book—Economy Trend in China for the 21st Century which you want to publish, we will have six books we want to publish.”

“Haha. I totally trust you in that area.”

“Oh, since I have you on the phone, I want to ask you to confirm one thing.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about my salary.”

“Until the publishing company starts generating enough revenue to be self-sufficient, what about I pay you 5 million won per month?”

“5 million won? Okay, sounds good for now. I, instead, want you to renegotiate my salary with me twice per year.”

“Okay, I can do that. We will have to take the financial status of the company into account anyway in determining your salary.”

“What about the salaries of other workers in the company including the chief editor?”

“Well, you will have to decide on that. You are the best person who would be able to evaluate each worker’s qualifications and contribution to the company. So, it should be your call. I will delegate that authority to you.”

“Okay. Thank you, sir. I will then see you on Monday at your office in Gangnam.”

After getting off the phone with President Jeong-Sook Shin, Gun-Ho calculated with his electronic calculator.

“If we don’t successfully find any best-selling book within a year, we won’t be able to sell even 20 books and I will lose my entire investment fund of 300 million won for this publishing company. A publishing business seems to be highly risky. It is easy to get into the field, but it is extremely hard to succeed. Well, I will have to rely on President Jeong-Sook Shin’s competence. It’s up to her now.”

Gun-Ho received a call from Attorney Young-Jin Kim.

“I was told that the business plan is almost done. They are currently modifying the estimated demand in the China market.”

“Really?”

“They are working on the estimated demand of the eastern coastal area of China.”

“Can they make that sort of estimation by visiting China for just a few days?”

“Moore Investment has a highly extensive information network. They already grasped the current market of China’s eastern coast area, especially on the auto parts and home appliances field. The area includes Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. They are also getting help from a local institution. They have ties to the research team of the social science academy there.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“They also grasped the present status of the competitors’ products. The U.S. is highly competitive in the chemical field, but they wanted to see if other countries such as Germany, France, and the UK are trying to expand their market to China.”

“There seems to be a lot more work than I thought.”

“You have to be thorough on this matter. You have to keep in mind that you are trying to start a joint venture with a global manufacturing company— Lymondell Dyeon.”

“Do you think they can finish the business plan by the end of this week?”

“That’s not possible. After they are done with figuring out the market status, they will start working on the estimation of projected profit. They will also translate everything into English. Let’s give them ten more days; they will bring a beautiful business plan for you then. Once they complete the business plan, you will have to decide if you want to use that business plan to submit it to Lymondell Dyeon. They will bring the Korean version of the business plan for you as well.”

“I hope I can take a look at it as soon as possible.”

On Monday, Gun-Ho headed to his office of GH Development in Gangnam, Seoul. He was having a cup of morning coffee at his desk when President Jeong-Sook Shin came into the office.

“I didn’t know you have another office here. GH Development is a real estate development company?”

“Yes, it is.”

Ms. Ji-Young Jeong brought a green tea for President Jeong-Sook Shin and placed it on the table.

“Thank you.”

President Jeong-Sook Shin looked at Ji-Young’s face.

“Is she the person who does design work?”

“Haha. No. She is GH Development’s employee. She is handling accounting here.”

“Oh, really? I’m sorry.”

Gun-Ho introduced Manager Seong-Il Kang to President Jeong-Sook Shin.

“Oh, he is Manager Kang. I spoke with him on the phone several times for paperwork. Hi, I finally meet you in person.”

Jeong-Sook extended her hands to Manager Kang for a handshake. Manager Kang seemed to be shy.

“Your office will be our office’s next door. So if you need any help, just let us know; we are just a door away. We are all family now— GH Development and GH Media, don’t we?”

“Thank you for saying that. I look forward to working with you.”

Gun-Ho and Jeong-Sook were having a conversation when Jae-Sik Moon entered the GH Development office.

“Oh, Chief Editor Moon, how are you?”

President Jeong-Sook Shin stood up when she saw Jae-Sik coming into the office.

“I looked around our office next door before coming here. It’s very nice and cozy.”

“Really? Let me take a look.”

Ji-Young came to Gun-Ho and said,

“The design workers are all in the office. They are wondering if they can come to this office now.”

“No, that wouldn’t be necessary. We will come to that office now.”