Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho, Professor Wang, Deputy Mayor Li, and Attorney Kim started their second wine bottle at the Italian food restaurant, Porchetta. Gun-Ho ordered additional seafood salad and snacks that went well with the wine. Gun-Ho and Attorney Kim didn’t drink more than one glass of wine since they had to drive. Professor Wang and Deputy Mayor Li enjoyed the wine mostly.

While Professor Wang and Deputy Mayor Li were talking to each other in Chinese southern area dialect, Gun-Ho conversed with Attorney Kim in the Korean language.

“How do you usually spend your time on Sundays then? Do you go mountain climbing maybe?”

“I don’t do mountain climbing. I sometimes play golf through the field. Why don’t you join me in golf, President Goo? Do you like playing golf?”

“Golf? Umm, I… I am not good at golf.”

Gun-Ho had never played golf before. He just didn’t have the opportunity, time and money to play it. He had been busy in making money by working at a factory or running a restaurant.

Attorney Kim asked Professor Wang.

“Hey, Professor Wang. Do you play golf in China?”

“I don’t have anyone to go with to play golf.”

“Let’s play golf together in China someday. It would be nice to play with you guys.”

“Deputy Mayor Li is not a good golf player. I’m sure President Goo is playing very well.”

“Huh? Me? I’m… I’m not good at it either.”

Gun-Ho remembered that the branch manager of the stockbroking firm once suggested Gun-Ho a round of golf. Once again, these friends are talking about golf. Gun-Ho thought he would have to learn it.

“So, are we done here? Let’s move to another place. I know a good place in Itaewon Town.”

“Itaewon? It sounds familiar. I think I saw that word in a tour guide book. I’m in!”

At that moment, Attorney Kim grabbed the restaurant bill and headed to the counter.

“No. I will pay for dinner.”

“No, I want to treat you. I will have to say bye here though because I have to get up early tomorrow morning for work. I won’t be able to join you for the second round this evening. Instead, I will pay for this bill.”

Attorney Kim insisted on paying the bill for the dinner.

“Professor Wang and Deputy Mayor Li, I’m sorry that I have to go now. I have an important meeting tomorrow early morning, so I have to work till late tonight.”

“It’s okay. We understand. I will see you again later.”

“Okay, then. I’m leaving. I will come to China when I get less busy. Let’s have a round of golf.”

“Sure. I will have Deputy Mayor Li practice golf until then.”

Gun-Ho went down to the underground parking lot with Professor Wang and Deputy Mayor Li, where his car was parked at.

“Get in. It’s my car.”

“Oh, Land Rover! Nice car!”

Gun-Ho’s party headed to Itaewon Town.

“Thank you, Gun-Ho. And thank you for volunteering to take me to industrial complexes tomorrow.”

“Why are you going there, by the way?”

“We are developing an industrial complex in Jinxi Town, Kunshan City where I work as a deputy mayor. So, we want to use Korean industrial complex as the benchmark for determining the design, improvement, etc.”

Gun-Ho nodded his head showing that he understood.

Gun-Ho found the bar in Itaewon Town, that Suk-Ho recommended, named ‘ArariYo’.

“This area is very popular among foreigners. Look at the pedestrians passing by over there. They are Westerners and African Americans.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Welcome to ArariYo!”

The waiters who were standing at the main entrance of the bar greeted Gun-Ho’s party with a loud voice. One of them led Gun-Ho’s party to the basement. They passed a long hallway decorated with mirrors on the wall before reaching to the main hall.

They could hear the sound of traditional Korean drums. Gun-Ho looked around; the tables were almost full. In the center of the hall, there was a stage, and a dancer was dancing there. People at the tables around the stage were drinking while watching the performance.

“Kirei! Kirei!” (‘beautiful’ in Japanese)

Gun-Ho could hear the Japanese language. There might be many Japanese customers here.

Gun-Ho’s party sat at a table that the waiter showed. The lighting of the stage was bright while the lighting in the seating area was dim, so people could see the performance on the stage better.

“That’s the traditional Korean dance.”

“Oh, really?”

Gun-Ho’s table was being set up with fruits, snacks and bottles of beer and the party were enjoying the performance while having beer and snacks. The dancer’s dance became intense. She started spinning while dancing with a traditional Korean drum.

“Kirei! Kirei!”

The Japanese people there seemed to enjoy the performance a lot; they were clapping as the dancer was spinning. Professor Wang looked around the hall.

“I don’t see any Chinese tourist here. I only see a lot of Japanese tourists.”

As the sound of the traditional Korean drum became slow, the dancer took off her top. That left her with white underwear. She continued dancing.

“She probably feels hot with all those dancing.”

Deputy Mayor Li said without taking his eyes off the dancing.

The dancer this time took off the underwear and kept dancing naked on top. After a moment, she took off her skirt as well while dancing.

Silence filled the air. Everyone including the Japanese tourists, Professor Wang, and Deputy Mayor Li craned their necks to get a better view of the stage. Gun-Ho could hear swallowing sounds from here and there.

‘Hmm, this is why Suk-Ho recommended this bar. It is certainly unique; I give him that. But this is too lewd.’ Gun-Ho thought.

People there were watching the “unique” performance intently without saying a word.

(I am leaving out the description for the rest of the performance.)

Gun-Ho thought he wouldn’t be able to drive tonight since he drank a few beers.

“I think I will have to call a paid designated driver.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s someone who could drive us to our home for a fee.”

“We could be stopped for a sobriety test on the way at this hour, right?”

“Yeah. If you get caught, the fine is extremely high and you could lose your driver’s license.”

“I see. We should be very careful.”

Gun-Ho called for a designated paid driver and after a while, the driver was driving Gun-Ho’s car heading to Intercontinental hotel to drop off Professor Wang and Deputy Mayor Li.

“Thank you, Gun-Ho for today. We have a wonderful time.”

“I will come to your hotel by 10 am tomorrow to pick up Deputy Mayor Li. Good night.”

The paid designated driver continued to drive heading to Gun-Ho’s TowerPalace condo in Dogok Town.

The next day, Gun-Ho and Deputy Mayor Li were driving to go to an industrial complex.

Gun-Ho asked Deputy Mayor Li who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

“Do you want to go to Asan City or Pyeongtaek City where the national industrial complex is?”

“A national industrial complex? No, I want to see an industrial complex in a small city in the province.”

“Really? How big is your city planning to build an industrial complex?”

“About 1,000 moo.”

“1,000 moo?”

Gun-Ho couldn’t quickly understand the size when Deputy Mayor Li gave the size in a Chinese measuring unit.

“How big would that be?”

“It’s a bit less than 700,000 ㎡.

“What? 700,000 ㎡? Then I guess it’s well larger than 200,000 pyung.”

Gun-Ho thought that the Asan Techno Valley in Asan City would be a good one to show Deputy Mayor Li. The YS Tech that Gun-Ho had worked before was located close to that industrial park.

“Let’s go to Asan City! After visiting the Asan Techno Valley we can stop by Cheonan Industrial Park too.”

They arrived at the Asan Techno Valley.

“Whoa, this is nice. It’s sizable. Korea is not a large country in size but their industrial complex that is located even in a province is huge. How large is this?”

Gun-Ho picked up a pamphlet from the management office.

“Wow! 2,980,000 ㎡!”

Deputy Mayor Li was astonished.

Gun-Ho was surprised by its size too. 2,980,000 ㎡ is over 900,000 pyung.

“According to the pamphlet, this complex includes a place to work, a place to live, and a place to relax. So, I guess there are not only factories here but also a residential community and commercial buildings. That’s why it is so big.”

“Hmm.”

Seukang Li seemed to be impressed by looking at the factories and the condo community there.

“This is really nice. Very well planned and built.”

Seunkang Li took out a note and wrote down something on it before taking pictures of the complex.

Gun-Ho, next, took Deputy Mayor Li to the Cheonan Industrial Park.

“Gun-Ho, where did you say you worked before?”

“I worked in a plastic factory as an injection molding worker. Did you say you had worked at a hot-rolled carbon steel manufacturer?”

“Yes, but not for a long time though. After about three years of working at the factory, I became the leader of a labor union. So the plastic factory you worked before is around here?”

“No, I had moved location from one factory to another.”

Gun-Ho showed Deputy Mayor Li the third and fourth subdivision within the Cheonan Industrial Park. He then took him to the subdivision for foreign entities.

“Hmm, there is a separate area for foreign entities.”

Seungkang Li diligently wrote something down and took pictures.

“The sign over there says ‘Baeksuk Agricultural Industrial Park.'”

“An agricultural industrial park? Let’s go see it!”

Deputy Mayor Li seemed to be excited to see an agricultural industrial park. He seemed to think that he could find something useful there, that he could apply to the industrial park that his small city—Kunshan was planning to build.

Once they arrived at Baeksuk Agricultural Industrial Park, Deputy Mayor Li got off the car and looked around it.

“Is there a management office for this agricultural industrial park?”

“A management office?”

Gun-Ho and Deputy Mayor Li went to the management office after Gun-Ho asked someone who was passing by, about the location of it. Luckily, there was a manager in the office at that time.

“How large is this agricultural industrial park?”

“It’s 360,000 ㎡”

Gun-Ho was interpreting for Deputy Major Li.

“President Goo, could you ask him how many entities are occupying the park currently?”

“It started with 50 entities, but now there are about 100 entities already in the park. Some of the occupants share the factory building.”

“I guess the land here should be expensive since it is close to the city.”

Deputy Mayor Li talked to himself.