Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Jae-Sik Moon called Gun-Ho again after a while.

“I’m outside.”

“What do you mean you are outside?”

“I came out of the office to talk with you further since we don’t want the workers here to hear our conversation.”

“What is it?”

“If GH Logistics moves to Siheung City, the two employees of the company won’t be able to continue to work for it. They both live in Seonghwan City. Siheung City is too far for them to commute.”

“Hmm, I see. That’s one thing that we need to think about.”

“If that happens, would it be possible for GH Mobile to take them?”

“The male worker there is a manager, right? GH Mobile’s managers are way more qualified than him. I don’t think GH Mobile will accept him as a manager.”

“I don’t expect him to keep the same position title with GH Mobile. Can he work on the production site?”

“Did you talk with him about it? Did he say that he is willing to work in the production site?”

“No, I haven’t talked with him about it yet.”

“Also the bookkeeper lady there wouldn’t be able to keep the same job in GH Mobile either. All bookkeeping work in GH Mobile is computerized and handled by people who are trained for it.”

“If they can get paid more than now even if they have to work in the production site, I think they might be willing to take the job. When I told them the other day, that GH Logistics is related to GH Mobile, they looked surprised. They know that GH Mobile is a large company and hard to get in.”

“I see what you mean. Let’s make the sale of the land first, and discuss further about it after that.”

Gun-Ho received a call from Min-Hyeok Kim in China.

“Do you remember that I told you that one of my friends from college is working in Mandong Company as a manager?”

“Oh, yeah, I think I remember that.”

“That friend visited me in Suzhou City yesterday.”

“Did he go there for sightseeing?”

“Sort of. He told me several times that he wanted to visit Suzhou City someday since it’s a popular tourist destination, and he finally made it yesterday.”

“Did you make sure he had a good time there?”

“I certainly did. I even hooked him up with a Xiaojie (Miss) at a karaoke.”

“Hmm, really?”

“He visited our factory here too. He was with a director of Mandong Company. When I told them the company is related to GH Mobile, the director looked surprised and said I should have told him earlier about it.”

“Oh, he said that?”

“So I told him that since Mandong Company is located in Beijing, I didn’t try to make a connection with it.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that he knows Director Kim very well, who used to work for GH Mobile and who is working for Dyeon Korea now.”

“Is that so?”

“He said that one of their vendors keeps making troubles, and he wants to work with us. So we will be replacing that troubling vendor for them.”

“Haha, really?”

“Once we receive the product drawing from them, I will send it to GH Mobile’s research center.”

“Sounds good. I will make sure that GH Mobile’s chief officer of the research center expects it. But, do you think you can still handle the deal even after considering the transportation cost since they are in Beijing?”

“He said if they are satisfied with our products, they will reflect the transportation cost on the product cost.”

“That’s good. Okay, keep up the good work.”

“Oh, you know what? It seems that Suk-Ho is in trouble.”

“Why? What happened? Is he still trying to sell his store?”

“Yeah. No one is buying his store, and he is losing his money by running it. He is in Korea right now to get some money.”

“It’s not a good idea to use his parents’ money for his business.”

“I know.”

“Where did you hear about his situation?”

“I have a friend in Shenyang City. We used to serve in the military together.”

“I see.”

“That friend knows Suk-Ho very well. It seems that Suk-Ho doesn’t have a good reputation in Shenyang City.”

“Hmm, really?”

Gun-Ho went to the class at the Advanced Center for Administrative Development at Seoul National University. The congressman, who was sitting next to Gun-Ho, asked Gun-Ho, “Mr. Class Manager, where have you been? You seem to miss so many classes recently. Did you lose your interest in studying after getting married?”

“I went to China for a business trip. I received a business offer for a joint venture doing a terminal project.”

“A terminal? I believe a terminal business requires a significant amount of investment money.”

“It’s a 50 million dollar worth project.”

“Well, it’s not that much for a terminal project.”

“I guess that’s because it’s in a provincial city.”

“I’m sure that they will bring in a land and ask you to bring in cash, huh?”

“That’s right.”

A minister, who was listening to the conversation between Gun-Ho and the congressman, chipped in.

“Which provincial city are you talking about?”

“It’s Antang City in Guizhou Province.”

“Guizhou Province? Wow, it’s far. It’s not an area that we have connections with.”

“They are saying that they will issue me a license to operate a transportation business there.”

“It sounds fun. I guess businessmen have a more interesting life than us— politicians.”

Another minister chipped in.

“If you participate in the terminal project there, you might want to pay attention to real estate development in that area. The west area will be developed. I believe they will soon start building a lot of condos there.”

When the first class ended, the class president— Minister Jin-Woo Lee— called for Gun-Ho.

“Mr. Class Manager, can I talk to you?”

“Sure.”

“We have some membership fees left, right?”

“Yes. I still have the same amount as you gave to me the other day.”

“Then, can you bring those rice cakes and healthy drinks that you brought to us the other day using the membership fees that we collected? For our next class the day after tomorrow? Those are so delicious, and they are the perfect snacks to eat between our classes.”

“Haha. No problem. I will bring twenty of them the day after tomorrow.”

“Get ten more of them, and take them to the professors’ office.”

Gun-Ho didn’t like Minister Jin-Wook Lee’s attitude toward him. He talked to Gun-Ho like he was talking to his secretary. But Gun-Ho didn’t show his grievance to him. The minister was the man who officiated his wedding after all.

“Okay, I will do that.”

“I’m going to Emerson Country Club next week after stopping by Sejong City. I believe your company is located close to it, isn’t it?

“Emerson Country Club is located in the halfway between Sejong City and Cheonan City. I believe the membership fee for Emerson Country Club is very high.”

“You are not a member of that club?”

“No, I’m not. It’s a bit distant from where I work.”

“Hmm, I was going to ask you about any good restaurant in that area. I thought you would know the area very well.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I can find one for you if you want.”

“No, no. It’s okay.”

“My factory is actually located in Jiksan Town. You will see it if you head to Seonghwan town from Cheonan IC. Also, there is another one in Youngin Town, Asan City.”

“Is that so? What is the company in Asan City manufacturing?”

“It’s a joint venture company with an American company— Lymondell Dyeon.”

“Oh, really? Lymondell Dyeon is a global entity. You are lucky that you are doing a business with that American company.”

“When you happen to be in the area, please stop by my office. I will serve you a cup of tea.”

“Thank you for saying it.”