Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho and Young-Eun continued to talk while lying on the bed.

“Why don’t you talk to me about your trip to China?”

As Young-Eun tried to elicit some stories from Gun-Ho, she yawned.

“You seem to be tired.”

“I’m okay.”

“President Shin is moving to the building where my office is. She will be on the 17th floor.”

“Really? You will see her pretty often then.”

“I think it’s good since she can more easily operate the art gallery in the basement. When we host an art exhibition next time, you come to visit us, okay?”

“I heard that a woman is not supposed to go frequently to her husband’s business place.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like you go there every day.”

“But still… Your employees might not feel comfortable to see me there.”

“There will be a wood carving exhibition in Yokohama next month. Our art gallery is planning to host the same exhibition at our gallery.”

“Wood carving? Like a statue of the Buddha?”

“Not the Buddha. There will be figures like a dragonfly, a butterfly, and a cricket. I know the person who carved those figures very well. His figures are very delicate and exquisite. You will see.”

“Really? It sounds fun. Oh, I was going to ask you this. Oppa, can you register for KOAF as a member?”

“KOAF? What is it?”

“It’s about the Korean African medical volunteer work center. If you donate at least 10,000 won per month, you would become a member of the center. You can set up the auto payment through CMS (Cash Management Service).”

“Are you a member of it, too?”

“Of course. I’m a non-executive director there, so I donate a lot regularly.”

“How much do you donate?”

“50,000 won on a monthly basis.”

“That’s it? You are a medical doctor who makes a lot of money. You can do better than that.”

Young-Eun kicked Gun-Ho’s shin under the comforter.

Gun-Ho screamed, “Stop kicking! That hurts!”

Gun-Ho said while adjusting the brightness of the table lamp to a lower degree, “Are there people who donate a lot?”

“Nah. We have about 2,000 members, and fewer than ten people among them donate 50,000 won or more. I have other organizations that I regularly donate to, so 50,000 won is the best I can do for that center.”

“Maybe I can send 200,000 won per month.”

“Don’t do that. The highest amount that is paid by some of the current members is 100,000 won per month. Two people do that. Why don’t you give 100,000 won per month? You can enjoy all the benefits and privileges offered by them, like you will be invited to an event that they host as their VIP.”

“Okay. Send me the membership application form.”

“I will email you with the form on Monday when I go back to work.”

Gun-Ho started groping Young-Eun and pulled her towards himself when she said, “I told you! Not today!”

Young-Eun kicked Gun-Ho’s shin again.

“Oh, that’s right. You said that today is the day.”

Gun-Ho picked up his pillow and stood up, and then he kissed Young-Eun on the cheek.

“Sweet dreams.”

It was the day when Gun-Ho was supposed to go to work in GH Mobile, Jiksan Town.

However, Gun-Ho headed to Egnopak instead of GH Mobile.

“I’m so curious why he wanted to see me in person.”

When Gun-Ho’s car arrived at the front gate of Egnopak’s factory, the security guard stopped the car. All visitors for the factory were supposed to leave their names and phone numbers with the security guard before entering the gate. That was how the visitors would get a visitor’s pass. When the security guard saw Gun-Ho’s luxurious car, he gave a military salute and asked politely the purpose of his visit, “What is the purpose of your visit, sir?”

“I came here to see the president.”

“May I tell him who’s here to see him?”

“I’m GH Mobile’s president.”

“Oh, I see. Please park your car in the parking lot in front of the office building.”

The security guard didn’t even bother asking Gun-Ho to leave his name and phone number, but he just let him pass.

When Gun-Ho entered the president’s office, the pretty secretary, who spoke English very well, stood up from her seat quickly.

“I’m GH Mobile’s president. Is the president in the office?”

“Yes, sir. He is there.”

Gun-Ho knocked on the door of the president’s office before entering it. President Seung-Gak Kim was reading a newspaper with his reading glasses on. When Gun-Ho entered the office, he looked at Gun-Ho over his glasses.

“Oh, President Goo. Please have a seat.”

When Gun-Ho sat at the table facing Egnopak’s president, the president called for his secretary.

“Please bring us two cups of tea.”

“Dyeon Korea’s sales revenue has increased because of you, sir.”

“What’s their current sales revenue?”

“Last month, they made 2.7 billion won.”

“That’s it? I thought they were doing better than that.”

“Well, we made that far because of your help, sir.”

“The reason I wanted to see you…”

When the secretary brought the tea, the president stopped talking. Once the secretary left the office, he continued to talk, “President Goo, have you thought of expanding your business to India?”

“India?”

“Yes. It’s a new hot market these days.”

“I know that Egnopak has its factory in Delhi, India.”

“We do. I want to open another one in Chennai. Our client company—an auto manufacturing company—is pressuring us to open another factory in Chennai, so I’m planning to have our second factory there soon.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Egnopak is buying some supplies from GH Mobile and also from Dyeon Korea. On the other hand, we are selling our products to GH Mobile as well. As we focus on the products that we are good at manufacturing, we both are a buyer or a supplier to each other.”

“That’s right.”

“If GH mobile joins us to expand the business to the Indian market with us, I think we can greatly succeed by creating synergy.”

“We will need to build a factory and bring all the necessary supplies and labor. Maybe that would be too much for us.”

“Think more. Hyundai, Kia, and Samsung, they are all going into India right now. Our factory in Delhi is now three times larger than the time we started. It’s growing very quickly. We have to enter the market right now.”

“If we could get in, that would be great…”

“Don’t hesitate. If GH Mobile decides to enter the Indian market, we can help each other. I’m sure it will be a win-win situation. Each company manufactures the products that it does well, and then we can be successful together. I already see the money pouring into us.”

“I understand your suggestion, sir. I will discuss it with my executive officers.”

“You don’t have to discuss it, just get into the market.”

“Well, I still need to…”

“Let me be totally honest with you. GH Mobile’s products that you supply to us were tested in our laboratory for flame resistance, and it came out with an excellent test result. If synthetic rubbers or plastics don’t have good flame resistance, especially in hot weather like in Chennai, its rebound elasticity weakens.”

“That’s right.”

“Let’s do it together. Let’s get into the Indian market together while we hold each other’s hands.”