096 : I will tell you the way to live
After completing the iron ore contract, he headed straight to Korea.
In the 1960s, going halfway around the globe in a week was a daunting task.
In this era, the logistics business deserved to be a high-tech business.
The unexpected gain is that it became clear how Japan seized the opportunity to rise to G2.
I don’t know if it was strategic or accidental, but the combination of the steel industry and the shipping industry brought about a tremendous synergistic effect.
In Asia, only Japan had a large-scale steel industry, and it was clear that it brought cheap iron ore in large quantities through trade with Australia.
By the late 1970s, it invested 10 billion dollars to raise its crude steel capacity to more than 100 million tons, supplying steel to the world and attracting a huge amount of goods.
Considering the situation in Korea, which is struggling just by building a comprehensive steelworks with a capacity of only 1 million tons, there is a rice cake that is too big to swallow.
I wanted to eat it all, but I ran out of money and time.
***
Yeongdo, Busan.
I came to Busan via Tokyo.
The reason I didn’t go through Gimpo was because I had business in Yeongdo, Busan.
“Yeongdo in the 60s was really a mess.”
At the foot of Mt. Bongnae, where refugees were said to have settled, the endless shacks caught my eye first.Read at noblemtl
Jagalchi Market was visible in the distance, and ‘Dottegi Market’, also known as Gukje Market, was unfolding before our eyes.
Street vendors, porters, tin dealers, smugglers, and wharf laborers lined the market, where the floor was covered with black sludge.
Even though I know that this place will turn into a hip tourist destination in the 21st century, I couldn’t easily imagine it.
“Hey, hey. Come in and take a look. You have a dark cloud over your forehead.”
As I was looking around, an old woman from a fortune teller with a sign saying Bodhisattva in Hamheung called me.
Shamans are one of the specialties of Yeongdo.
There were dozens of fortune tellers in Yeongdo.
I don’t know if the refugees read fortunes in their empty hearts, or if they pretended to be shamans and ate the refugees because they had nothing to live on.
“If you do this, a rainbow will appear on your forehead, right?”
I took out the remaining five-dollar bill and put it in the hand of the shaman.
“Oh my gosh, the dark clouds are clearing in an instant. He is a man of great power. It will be incredibly successful.”
“Thanks for the compliment, who is the best tugboat driver here in the harbor?”
“tug? You mean the boat towing the big boat?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
“Find Kwon Ga. Kwon Chil Deuk! I don’t drink and I do a good job. I’m good with you, too.”
He said it like a shaman.
When I looked at the place I was pointing with my finger, there were porters and sailors gathered there.
I walked towards it.
“Who is Childuk Kwon here?”
“I am, who are you?”
I took him to one side.
“It is said to be Woo Chan-soo of the mainstream unemployment.”
“Heh heh! Are you boss Wu? Golden Bell!”
“Shh, lower your voice. I’m not going to hit the golden bell right now.”
At my words, Mr. Kwon Chil-deuk suddenly bent his back 90 degrees. On the outside, he was a man of the sea who was invincible, but he seemed quick to notice.
“How many tugboats have you driven?”
“I drove for over ten years.”
ten years? It looks like he’s in his early 30’s at most, but since when did you start driving a boat? It seems to have driven the boat very well.
No, did you drive well since you were young?
“I have a question.”
“Ask me.”
“I am trying to cross the Pacific Ocean by connecting a 30,000-ton barge to a 10,000-ton cargo ship. Would that be possible?”
To be precise, it should be said to be a bulk carrier without an engine, but it was called a barge.
“… that’s crazy. In all likelihood, the barge will be lost and the cargo ship will be in danger as well.”
“I heard someone did it.”
“The guy who said that is 100% a fraud. You can bring him and bet. I will bet my hand.”
Childeuk Kwon said firmly.
I also agree with this gentleman.
Even in my opinion, the raft transport operation that the OBs talked about seemed impossible no matter how much I thought about it.
For a nobleman who has driven a tugboat for 10 years to say this is crazy.
If OB’s words weren’t bluffing, there seemed to be some secret. Did you have any special equipment on the barge?
“I can’t bring it, but it’s true that I succeeded. If not 100%, it seems to be successful nine times out of ten. Is there any trick?”
“Sheesh, that’s a no-brainer. I wouldn’t know if it had been pulled by four tugboats instead of one cargo ship.”
“??? What did you say? Are you saying it can be done with four tugboats?”
“A four-chuck is worth the challenge, because you can tie two to the bow and one to the side to drive. If you tie it to just one cargo ship, the barge will be hit by waves and turn around and capsize.”
Kwon Chil-deuk explained while drawing a picture with stones on the ground.
‘Hey, this guy is a real expert.’
I heard it and it was plausible.
The two tugboats at the bow steer, and the tugboat on the side balances the barge.
Come to think of it, it seemed that there were several boats in the photos of the raft transport operation of Hyeonsan Construction.
“Hey, Childeuk Kwon. Do you have a boat?”
“What kind of stomach is there for a poor man like me? I rent it all and ride it.”
“Do you want to ride my boat?”
“Yes?”
As I hit the hook and entered, Mr. Kwon Chil-deuk opened his eyes wide.
“Would you like to ride on my boat and pull a barge… no, a bulk carrier?”
“Seo… No way, are you giving me a ride on a cargo ship of Daesae Shipping? Are you really burning me?”
To ride my boat is to succeed as a sailor.
It is the only large ship in Korea that can cross the Pacific Ocean.
“Instead, we have to tow a 200,000-ton barge… no, a bulk carrier.”
“200,000 tons? Boss, you say it’s difficult with just one cargo ship… aha… no.”
He sighed and said no.
This gentleman is not a yes-man.
He was a man who would do the job right.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to pull it with 4 cargo ships. So, bring 3 more people like you. I will hire you as an engineer dedicated to towing.”
Rather than dragging 30,000-ton barges one by one, wouldn’t it be better to make 200,000-ton barges and pull them with four cargo ships?
“Hehe, four ships! Then you can. You can. Trust me.”
“I’ll give you 4 business cards, so I’ll gather 3 more skilled tugboat drivers and go to Daesae Shipping. Get on the ship to and from Australia and look at the route. After three months, you will have to go back and forth dozens of times.”
You can tell Director Yoon by phone.
“Like a man, you promised!”
“I keep my promise. Like a man!”
“Ahh, this Kwon Chil-deuk entered the mainstream shipping industry. You entered the mainstream sea! aaa!”
Childeuk cheered and ran to somewhere.
He must have gone to pick up three tugboats.
I retook my way
There was something to discuss at Korea Shipbuilding Corporation.
There, I was going to discuss with the engineers how to haul the bulk carrier, but I met Kwon Chil-deuk and solved it in one fell swoop.
It was a very good thing to pay for the hard work to the madangbal grandmother who pretended to be a shaman.
As expected, if you have any questions, the fastest way is to ask the person rolling on site.
***
「Korea Shipbuilding Corporation」
When I arrived at the so-called Yeongdo Shipyard, I was dumbfounded.
Despite being the only shipyard in Korea, even the signboard was broken and shaking.
The dock was not a garbage dump, and instead of building a boat, only rusty iron materials were piled up roughly.
In the 21st century, it wasn’t that bad, but it seems that the facilities were improved after the privatization.
‘Since it was privatized in 1968, it must be a frantic situation right now.’
Currently, the Korea Shipbuilding Corporation has hired a Busan Shipping president named Jegalgung, claiming to be rationalizing its own management.
In the original history, according to the government’s industrial rationalization policy, President Jegalgung merged this place with his shipping company and privatized it.
It was the beginning of the downfall of President Jegalgung, who had made money in the short-distance shipping business called Busan Shipping, and later disappeared without a trace in the business world due to a huge poop called Okpo Shipyard.
It is famous in the heavy industry industry, but it was a failure from the beginning of the Korea Shipbuilding Corporation.
As befits a public corporation in this era, it has never made a profit since liberation.
That means I can take over here.
How many people in Korea have gone through the national key industry special advisor and promotion chairman?
If you propose to become the president of a state-owned company suffering from losses, you are no different than a white knight.
Unlike others, I don’t have to worry about suffering from a deficit even if I take over this place.
First of all, I will of course get debt relief under the pretext of privatization, and in the future, I will use it as a shipyard to subsidize the Mipo shipyard.
“Are you there?”
“Who… Heck, CEO Woo Chan-soo.”
When I showed my face to the Korea Shipbuilding Corporation office, an employee immediately recognized my face.
“No, who is this? Woo boss!”
From somewhere, the president of Jegalgung ran up and grabbed my arm. Are you overly welcoming?
“On my way home from an overseas business trip, I stopped by to say hello.”
“What kind of greetings do you have for someone who is busy, please come here.”
The president of Zhuge Gong led me to the president’s office.
He closed the door and held out an ashtray and a cigarette.
“Haha, I don’t smoke.”
I lit a match and lighted the cigarette of President Jegalgung.
“I have wanted to meet Mr. Woo for a long time. I tried my best, but I never had a chance to be alone.”
“What are you doing? By any chance, land in Ulsan…”
Did you speculate on land in Ulsan?
“Ah, I don’t even have the money to speculate on land. I just wanted to discuss with Mr. Woo whether there was any way to save this shipyard.”
President Jegalgung took a deep breath in the cigarette smoke and sighed.
It looks like the company is in really bad shape.
“Aren’t you commissioned by a state-owned company? If the business situation is not good, you should ask the government for support.”
If you ask for government support, I can raise my hand.
Is there no reason for the state to continue to use a civilian with poor management performance as the president?
“It is all nonsense to say that government support is always given. In fact, I am the president only in name, and all authority belongs to the Minister of Transport. Even the operating funds have to go through the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Korea and get approval from the National Assembly, so we can’t manage it properly.”
“… okay?”
what? The Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Korea, and even the National Assembly?
How do you do such a tough thing?
This is a position with no authority and only responsibility.
Why is this man holding such a position?
If it were me, I would have beaten him right away.
“It’s jingling. Politicians say it’s business rationalization and emergency support, but they spend national taxes and spend Japanese loans and eat everything… If you say you’ll give up your position, they openly threaten you with a tax investigation on Busan Shipping… Please save me.”
Man, that totally made a fool of a person.
Tightening the corporate leash of the 1960s that we only heard about.
It was truly fortunate that Pohang Iron & Steel was established as a stock company.
“How can I help you?”
“… I have gathered evidence believing that this time will come. If we have that evidence, we can properly privatize it.”
So far, I’ve been collecting evidence documents about the stupid things that politicians have done. I’ll be able to cut out not only the suckers, but also my relatives and collaborators.
By the way, how does Nuance look like it’s trying to hand over this company to me? You don’t even have to poke this.
“Are you thinking of entrusting this place to me?”
“It should be. Since you own the biggest shipping company in Korea, aren’t you the one who can revive this place? If it’s President Woo, wouldn’t you be satisfied with importing used ships from abroad?”
President Jegalgung’s words showed the current state of Korea’s shipbuilding industry.
There is no private capital to handle the shipyard, a heavy industry industry, no proper technology, and structural disadvantages of having to rely on imports for equipment and raw and subsidiary materials. It is not in Korea.
If so, I am the closest person.
It’s not a feeling of boredom, it’s an objective fact.
“I guess you wanted to meet me because of this.”
“Yes, save me. There are more than 200 million private assets here. Please make up for some of them. I swear, I’m not trying to do personal hoarding. It is to save Busan shipping. The staff there did nothing wrong. You can’t sit down on the street because you met the wrong boss.”
“That’s why you came to the petrochemical complex.”
The president of the shipyard asked why he came to Ulsan.
“Yes, there are some welders in Busan Shipping too. Now even he’s gone a lot… Anyway, please share some of the work in the integrated steelworks business. Aren’t you the promotion chairperson?”
It seems that Busan Shipping is also shaking.
“no. All projects are under bidding, and if I promise something, it’s like responding to an improper solicitation.”
“ha…”
If you don’t do it, you’ll go to the goal.
There are many eyes watching me.
“Instead, I can introduce you to a small but undefeated business in the Ulsan Industrial Complex. Then, can you blow up the corruption case and step down?”
“… A small but unstoppable business? Of course. Please make sure privatization succeeds.”
Finally, President Jegalgung grabbed my hand.
I held out my pen and paper.
The president of Jegalgung recognized my intentions at once.
Grabbing a pen, he wrote a memorandum to help privatize the Korea Shipbuilding Corporation by eradicating corruption, and even took a picture.
The situation seemed to be driving the president of Zhuge Gung, but the needs of the two of us just met.
“Go to Ulsan and start a salt business.”
“The salt business?”
I took a memorandum and told him the way to live.
“The power plant Bechtel builds uses seawater as cooling water, supplies steam to the industrial complex, and discharges the brine back into the sea.”
“What are you talking about…”
“If you build a salt factory next to the power plant, you will know it naturally. Anyway, by building a factory, you get concentrated saline water from a power plant, boil it again, sell the steam to the industrial complex, and get refined salt. It is called mechanitis.”
“Ugh! It’s like selling steam for money and selling the salt that comes out of it. Is that correct?”
As a businessman, he doesn’t know the principles, but he understands how to make money.
“you’re right. Since all the salt farms have been pushed and industrial complexes have been built, if you submit a business plan under the pretext of building a salt factory, the state will approve it.”
It is a very efficient plant in terms of energy, so it is a small but steady profitable business.
“If the technical advisor comes in, will you be able to take my side?”
“of course. No, there is no reason to take sides. Because it is true.”
“… take it. This is a copy of the evidence gathered so far. I will explode the original like a bomb.”
All sorts of corruption, such as misappropriation of various entertainment expenses and taxes, illegal hiring of relatives, misappropriation of used ship repair fees, and improper handling of raw and subsidiary materials, were thoroughly investigated.
If this level of corruption was exposed, it seemed that the Korea Shipbuilding Corporation would go bankrupt in an instant.
President Jegalgung is thinking of suicide to save Busan Shipping.
The government will no longer be able to leave the shipyard as a public enterprise, and finding someone to take over will be the next step.
“Then I came here to say hello.”
“Yes, I will take care of Busan Shipping and explode the bomb right away. Please take good care of the shipyard here.”
They already treated me like a boss.
I headed straight for Seoul.
On the way, I glanced at the dock, and it was large enough to build a 30,000-ton bulk carrier.
If you make about 6 of them, connect the sides with H-beams and steel pipes, and cover the top plate, it seems that you can argue that it is a 200,000-ton bulk carrier.
It looks like a raft, but that’s it.
If the bomb explodes, you will have to hit the golden bell again.
