Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho walked around the town in Seattle.

The city looked certainly exotic to Gun-Ho. All the business signs were written in English, and even the lights on the street looked different from the ones in Korea as well.

“This is a beautiful city”

Gun-Ho enjoyed walking on the street while window shopping in the roadside stores.

“Chicken Valley? That reminds me of the Korean combination menu of a deep-fried chicken with beer. I miss it. Oh, shoot. I shouldn’t think of food; that makes me sick to my stomach again.”

Gun-Ho continued to walk while hearing American people talking on the street.

“Well, I have no idea what those people are talking about.”

At that moment, an old American lady approached Gun-Ho and said something to him. She was probably asking for directions to somewhere.

“I don’t speak English.”

Gun-Ho quickly walked away after telling her that he couldn’t speak English.

After a long walk, Gun-Ho felt much better in his stomach.

“Good exercise is indeed the best medicine. I feel like I already digested all of the food I had for dinner earlier at the hotel.”

When Gun-Ho came back to his room at the hotel, he took a traditional Korean medicine before heading to bed.

Angelina Rein was an overweight woman in her 40s.

“Hahaha. I guess you expected to see a beautiful blond woman when you heard of my name. Well, welcome to America. You have come a long way. Please have a seat.”

Ms. Rein seemed to be an optimist. When she talked with other workers, she always had a smile on her face. Gun-Ho could also observe other workers showing their respect to her when they addressed her; she was probably in a high-ranked position in the company.

“Mr. Goo and Mr. Kim, I’m so glad to finally meet you. Mr. Brandon Burke who is in charge of international business development will be here to meet with you this afternoon. In the meantime, I was instructed by him to give you a tour of our factory.”

“Thank you.”

“Mr. Richard Amiel from Dyeon Japan called me the other day and asked me to take good care of you two.”

“Thank you.”

“We respect the request from Mr. Brandon Burke and Ms. Richard Amiel.”

Angelina Rein then made a call to ask for someone.

Before that someone, who Ms. Rein requested for, arrived, Ms. Rein asked a few questions to Gun-Ho and Attorney Kim.

“What is the population of South Korea?”

“We have about 51.47 million.”

“What about GDP per capita in South Korea?”

“It’s about 30,000 dollars.”

Angelina Rein continued her small talk with the guests; it seemed that she didn’t want her guests to feel bored. Her eyes over her glasses looked bright. While she was having a conversation with Gun-Ho and Attorney Kim, she didn’t lose her smile even for a second.

A young man in uniform entered the room. He had a dark skin.

“These two gentlemen are businessmen from South Korea. We might do a joint venture with them. Why don’t you show them around our factory? Give them a tour of the production line five and six and make sure that we don’t allow them to take pictures.”

“Yes, Chief!”

Gun-Ho and Attorney Young-Jin Kim followed the man to have a tour of the factory.

The production field was on the first floor, and they could watch it from the second-floor aisle. They were not allowed to be in the production field.

“Wow, it’s huge!”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim seemed to be surprised by the size of the factory.

“I’ve never seen a factory like this. This is so great. I feel like I am in the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market.”

“Haha. I thought of the exact same thing. When I studied for the government job exam in Noryangjin, I went to that market from time to time. I used to look down at the market from the bridge near the subway station.”

“The products came out and was placed on the conveyor belt, and they automatically fell into a basket.”

“Hmm, everything is done by an automatic system.”

“Wow. It really is a factory of a world-renowned company.”

“I want a factory like this.”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim turned around to look at Gun-Ho; he was smiling.

“Pray for success.”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim tapped Gun-Ho’s shoulder as he said it.

In the afternoon, Gun-Ho and Attorney Young-Jin Kim met with Mr. Brandon Burke for the interview, who was the vice president and in charge of the international business development department.

The table in the small meeting room that Gun-Ho and Attorney Kim were invited in was decorated with the national flag of South Korea and the star-spangled banner.

“Nice to meet you. I am the vice president of Lymondell Dyeon. My name is Brandon Burke.”

Brandon Burke was a tall man; he was probably in his late 50s. He was bold but a good-looking man.

“Hi. I am the president of GH Mobile in Korea.”

“I am Attorney Young-Jin Kim from Kim & Jeong Law Firm in Korea.”

Gun-Ho and Attorney Young-Jin Kim handed their business cards to Mr. Burke.

There were three people who were attending the interview from Lymondell Dyeon: the vice president—Mr. Burke—Angelina Rein, and an African American lady who was wearing glasses; she seemed to be there to record the interview.

The interview started.

Mr. Burke had Gun-Ho’s business plan in front of him with Gun-Ho’s business card next to it.

“We have reviewed GH Mobile’s financial statements. They didn’t quite satisfy our requirements though. The debt ratio is too high. Do you have a plan to reduce the debt ratio?”

Angelina Rein who was sitting next to Mr. Burke added to Mr. Burke’s question.

“We are talking about a plan such as capital increase, for example.”

Attorney Young-Jin Kim talked to Gun-Ho in a low voice.

“They are asking if you plan to increase the capital of the company.”

Gun-Ho firmly responded.

“We have no plans to increase our capital. However, our sales revenue has recently increased by 15% due to our successful new product development, and it is continuously growing. We are going to lower our debt ratio by increasing our sales revenue occurred from our new product sales.”

Gun-Ho took out GH Mobile’s new product—AM083 Assembly—from his bag; it was the product that was developed by Mr. Sakata Ikuzo.

“This is our new product. It was extruded twice.”

Mr. Burke and Ms. Rein looked carefully at the product that Gun-Ho handed to them.

“Was it really manufactured by GH Mobile in Korea?”

“Yes, we produced it in our factory.”

Mr. Burke examined the product thoroughly; he touched it, folded it, and smelled it.

“Which company’s raw materials did you use to manufacture this product?”

“We used Dyeon America’s materials.”

Mr. Burke smiled slightly.

“Good. Next question. GH Mobile’s credit rating is B-. This is one of the reasons why we are reluctant to do a joint venture with GH Mobile. We don’t require an A+ credit rating, but we want at least an A-. I’d like to hear what you think about this.”

“We consolidated the company’s debt. We now have a loan from one bank. We just paid off the loan from Korea Credit Guarantee Fund as well. These are not yet reflected on the financial statements that you previously received from us. You will be able to see these changes on our next financial statements in December. I believe, our company’s credit rating will become A-.”

“I see. The interview is being recorded by our staff here. Moreover, we take all your responses as true especially because you are here with an attorney from a Korean law firm.”

“Thank you.”

“Here is the last question for you.”

“Sure.”

“This is one of the things we like the most when we review the documents you have submitted to us. According to those documents, you graduated from Zhejiang University, majoring in accounting. Is it true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And you have HSK level-6, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“There is a company called GH Parts Company in China. This company was established five years ago, and you recently acquired it. Is it true?”

“That’s right. That was Mulpasaneop’s factory in China and I bought it.”

“Even though you acquired a company in China, you haven’t lent any money in China. Even though your company is a small company, we highly recognize this fact.”

“Thank you.”

“According to your business plan, you can sell more than 300 tons on a monthly basis by using your network and connections within China and also by targeting Korean auto manufacturers that are located in China.”

“Yes, I am very confident about it.”

“Great. This is all we have for you today. We will discuss it with our foreign investment committee and will let you know our decision through Manager Angelina Rein here. Also, our staff will visit your company—GH Mobile—in Korea in the near future.”

“We are more than welcome to have anyone from Dyeon America.”

Vice President Brandon Burke quickly stood up and extended his hand to Gun-Ho for a handshake. Gun-Ho thought Mr. Burke’s hand felt very warm.