Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

The dishes which Mr. Byeon ordered started coming out.

Gun-Ho’s table was quickly filled with all sorts of dainties: fried pork, deep-fried fish, seasoned vegetables, steamed stuff, and etc.

“All these dishes cost only 30,000 won with which you can have pork belly for two people in my Korean restaurant. These dishes are commonplace here, daily food for Chinese people. On the other hand, Korean food we serve in my restaurant is special food for them.”

After drinking three to four glasses of Kaoliang wine Mr. Byeon ordered, Gun-Ho felt drunk. That wine was 50 percent alcohol by volume. Once Gun-Ho became a bit drunk, Mr. Byeon dragged his chair closer to Gun-Ho and said,

“What do you think? Do you like my Korean restaurant?”

“I do actually like your restaurant. But I am not sure if I could make profits with it.”

“You won’t lose money. Usually, I make over 3,000 Yuan per day. Sometimes I make more than 5,000 Yuan. I will show you the daily sales report tomorrow.”

“3,000 daily sales will make 90,000 Yuan per month. Then how much money does actually fall into your hands?”

“The ingredients cost 30,000, then 15,000 for labor, and 5,000 of maintenance fee, and no rent since we paid all up front.”

“Then 40,000 Yuan is what you actually make?”

“That sounds right. I put aside 25,000 out of 40,000 for the payment of the restaurant for the next period. So I actually take 15,000 Yuan per month.”

“If applying the current exchange rate of 120:1, it would be about 1,800,000 won.”

“That is the least you could make. Our daily sales are often exceeding 5,000 Yuan. So you can assume the monthly profit would be 3,000,000 won per month.”

“Hmm…”

Gun-Ho still thought the maximum profit he could take from this restaurant would be 2 million won per month. 2 million won per month wouldn’t be enough for Mr. Byeon given his personal situation; he must have a family to support.

“How many family members do you have if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I have two children. One of them is studying in the U.S.A.”

“That must be costly.”

“Whew, actually that is my main reason why I want to sell the restaurant. When I had an office job as a manager, I used to make 7 million won per month. After spending 4 million on living expenses, I could still save some money for the future. However, with 2 million income from this restaurant, I can’t even imagine saving money. I am planning to try a new business after returning to Korea.”

“What do you want to do in Korea? Starting a business in Korea will cost you more.”

“I have a condo in Sadang Town in Seoul. It is worth 600 million won now. I bought that condo with my entire career earnings. I think I can loan some money using that condo and want to open a large Japanese restaurant in Noryangjin with my nephew.”

Gun-Ho thought his 480 million won wouldn’t get him a condo in Seoul since Mr. Byeon’s condo in Sadang Town was worth 600 million won.

Mr. Byeon suddenly grabbed Gun-Ho’s hand.

“Mr. Goo! You can succeed in this restaurant business. You are still young.”

“I am not sure how I could make profits here.”

“You can start by targeting travel agencies so they could bring tourists into the restaurant. The staffs in travel agencies are about the same age as you and you can easily get close with them. Since I am an old man, it was not easy to get along with them.”

“I don’t know.”

“China is a land of opportunity. To start a restaurant like mine from scratch, it takes enormous money and time. My restaurant is already established. You can start with this restaurant, and once you get familiar with business here in China you can try some other business.”

“It doesn’t have to be me, isn’t it? You could sell it to a local businessman.”

“The rent is 300,000 Yuan and it is almost 40 million won. There are of course rich Chinese people, but many ordinary people here are poor. It is hard to find a Chinese person who could take over my restaurant.”

“Hmm…”

“Why don’t you give a try? It’s a lot better than the tiny restaurant in Noryangjin.”

“Well, I understood what you are saying. Let me think about it.”

Next morning, Gun-Ho went to Mr. Byeon’s Korean restaurant and took a look at their sales ledger. His work experience in accounting came in very handy. He could grasp the financial state of the restaurant in no time. In addition, the restaurant ledger was done by the single-entry bookkeeping system, rather than the double entry accounting system.

“You listed only revenues and expenses. You did a very good job.”

Mr. Byeon seemed to feel bashful by Gun-Ho’s comments.

“You have to collect all the receipts for the ingredients you purchase. VAT is very high in China.”

“Isn’t it 10%? here?”

“It’s 17% in China.”

“Wow! 17%?”

“That’s why you want to save all the receipts for any expenses.”

That reminded Gun-Ho that he didn’t file his VAT return yet for his Vietnamese noodle soup restaurant in Noryangjin. He decided that he would make the VAT return to be the first thing he would do once he returned to Korea.

“Well, anyway, thank you for showing me the sales ledger and the payroll.”

“Take over this restaurant, Mr. Goo! Haha.”

“Is there a OneRoom here in China?”

“You probably want to rent a small apartment instead of a OneRoom. I’m currently renting a two-bed apartment with a living room for 1,500 Yuan. It’s not bad at all. In case you have a guest from Korea, the two-bed apartment is convenient. You can add your rent when you file the VAT return.”

“Can a foreigner acquire a real estate in China?”

“I’m not so sure about it. I guess you might need an Alien Resident Certificate.”

“You said you used to work in a Shanghai branch office of a big company. Was there anyone who purchased a real estate and lived there during their stay in Shanghai?”

“Well, there might be, but as far as I know most of us rented an apartment. Even my company rented an apartment if they needed to provide accommodation. I haven’t seen anyone who actually purchased one. If you buy a real estate, it cost you a significant amount of money that you can’t use until you sell it.”

“I see.”

That day, Gun-Ho had a Doenjang-jjigae* in Mr. Byeon’s Korean restaurant.

“This doesn’t taste that good. Maybe because the cooks in the kitchen are Chinese.”

After his dinner, Gun-Ho walked to the famous Hangzhou West Lake. West Lake was in a walking distance from Mando Hotel.

“So, this is the famous West Lake.”

Gun-Ho squinted at sunset glow over West Lake. He could see the bank that had been built by Su Shi.

“This is so beautiful. I guess I could live a true well-being life here comparing to the life in busy Noryangjin.”

Gun-Ho kept walking along West Lake. The surroundings of the lake were very well developed with commercial stores since a lot of tourists visited there. It was crowded and Gun-Ho even saw people touting for their business.

Hangzhou City where West Lake is situated was the capital of the Southern Song dynasty. Lin’an which often appears in a martial arts novel is one of the districts of Hangzhou.

“It has a great view and the area has a high traffic of people. Maybe I can sell a Korean-style chicken-and-beer combination menu.”

Gun-Ho looked at the price tags of things on the street as he walked along, and they were very cheap comparing to ones in Korea. He thought the living cost in China should be low and 1 million per month would be enough.

Note*

Doenjang-jjigae – a Korean soybean paste stew

Gun-Ho came back to his hotel room and gave a lot of thought to whether he should acquire that Korean restaurant or not.

“I think I could make about 10,000 Yuan per month with that restaurant. It is certainly not enough for Mr. Byeon who has a child studying abroad.”

Gun-Ho thought for a second that Mr. Byeon might be a con-artist.

“He is probably not a con artist. He looks rather like an inept businessman due to his prolonged office job career. Moreover, his nephew is running a restaurant in Noryangjin and I know the location. He wouldn’t con me, and I am not the type of person who can easily be deceived.”

Gun-Ho took a cigarette.

“Should I take over that restaurant? Maybe I could get a two-bed apartment here and take a walk along West Lake every day. I can get the restaurant for 50 million won out of my 480 million won, and purchase a real estate with the remaining 400 million won. According to Chairman Lee, the price increase of real estate reflects the economic growth rate. So if China’s economic growth rate is 30% for three years, the real estate price will increase by 30%, right?”

Gun-Ho calculated quickly.

“If I invest 400 million won in real estate and get 30% gain after three years, I can return to Korea with 520 million won in hand. Even assuming I blew the restaurant business here, I could still hold 520 million won. It’s better than placing the money in a bank savings account.”

Gun-Ho was thinking while walking around the hotel room.

“Chairman Lee also said there could be a real estate boom which would raise even more real estate price. If the real estate price goes up by 50% after three years, I could go back to Korea with 600 million won. For the three years, I could learn the Chinese language and make that much money. I think that would be a good deal.”

Gun-Ho drank two cans of Tsingtao beer that was on the table and fell asleep.

It was the day scheduled for Gun-Ho to return to Korea.

Mr. Byeon came to Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai to see Gun-Ho off.

“So, have you thought about it?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“We say, ‘Think Long, Think Wrong.’ Don’t think too deeply or too long. Just make a decision. To be honest with you, you can’t do anything with 50 million won in Korea.”

“Haha. Well…”

“Why don’t we make a provisional contract? You can give me a small amount of money as earnest money.”

“Provisional contract… Let’s just make a contract!”

“Huh? Did you just say you want to make a contract?”

Mr. Byeon was stunned. He didn’t expect this since Gun-Ho had been just thinking without giving him any clear reaction to the restaurant deal.

“Did you bring the contract?”

“Yes, I did.”

Mr. Byeon pulled out the contract from his envelope that he seemed to carry everywhere and always.

“Wow. The decision came slow but once the decision is made, things have proceeded very quickly.”

Gun-Ho and Mr. Byeon made a contract in the waiting area of Hongqiao International Airport.

“The name of the seller is Hee-Yeol Byeon, CEO of Mando Food Co., Ltd.?”

“Right. It was hard to directly run a restaurant as a foreign individual, so I formed a company with a Chinese person just to make it look like the restaurant is being run by a company that is partially owned by Chinese. On the paper, I own 90% and the Chinese person owns 10%, but it is just for the paper.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Umm… What about the earnest money?”

“You said there is a Kookmin Bank here in Hongqiao, right? I will bring the money.”

Mr. Byeon seemed satisfied.

According to the contract, Gun-Ho was supposed to pay off the remaining sales price ten days later.

“The contract is written in Chinese. Once you go back to Korea, have it translated and notarized, and take it to a bank. You will need that translated contract when you send me the money. You can use up to $10,000 without reporting anything for travel, but if you have to send more than $10,000 abroad, you need to file a report.”

“I understood.”

“Oh, take this one too. You might need it.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a copy of the business license. You will need this to make an Alien Resident Certificate as well.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I could receive the money in Korea, but it is better for you to send me to China with all these paperwork. This will prove that you acquire a business in China and you will need it when you have to send money from China to Korea as well.”

“I see. Well, thank you.”

Gun-Ho put the copy of the restaurant business license in his bag.

Once he came back to Korea, Gun-Ho notified the landlord that he would vacate his room. He wouldn’t need room to stay in Korea anymore. He had the sales and purchase agreement of the restaurant and the seller’s business license written in Chinese translated into Korean and notarized. He would need them when he had to send money to China.

“Let’s go to Incheon to see my parents. It has been a while. I wouldn’t be able to see them often once I move to China.”

Gun-Ho took the subway line 1 and got off at Incheon Juan Station. Before he went home, he stopped by a market and bought beef leg bones from a butcher’s shop.

“I want to get something more.”

There was a pharmacy.

“My mom and dad like Bacchus; let’s get two boxes of it.”

Since he already notified the landlord to vacate the room, there might be someone entering his room to take a look while he was not present, so Gun-Ho brought all the important papers with him in his travel bag. It was heavy. By adding the beef leg bones and two boxes of Bacchus, it became even heavier.

“I can leave the bag to the parents’ home when I leave for China.”

Gun-Ho kept walking while passing by Juan North Elementary School and a church, and it was tiring.

“My home is so distant from the station. If I make money, I will move my parents to somewhere closer to the station. This is too exhausting.”

Gun-Ho’s father used to work in a production line for a company in the Juan industrial complex when he was young. After retiring, he opened a small snack restaurant. When it didn’t work very well, he took a job at a subcontracting company as a manual worker. He then injured his waist at work during an underground drainage work, so he couldn’t work any longer and couldn’t make money anymore. That resulted in financial difficulties in the family.

“My dad collapsed once of a heart attack. He was doing better now. Thank God.”

Gun-Ho walked up to the third floor of a townhouse with his heavy bag because there was no elevator. He knocked on the door once he arrived at his home.

“Who is it?”

It was his mother.

“Mom, it’s me.”

The front door opened wide. Gun-Ho’s mother looked happy to see him.

“My son is here! What is all this?”

Gun-Ho could smell Doenjang-jjigae. It seemed they were about to have dinner.

“Gun-Ho is here?”

Gun-Ho’s father came out in his pajamas. He looked better than the last time Gun-Ho saw him.

“We were about to have dinner. Let’s eat together.”

“It smells really good. Here it is.”

“What is this?”

“Beef leg bones.”

“You didn’t have to bring these expensive bones. Oh, you bought us Bacchus too. You must be tired by carrying all these heavy stuff.”

As his mother took what Gun-Ho brought, she smiled.

Mother’s Doenjang-jjigae was really good.

“It is so nice to have homemade food. It has been a while.”

“Eat more. I just cooked the rice too. It should be good.”

Gun-Ho had two bowls of rice with Doenjang-jjigae. His parents looked happy while watching their son eating.

“Why don’t you eat? Why do you keep staring at my face?”

“We are just happy to see our son eating.”

“How are you, dad? How are you feeling?”

“I feel much better because of you, son. I would have died if you didn’t send me the money for my surgery.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Your father is receiving the old-age pension of 200,000 won every month, and he goes to Jongno 3-ga District every single day.”

“Jongno 3-ga? For what?”

“There is Tapgol Park there where old people are gathering together all the time.”

Gun-Ho chuckled while having his dinner.

“By the way, what is that travel bag?”

“My clothes and books. I will leave them here. I’m going to China.”

“China?”

Gun-Ho’s mother and father looked at Gun-Ho in surprise.