Gun-Ho felt relieved when he saw Jae-Sik doing well with the business.
‘I guess I will have to search for the appropriate land for the transport hub on my own. The base camp should be around Osan City or Pyeongtaek City.’
Dyeon Korea’s Director Yoon was making a report to Gun-Ho over the phone. He said the machine no. 7 and no.8 started producing products.
“Is everything good? There is no defect that you see, right?”
“They look all good, sir.”
“Good job.”
“We have submitted the conclusion of investment in-kind to the Korea Customs Service as well.”
“Please keep a copy or two of it, and have the interpreter—Mr. Lee translates it into English. We will need it when Dyeon America’s executives visit us to attend the board meeting.”
“Yes, sir.”
Right after getting off the phone with Director Yoon, Gun-Ho received another call. It was from the interpreter—Mr. Lee. He was delivering the message from Mr. Adam Castler.
“The board meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday.”
“I see. Someone will have to go to the Incheon International Airport on the day before the board meeting, on Monday. So do we know who is coming?”
“The vice president—Mr. Brandon Burke and Ms. Angelina Rein will be here.”
“Since we have a lady visitor, we will have to be careful in making a reservation for a hotel room. Ask Director Yoon to make a hotel reservation with Onyang Hot Spring Hotel.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also, tell Director Kim and Director Yoon to prepare documents for the board meeting. They both will have to attend the meeting.”
“Understood, sir.”
Gun-Ho asked for the secretary—Ms. Yeong-Soo Oh.
“Ms. Oh, you will need to go to Asan City with me next Tuesday.”
“Asan City, sir? Asan City in Chungnam Province?”
“Yes. There will be held a board meeting for the joint venture company. You will need to do some interpretation there.”
“No problem, sir.”
“We have an interpreter there, but you will do the interpretation for the people from the U.S. Since a board meeting takes a long time, it will be more efficient to have two interpreters.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gun-Ho had a previous experience with a board meeting for a joint venture company; that was with the Chinese co-venturer. A board meeting was called ‘Dongshihui’ in Chinese. For an international joint venture, it is very common to have an interpreter during a board meeting. Because of the interpretation, the meeting lasted for a long time and it was usually boring. If the interpreter at a boarding meeting had to take a break to go to the bathroom, for example, the other attendees had to wait without doing anything until the interpreter came back. That’s why Gun-Ho wanted to bring an additional interpreter—Ms. Yeong-Soon Oh.
Gun-Ho received a call from his sister.
“Mom will be released from the hospital today.”
“Already? She could stay longer in the hospital to take a deep break.”
Gun-Ho was actually going to the hospital to see his mother that evening. Well, Gun-Ho wanted to see that lady doctor one more time before his mother would leave the hospital.
“I told her to stay a few days more until she feels really really better, but she wants to go home. She thinks it’s a waste to pay for the hospital room and the caregiver lady. She wants to stay in her home, not in the hospital, which is understandable.”
“Is she able to go to the bathroom by herself?”
“Yes. She is using a cane.”
“That’s good.”
“I will pay for the hospital bill with the credit card that you left with me.”
“Sure.”
It was the day when Gun-Ho was supposed to go to work to GH Mobile. Gun-Ho wanted to stop by a few realtors’ offices to see some land in Osan City and Pyeongtaek City before going to work. When he arrived in Pyeongtaek City, there was a realtor’s office with a huge sign saying ‘Land.’ Gun-Ho decided to go inside and talk to the realtor there.
“Do you have land on the main road for a factory?”
“How large are you looking for?”
“Around 2,000 pyeong will do.”
“If you want a factory, why do you want it to be on the main road? Any land on the main road is expensive.”
“Actually, it doesn’t have to be on the main road, but I need land where a 4-feet container truck can make a complete turn.”
“Leave your contact number with me. I think I have a good one for a commercial building on the main road.”
“I don’t want a commercial building.”
Gun-Ho had thought about buying land by auction.
‘I could purchase good land by auction but it will take time. Also, there is no guarantee that I would find a nice one that is fit for the purpose.’
That’s why Gun-Ho wanted to talk with a realtor.
Gun-Ho didn’t give his business card to the realtor but he instead wrote his phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to him.
Gun-Ho went further in Pyeongtaek City.
“This is the road leading to American Air Force Base.”
There was another realtor’s office with a sign, ‘land.’ It also said that they specialized in land for a factory.
“Chan-Ho, park the car in front of that realtor’s office.”
Gun-Ho went inside and asked, “Do you have land on the main road for a factory?”
“On the main road? What kind of factory are you going to build? I actually have one, but since it’s located on the main road, it’s expensive.”
“I’m aware of the high price.”
“Did you see the sign ‘Pengseong’ on the way here?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That land is for sale. It’s about 3,000 pyeong large.”
“Really? How much is it?”
“You are not just asking, right? You are serious about buying it, huh?”
“I’m currently running a factory. I am a serious buyer.”
The realtor looked outside the window to see what kind of vehicle that Gun-Ho drove here. Chan-Ho was dusting the Bentley in front of the office. The realtor realized that Bentley was Gun-Ho’s car and his chauffeur drove him here.
“The lowest price I can give to you is 300 per pyeong.”
“The land looked like it is zoned for a farmland…”
“No, it’s land for general purpose.”
“The land is priced for 9 billion won then.”
“That’s correct.”
Gun-Ho thought about it.
‘Whoever owns that land will make fortune once he sells the land. It must have been a very cheap farmland.’
When the realtor saw Gun-Ho hesitating after hearing the price, he started his sales pitch,
“The land’s location is very good. You can run a factory there, or you can do a commercial building or anything else. Since the land is large enough, you can even divide it into several pieces and sell them separately. When you buy land, you should keep in mind that you want to buy land with its value that would go up. Think about it. If you buy a condo in Seoul, say, the price is going up by 200 million won. The same size condo in another location would go up by less than 20 million won.”
