105 : survival
“What are you doing? I’m thinking of starting a shipyard.”
“Are you kidding? you have a shipyard Isn’t that the shipyard you have now?”
“Yeah, not by my standards.”
“Haa… How much money does Incheon Steel cost? We need to sell steel and stabilize the steelworks first.”
That’s right at first glance.
But there’s never been such a perfect opportunity to do a shipyard.
While the shipbuilding industry in developed countries has declined due to rising wages and aging facilities, the consumption of baby boomers has increased the volume of maritime transport, and the world’s shipbuilding industry continues to boom. Crucially, if the Suez Canal is blocked, demand for large oil tankers connecting the Middle East and Europe will explode.
“Yes, we just need to stabilize the Incheon Steelworks and start the shipyard. Of course, by growing the Kablar factory as well.”
As if my words were spectacle, Sambok collapsed onto the sofa. Then he covered his face with his hands and murmured.
“Yeah, how could a bird know the meaning of a stork? All I have to do is become a managing director at Incheon Steelworks. I’ll work hard to pull out molten iron. All you have to do is do that.”
“Can’t you just do that? You have to go to the Middle East with me.”
This time he has to go too.
Incheon Steel has been on track to some extent, and Sambok has organized the organization by covering the managerial ranks, so even if there is only a factory manager, it will work well.
“Middle East? Me too? Hey, why is the guy who wants to do a shipyard in the Middle East? Oh, no, I didn’t ask. don’t answer You don’t have to answer!”
“That’s a really good question. You need money to build a shipyard, right? We can’t borrow all the construction costs, so we need some money. If you go to the Middle East right now, you can just earn 10 to 20 million dollars.”
The construction cost of the large shipyard I want can be calculated very easily.
When Hyunsan built the shipyard in Ulsan, it cost about 130 million dollars.
At that time, the government supported 20 million dollars, Hyeonsan paid 30 million dollars, and the remaining 80 million dollars was borrowed from England.
Therefore, I must have about 30 million dollars.
“Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t hear! I didn’t hear anything.”
“Now is a great opportunity to advance into the Middle East. Do you know that wars happen all the time?”
In fact, it happens all the time in the Middle East.
But this third war is a little different.
Read at noblemtl
Jordan suffered a fatal blow to its national defense power as well as its royal power due to this surprise attack by Israel.
It is clearly hostile to Israel, but that doesn’t mean it’s no longer a fight.
It’s not an oil-producing country, so it’s a country that doesn’t have much money, and with the national defense and economy shaken by this war, it’s difficult for the king of Jordan to protect the royal family.
Is the king’s seat of power important, or the country’s weight?
In the original history, from this time onwards, the message was conveyed that it would join hands with the United States and claim neutrality.
In the 4th Middle East War, he gave up the West Bank, a disputed area with Israel, and declared neutrality externally.
If you step up and help the Jordanian royal family when they desperately need a messenger, you will become a benefactor of the royal family for the rest of your life.
Entering Jordan is no problem.
It was unusual for a Middle Eastern country to establish diplomatic ties with Korea in the early 1960s.
Basically, it is a country that conducts pragmatic diplomacy.
“You say it as if you make money easily, but I’m not going to hit it again. Let me live a little normal life. Now that the molten iron is properly drawn, you can get some sleep at night.”
“What hit? I want to give you a break Jordan is quite a famous tourist destination in the Middle East.”
Although the war broke out, tourist attractions are tourist attractions.
You can dress freely and drink alcohol.
Of course, the situation is such that in order to gain the trust of the royal family, Sambok must be left behind in Jordan.
Leaving her hostage also allows her to rest.
“You are funny. If someone hears it, they’ll say they’re going to play. He said he was going to roll a lot.”
It sucks, you noticed.
Sambok grabbed the sofa with both hands and firmly expressed his intention not to go.
When a guy comes out like this, there are reports from the former family.
It is a logic that people of this age can never escape.
“Sambok, listen carefully. An opportunity like this will never come again. Whether it’s in the mainstream or in Korea.”
“What drugs are you selling?”
“Advancing into the Middle East is not just about making money to build a shipyard. If we put the first button well, we can jump into a middle-income country in an instant.”
“…a middle-income country…”
Sambok is also a Korean of this era, so I was immediately drawn to my words that he was leaping toward a middle-income country.
It was like magic that always worked.
I was sincere too.Read at noblemtl
Jordan is a country that makes a living through intermediary trade and tourism.
In other words, it is a very suitable place as a bridgehead for advancing into the Middle East because it is a country that makes a living from international politics in vulgar terms.
It can be said that it is a popular hidden card that Hwang has been thinking about since he developed Kavla.
“lets think. Right now in the Middle East, the Arab countries have been crushed by Israel. Behind Israel is the United States, behind Syria is the Soviet Union. Egypt is originally the Arab leader. Only Jordan is hairy. As long as you enter Jordan, you can sell kablas and take care of all kinds of post-war restoration projects.”
“Kabla!”
“okay! Kabla! Will Jordan buy the plane right now? Would you like to buy missiles? First of all, you don’t have to appease your own soldiers first. Bulletproof vests, bulletproof helmets, our proud Polytech military uniforms! Selling something like this. The Jordanian kids are going to save money when the country is turned upside down.”
“Ah, it should sell well.”
“Besides, we can build the highest quality for the lowest wages in the world.”
“Of course. Our Daesei construction is the best in the world.”
“Ehh, can you understand me now?”
The King of Jordan will accept my proposal at least to prevent the army from leaving.
A coup can be prevented even if the Jordanian royal family pays attention to the military. In their own way, the Jordanian army is considered to be the only solid army among the Arab armies, even the Israeli army.
“It’s another large-scale military supply following the Vietnam War.”
Sambok, who was stuck on the sofa, pushed his face in front of me before I knew it.
After all, my friend also loves exports.
“Yeah, that’s great. Remember what you saw when you went on a business trip to Europe. We can live well like Europe. We will take this opportunity to become a middle-income country.”
“Haaa… haa…”
“We have to make deals with European shipping companies using the money we earned in Jordan. What are you going to do with the crude oil carrier? Dozens of ships will have to be ordered in the future, but are you going to keep entrusting them to Japan? We should say that we will reduce the price of boats by 10% compared to Japan.”
“Why 10% off! 5% is enough… Oh, no. What am I talking about…”
“A plucky ship owner who orders a ship from a fledgling shipyard should pay that much.”
“Ah, yes. president. Would you like to?”
Before I knew it, Sambok got involved in my words.
After discussing and preparing various things with Sambok, there was a lot of work to do.
Before going to Jordan, you have to stop by the Blue House to report and get permission.
I have no choice but to pay less attention to the work of the Steelworks Promotion Committee, so I have to ask for your understanding. I like it and I like it, so there was no reason to save my greetings and get stuck in hate.
***
After working for a long time, I let Sambok go home first and sat in front of the telex alone.
I needed some quiet time to get things done.
“Whew…”
I took a deep breath.
Now it was time to convince the outside force.
Unlike Sambok, I plan on provoking him.
「To: General Van Flint
I’m trying to build a shipyard while the Suez Canal is blocked. lend me some money The total project cost is expected to be 130 million dollars – CS, Woo.”
I typed the telegram and sent it to General Van Flint with a hook. It’s still before the Suez Canal is blocked, but Van Flint would consider it a fait accompli.
I even waited a long time.
It is night in Korea now, so it will be daytime in New York.
drooling. drooling.Read at noblemtl
Just as expected?
A reply came from the telex.
“no money. A guy named CS borrowed it all.”
the expected sea. No matter how big a hand is, it will be difficult to pull any more money because it has attracted investors one after another, such as the petrochemical complex and Pohang Iron & Steel.
Even if there was, American investors wouldn’t want to go to Korea.
“Then, could you introduce me to your European connections? Especially the Greek side is better.”
It was a cheeky message at first glance, but for a soldier like Van Flint, it’s better to ask straight forward.
“Any price?”
The reply came a little faster this time.
“I will make Jordan on the side of the United States.”
There was no reply this time to the message I sent.
“I will arrange for the post-war restoration project to be returned to the BR company.”
I added one more price.
“In what way?”
When I mentioned the post-war restoration project, the answer came right away.
It seems to be tempting.
“You can leave it to me. Again! I will not disappoint you.”
“Send the right person. to do it together More than.”
Haha, it was a decision worthy of General Van Flint.
It’s hard to believe my words 100%, but they said they would send someone because winning the post-war restoration project would be a big hit.
Van Flint is close to Nancy, so he’s basically pro-Israel.
The Arab country Israel is most wary of is Egypt, but its most irritating opponent is Jordan.
It’s a country that can aim for the back of the head when fighting Egypt.
Even if Jordan claims pro-Americanism and maintains neutrality, Israel will feel very comfortable.
If I leave Van Flint behind and gain Jordan’s neutrality, I will have more influence in the US government and business world as well as in Silverstein and other influential Jewish families.
I also need Van Flint’s help.
Van Flint was a general who participated in the Greek Civil War, so he had a very strong network in Greece.
If you are introduced to the Greek shipping magnate Livanos through Van Flint, you have crossed a big mountain.
Even in the original history, it is quite known in the heavy industry that Van Flint served as a bridge between Korean shipyards and Livanos.
***
a few days later,
Sambok and I went out to meet at Gimpo Airport.
It was because Van Flint had sent a telex that someone named ‘D’ would be arriving today.
It was definitely the person who told me to work together.
When the arrival gate opened, Sambok said, ‘Welcome to Korea! Mr. D.’ vigorously waved the sign.
What kind of person is coming? After waiting for a while, someone came towards us from afar.
“CS, long time no see.”
“No, David! Could it be that General Van Fleet sent you?”
Suddenly, David appeared.
A World Bank official who was staying at the Bando Hotel.
“Haha, it was half voluntary and half unwilling. It was General Van Fleet who spoke up, but I also wanted to work properly with CS.”
“hello? My name is SB Lee. I heard a lot.”
Even Sambok knew David’s name.
Because he was a benefactor who lent us 30,000 dollars when we were struggling to raise start-up funds and opened our breath.
“If you are SB, you are the co-founder. Aren’t you struggling with CS?”
“Hey, thank you so much for noticing.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha.”
David smiled angrily and handed Sambok and me his business cards.
“Oh! Are you the head of ADI?”
Although ADI was affiliated with the US Department of Commerce as the US Agency for International Development, it was no different from an international organization in terms of what it did.
Van Flint was so clever, there were so many advantages to having ADI head in Jordan with him.
Read at noblemtl
Jordan is an unlucky Middle Eastern country, but it’s not an oil producing country, so it’s a country that doesn’t have much money.
The trade balance is always in the red, the national debt-to-GDP ratio is over 90%, and it is a country that receives development funds from the IMF as well as neighboring oil-producing countries.
“This time, the heads of major international organizations have changed drastically. I also got a spot thanks to CS, so I ran like this. CS needs people, so why hesitate?”
Also Van Flint. Such a timely selection of talent.
Anyway, good news for me too.
With my network as the head of ADI, I can hear information about the vice minister faster than anyone else.
So far, Korea has borrowed a lot of ADI loans, so it would be unreasonable to bring more right now.
“It’s because of me, if David has the ability, he should be at least the ADI director.”
“Haha, thank you for thinking so. If CS hadn’t borrowed so many loans so far, I would have been condescending by giving them this time. I couldn’t do that, so I came to heal myself with my body. Are you advancing into Jordan?”
David grinned, accentuating the word Jordan.
It is likely that he is interested in advancing into Jordan as the head of ADI.
“Thank you for your words. Let’s go. After David went back to America, many delicious restaurants opened. Let’s start with dinner.”
“Very good. I still missed spicy Korean food. Let’s go.”
People who are favorable to Korea are often favorable to Korean food.
David did just that.
It looked like it would be a fun dinner.
To meet the person who tried to introduce Van Flint to me again through Van Flint’s introduction, the world is so small.
Quite different from when he was at the Bando Hotel as an official at the World Bank, the atmosphere overflowed with dignity.
***
Let’s Eat Alley in Seongsu-dong.
“This is our newly developed meat restaurant.”
“It smells great.”
It was Sambok and I’s favorite meat restaurant.
It was a barbecue restaurant that was renovated from a two-story Western-style house, so when we went up on the roof, it was a place where we could simply grill meat and talk comfortably.
“Madam, please set a table with what we always ate. Do not accept other guests on the roof.”
“Yes, yes. Manager.”
Sambok took care of organizing the place.
Sizzle.
“Haha, it’s really delicious.”
“Eat a lot.”
Grilling meat over briquette fire and drinking soju was as delicious as it was in the 21st century.
“Congratulations, David. Cheers!”
“ha ha ha. Cheers.”
“Congratulations.”
Soju glasses were passed around several times, and they shared how they were doing and how they were doing.
“General Van Flint was very surprised when he said he would advance into Jordan. That Deputy Secretary Nancy would faint if she found out.”
As soon as everyone got drunk, the main topic came out.
“If you knew the truth, it wouldn’t be like that. On the contrary, Nancy is the person who would most like Jordan to be neutral. It will help David’s resume as well as General Van Flint’s.”
It’s probably not going to help with your resume.
His position in politics will be further strengthened.
“I’m not trying to undermine CS’s ability, but I don’t think the national policy decision will change if the mainstream enters Jordan.”
“There are many reasons why Israel and Jordan are at odds, but they can make things that force them to join hands.”
“You two holding hands?”
“Survival trumps everything. Religion or politics or whatever.”
