Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

“Since you are worried about the funds, I will send an additional 300 million won to GH Logistics.”

“Another 300 million won!?”

“It’s not a part of the investment funds that go into the company’s capital, but I’m just lending the money to you. You will need to pay it back to me once you start generating enough revenue.”

“Su... Sure. Thank you.”

“And buy land in Pyeongtaek City or Osan City, about a 2,000 pyung large one. So it can be used as a transport hub later.”

“2,000 pyung? It must cost a lot.”

Jae-Sik looked at Gun-Ho with his widened eyes.

“Just look for land there. See if there is anything on the market. Also, check if the land is large enough for a 40-feet container truck to make a complete turn. You also want to check the entrance road. Once you find a good one, I will send GH Development’s Director Kang. He will negotiate for the price.”

“Oh, okay.”

The secretary—Ms. Seon-Hye Lee—came into Gun-Ho’s office and said, “Sir, Director Kim came back to his office just now.”

“Jae-Sik, go see Director Kim. At this stage, it’s important to have as much work as you can handle, so take any work that Director Kim introduces to you. As to the land for the transport hub, talk with the truck drivers, who you hired, about it. They might have good opinions on it. Have a drink with them and talk with them in an informal setting, I’m sure you will get some very good ideas from them.”

“Okay.”

After a while, Jae-Sik Moon came back to Gun-Ho’s office.

“I will visit the company tomorrow that Director Kim just introduced to me. It’s located in Eumseong Town.”

“Eumseong? You mean Eumseong town in North Chungcheong Province?”

“Yeah. I’ve never been there. They want us to transport things between their company and Pyeongtaek Port. Two trucks will be enough to handle the items that they want to transport, but the work requires a long waiting time, so they need three trucks to do the work.”

“Really?”

“According to Director Kim, I don’t have to show them the actual trucks right now, but I can just bring them a catalog showing the trucks that we will have soon.”

“It seems like your work requires frequent travels from one city to another. I guess you will need your own vehicle.”

“I can use the truck that came with the company.”

“You mean the truck that is parked outside?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“It looks very old...”

“That’s okay.”

“Why don’t you get yourself a used sedan? You can buy it in installments. I heard you can buy a used sedan in installments even though you have a low credit score.”

Gun-Ho thought for a second that Jae-Sik’s bad credit score might make the business harder.

“Jae-Sik, how much debt do you currently have?”

“I have a loan from the Korea Federation of Community Credit Cooperative for an amount of 30 million won.”

“You have a loan from Korea Federation of Community Credit Cooperative? Not from a bank?”

“Yeah. No banks wanted to lend me money at that time, so I had to borrow from the Korea Federation of Community Credit Cooperative. I paid for all the outstanding interest. I’m expecting my credit score to go up next year. Once it becomes level 6, I might be able to buy even a new car in installments.”

“If you can buy a used car with your low credit score, maybe you can buy a used truck with your credit score as well. You don’t have to get a brand new truck, do you? A truck that is less than 6 months old is just like a brand new truck.”

“Hmm... Okay! I will get used trucks then. Hold on to the additional 300 million won that you said you would send to me. I might not need it after all.”

“I will send it to you anyway. Don’t limit your business with trucks. Expand it by having heavy equipment like an excavator or a loader. Let the potential customers know that they could find any trucks or equipment in GH Logistics.”

“Hmm.”

“By the time you get all those equipment, the current storage in Paju City won’t be enough. You will have to find someone to stay in the Paju location, and you will have to operate the new location where the transport hub will be. You might want to hire someone who has work experience in the cargo business. That will be helpful.”

“Hmm, it will cost money.”

“Hey, Jae-Sik Moon! It takes money to make money in a transportation business or in a publishing business. A lot of publishing businesses end up closing their business but think about it. If you put 1 billion won and print out 100 books. You won’t have to close the business. Unless it is a research start-up company, it takes money to succeed.”

It was about time to go home for the day when Gun-Ho received a call from President Jeong-Sook Shin.

“I had a meeting with the Japanese man—Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda.”

“Are you going to host an art exhibition with the original cartoon paintings of Japanese cartoonists?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you already sign the contract with him?”

“Not yet. I will go to Japan first with Ms. Jeong-Soon Choi.”

“Who is Ms. Jeong-Soon Choi?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you about her? Jeong-Soon Choi is the painter who is having a watercolor painting exhibition at our gallery right now. She is a friend of mine.”

“Oh, really?”

“Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda wants to arrange an art exhibition for her in Japan.”

“Oh, really?”

“So Jeong-Soon and I, we both will have some business to do in Japan. I want to meet with several cartoonists there.”

“Are you planning to get the original paintings directly from the cartoonists?”

“I don’t think they will deceive me, but I have to be careful, right? I want to make sure that we get the original paintings, not fake ones. Also, I want to see if I can publish some Japanese cartoon books in Korea as well.”

“Hmm. That sounds like a good idea.”

“Sir, you are coming to your office in Seoul tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Jeong-Soon Choi wants to treat you lunch. She wants to thank you.”

“Oh, really? I haven’t done much for her.”

“There is. You let her have her art exhibition at your art gallery for a very reasonable price. She sold ten paintings of hers so far. Also, because of this exhibition, she got the chance to meet with Mr. Yoshitake Matsuda, and she might have her art exhibition in Japan soon. She is so happy with all these opportunities and success.”

“Haha, really?”

“You know, she is still single. She missed the golden time to marry someone because she has been so busy doing her artwork. I will introduce her to you tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe you might find your significant other.”

“Umm, you said she is your friend. She is probably in her late 40s, right?”

“Hahaha. I’m not talking about her, but she has a daughter. Remember I told you the other day that I had someone who I want to introduce to you? That’s her.”

“Hmm... Well, why not...”

After getting off the phone with President Shin, Gun-Ho looked out the window. There was a blue truck that was leaving the company parking lot.

“That must be Jae-Sik. I don’t think he can drive fast with that shabby truck. It will take a long time for him to get to Seoul.”

Gun-Ho stared at Jae-Sik’s truck for quite a while with his arms crossed.

‘Jae-Sik is going through a lot of things right now in starting his business. He is making mistakes too. That’s totally normal. I’ve been there. The difference between him and me is that I had money when I started my business. Jae-Sik is using someone else’s money to do his business. It’s natural that he worries a lot. Well, let’s trust him. Let’s believe in him. As the founder of Samsung Group did, I need to let my suspicion in before I spend my money, but once I decided to invest, I have to trust my decision and the person who I invested my money to. Jae-Sik is a decent man. He won’t betray me ever.’