Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho made a call to Min-Hyeok Kim in Suzhou City, China.

“There are still lots of Korean companies in Suzhou Industrial Complex, aren’t there?”

“Of course there are, even though some small companies closed their businesses and left the complex. Samsung factories for semiconductor manufacturing are still there.”

“I heard that Suzhou Industrial Complex is huge in size, is it?”

“Don’t get me started. If you stand at one end of the complex, you won’t be able to see the other end. That industrial park was jointly developed by China and Singapore, and it is heavily supported by the Chinese government. It’s like the industrial park in Ansan City and Changwon City in Korea. Suzhou Industrial Park is larger than Goyang City or Gimpo City in Korea.”

“Can you find a good factory in that industrial park on the market for sale?”

“Huh? You want a factory in Suzhou Industrial Complex?”

“Yeah. I’m going to form a manufacturing company in China. It will be called Dyeon China.”

“Really? What will happen to my wife—Dinding’s sales company for Dyeon Korea—then?”

“I want her to work as the president of that manufacturing company.”

“The president of a factory? Man, I don’t think she will be able to handle it. You will need someone who has extensive work experience in the manufacturing field for the position.”

“Not necessarily. She is a good manager, and I’m sure that she will handle the work well. She can simply hire someone who is knowledgeable about the right work experience. She will also need the workers who will assist her. You don’t have to know everything to run a company. You can borrow someone’s knowledge and brain whenever you need it.”

“The industrial park is not really an industrial park as it sounds. It’s more like a new city now. There are tons of residential buildings and also government offices there. It’s like Guro Digital Industrial Complex in Guro District in Korea.”

“Are you saying that there are not many factories there any longer?”

“They still have large factories there, but small factories are moving to the suburban area.”

“I want you to find a factory there that is sitting on around 5,000 pyung large land.”

“What about the floor space of the building?”

“Well, it would be good if it is more than 2,000 pyung large.”

“Okay.”

“Also, don’t forget to find out its power capacity.”

“Of course, I will check that. How much time do I have?”

“The sooner, the better.”

“Are you loaded with enough bullets (money)?”

“Yes, I have enough funds. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Gun-Ho went out for lunch with Dyeon Korea’s executive officers. They picked a restaurant that specialized in Galbi (Korean grilled beef ribs). They wanted to celebrate the fact that they successfully received the certificate being recognized as a startup company with technology. Gun-Ho also wanted to show his gratitude for their hard work to reach the goal.

“Please ask the chief research officer to join us for lunch.”

Gun-Ho invited the chief research officer as well even though he didn’t attend the executive meeting. The chief research officer was holding a temporary position after he reached his retirement age, and he was not supposed to attend the regular executive meetings accordingly. However, Gun-Ho wanted to celebrate it with him; he played an important role in getting the certificate anyway, and also, he couldn’t ignore the fact that he had been with the company for a long time. Interpreter Myeon-Joon Chae and Chan-Ho Eom joined them as well since they were assisting the president and vice president directly.

Dyeon Korea’s executive officers were sitting at the table in the restaurant.

Gun-Ho said, “Well, we need to get back to work after lunch, so let’s have just one glass of beer.”

“Why don’t we have a toast to the success of our company?”

Gun-Ho raised his glass of beer and shouted loudly, “For Dyeon Korea!”

“For Dyeon Korea!” Everyone at the table shouted simultaneously.

Director Kim made a joke, “We are lucky to have President Goo since we don’t have to drink more than one glass of beer. During the Mulpasaneop era, we always had to drink a bomb shot on every occasion like this. It was painful.”

“Why is that?”

“Mulpasaneop’s President Se-Young Oh loved to have a bomb shot, and he tried to share it with everyone on every occasion he could have.”

“Haha, really?”

Director Kim looked at the chief research officer, and said, “President Se-Young Oh always made a bomb shot for us with his own recipe on the spot. Brother, you were there too, right?”

“Ye… yeah.”

“Manager Hee-Yeol Yoo! You had once had that bomb shot with us, hadn’t you?”

“Yes, sir, only once though. With my position at that time, I was not supposed to join the gathering with President Se-Young Oh, but he once offered me his bomb shot.”

Mr. Adam Castler asked, “What is a bomb shot?”

Director Kim quickly replied, “It’s a glass of liquor with a bomb in it.”

Assistant Manager Myeong-Joon Chae laughed out loud, but he didn’t interpret it for Mr. Adam Castler. As Mr. Adam Caslter turned his gaze to Assistant Manager Chae with a questioning look on his face, Director Kim demanded him to interpret it.

“Mr. Chae! Interpret it for Vice President Adam Castler. Tell him that we occasionally drink a glass of liquor with a tiny bomb in it.”

Assistant Manager Chae reluctantly interpreted what Director Kim said, and Mr. Adam Castler’s eyes widened in fright.

“What?”

Everyone at the table laughed out loud except Mr. Adam Castler.

Gun-Ho headed to GH Mobile after lunch.

President Song was not in his office. Gun-Ho was told that he went to a client site this morning. Accounting Director Min-Hwa Kim was not in her office either. She went to the tax accountant office.

The general affairs director came into Gun-Ho’s office.

“Sir, I brought the sales and purchase contract for the building next door.”

“Did we fully pay the price already?”

“No, sir. We made the middle payment so far. We will need to make the remaining payment soon.”

“Is the factory vacant right now?”

“Yes, it is, sir. We need to make some minor repairs here and there, and we are planning to do it after we complete the full payment.”

“Let me take a look at the building. Please bring the plant manager with us. We will all go to check the building now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gun-Ho went to the building that was sitting next to GH Mobile’s factory. The building had previously been used by a food packaging company. He was with the general affairs director and the plant manager—Jong-Suk Park.

The factory needed cleaning work. A few broken desks were lying around along with some old and also broken computers. They must be leftovers from the previous occupants of the building.

“Mr. Director Jong-Suk Park, have you been here before?”

Being conscious of General Affairs Director’s presence, Director Jong-Suk Park replied in a formal way, “Yes, sir. I came here twice before. This is my third visit.”

“Can you check the electricity and drainage system?”

“Yes, sir.”

At that moment, General Affairs Director’s cell phone started ringing. After talking with someone over the phone, he came to Gun-Ho and said, “Sir, I need to get back to GH Mobile now.”

“Is something going on?”

“We have visitors from the city hall for some sort of inspection. I guess it’s for our environment management system.”

“Hmm, really? Well, I will talk to you later then.”

Gun-Ho said to Director Park, “We just need to fix the bathroom and do the wall painting, right? What do you think?”

“Yeah, I think so. Additionally, the ventilation system on the roof needs to be replaced, at least two of them. They are not in working condition.”

Director Jong-Suk Park was talking to Gun-Ho in an informal way again as they were alone.

“Is it a part of your job? Or, the general affairs department is supposed to handle it?”

“The general affairs department doesn’t have anyone who can handle any technical matter. I previously talked with the general affairs director about the repair and replacement, and he told me to get a price quote from a repair service.”

“Really?”

“I think we’d better change the electrical wiring as well.”

“Now, you are in charge of all the repairs and replacements of this building, okay? Mark all the areas that require our attention. Don’t let the general affairs department handle it.”

“No problem, bro. Oh, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”