1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 408



Only Krnovel

408 – Vietnam Visitors Group

Late January 1963.

The keynote speech was to assemble a large delegation to visit Vietnam.

This time, the plan was to bring not only members of Cheonwoohoe but also key executives from Cheonwoohoe companies to learn about the local situation in Vietnam.

The keynote speech was to bring Jang Ma-ryang, Kim Seo-kwang, Han Sim-su, Ko Wang-cheol, and Lee Man-ik.

Frank, who had asked to reserve the seat next to him on the plane, took the initiative to leave first to accommodate Kijo’s schedule for his visit to Vietnam.

On the day of departure, Gimpo Airport was packed with heads of five companies, their entourage, and reporters.

After interviewing reporters and boarding the plane with difficulty, Kijo sighed.

After catching my breath and looking around, I saw the Cheongsan managers unable to hide their excitement about riding an airplane for the first time.

This was especially true for Kim Seo-kwang.

“Wow, this is my first time on an airplane. This is an honor to my family, an honor.”

“Hey, hyung, it’s my first time riding it, so it’s fun. But I don’t think it’s enough to bring honor to the family. It’s embarrassing, so lower your voice. Everyone’s looking at you.”

Hansoo tried to restrain Seogwang from getting excited, but Seogwang did not calm down easily.

Seo Gwang asked Wang Cheol, who was sitting in the back seat.

“Wangcheol, have you ever been on an airplane?”

“I’ve ridden everything with wheels, but this is my first time on an airplane.”

“Hey, airplanes have wheels too. Didn’t you see them outside earlier?”

“That’s true. You do need wheels to get up and down.”

Ma-Ryang said something, as if he was displeased with Seo-Gwang’s chatter.

“Seogwang, you should take a different flight from Japan. It’s too noisy and I can’t go with you.”

“Hey, Marian. Why do you keep saying such sad things? We are one family. Even if the plane crashes, we die together. Even if we live, we have to live together.”

“Don’t talk nonsense like that! Why did a perfectly good plane crash? If it crashes, you know that the plane won’t be able to stand your ramblings and will crash into the sea!”

Kijo smiled as he listened to the managers chatter like children on a picnic.

But soon a corner of my heart began to ache.

Vietnam was too dangerous.

Even though he knew it was a dangerous place, he had no choice but to take his Cheongsan family there to make some money.

During the war, many Vietnamese people died, and many Koreans working in Vietnam were injured or killed.

The thought of taking his kin to that dangerous place weighed heavily on Kijo’s mind.

But the Vietnam project was not a choice, it was a necessity, and someone had to do it.

If someone had to do something, he thought it was right for him to do it since he knew the future.

People risked their lives going to Vietnam to work, but there were many cases where they were not fairly compensated for their hard work.

A representative example was the KAL Building arson incident*.

*KAL Building Arson Incident – An incident in which approximately 400 Powell technicians working for Hanjin Trading Company destroyed property and set fire to the KAL Building, the headquarters of Hanjin Trading Company, on September 15, 1971, demanding payment of unpaid wages.

But this time, I figured that wouldn’t happen.

No, it was because we took preventive measures to prevent that from happening in the first place.

The employment of workers dispatched to Vietnam was prevented by the liquidation consortium, making it impossible to even pay wages.

And they decided to solve the poor working conditions of ’60 hours of work per week’ and ‘monthly wage of $340’ by raising the monthly wage to $500.

This was because workers going to Vietnam to earn money at the time would rather receive higher wages than work a shorter 60-hour workweek.

The Vietnam War was risky, but it was a rite of passage to take South Korea to the next level.

As Kijo sat with a gloomy expression, Lee Man-ik, who was sitting next to him, spoke.

“Sir, what are you worried about?”

“No, I’m worried. Did you hear the news this morning that Yeonho was salvaged?”

“Yes, I heard. Your expression was dark as you thought about the disaster.”

The keynote speech turned the topic to the sinking of the Yeonho ship.

Yeonho was a small 35-ton ship carrying 141 passengers when it set sail, but sank off the coast of Mokpo.

The accident left 140 people dead, with only one person surviving.

“I find it more shocking that the era name used to be Nanjing.”

The Namgyeongho was a ship that sank off the coast of Yeocheon 12 years ago, killing 167 passengers.

The Namgyeongho was salvaged, renamed Yeonho, and operated with far more passengers than its capacity, but then another accident occurred.

Seo-kwang, who had been listening in the backseat, chimed in.

“Isn’t that ship really possessed? Otherwise, how could it eat so many people? It sank into the sea, was salvaged, and started eating people again. There’s no such thing as a water ghost. Wow, it’s creepy.”

The keynote speech brought to mind the repeated ferry sinking incidents in Korea.

Although passenger ship sinkings were a frequent occurrence in developing countries, it was very unfortunate that such a major accident occurred even after people had achieved a certain level of prosperity.

As the plane took off and reached cruising altitude, Jo Joong-hoon, who was sitting in another seat, approached the pilot.

“Keynote, come over and talk to me for a moment.”

Kijo sat down with Jo Joong-hoon in an empty seat and smoked a cigarette while chatting.

“This time, Chairman Park, can you recommend our Korean Air (AIR KOREA) as the second private airline?”

Joong-Hoon, who had received information that the government was about to announce a civil aviation promotion policy, asked Ki-Jo for a favor.

The government established KAL (Korean Air Lines) and eliminated KNA (Korean National Airlines), which was suffering from insolvency, by revoking its license.

With only one national airline left, Joong-Hoon seemed eager to fill KNA’s vacancy.

“I’m not in a position to say that. I’m sorry.”

“Is that so? I was just saying this because I thought you and Chairman Park had a special relationship. Don’t worry too much about it. Haha.”

Kijo smiled at the awkward Joonghoon.

A few years later, Chairman Park would force Cho Joong-hoon to take over KAL.

There was no need to be so impatient, it would have taken care of itself.

What was meant to happen, happened.

“Develop Air Korea in Vietnam. I am sure good things will come of it.”

“I’m interested in the Korea-Vietnam route. If a war breaks out in Vietnam, not only the Korean military but also civilians will travel to and from Vietnam frequently. I think the demand for passengers will skyrocket.”

As a first-generation entrepreneur, Jo Joong-hoon looked far ahead and expressed regret.

As Kijo was talking to Joonghoon, the members of Cheonwoohoe gathered one by one.

“What are you talking about so much?”

Chung Ju-young approached and asked.

Following Chung Ju-young, Kim Jong-hee and Park Hee-jun sat next to him in turn.

“Mr. Lee, I have been researching Vietnam in depth in Korea. I have found another good place besides Qui Nhon Port.”

“Where is that?”

Everyone focused on Chung Ju-young.

“Cam Ranh Bay looks really nice. It’s halfway between Saigon and Qui Nhon, and if they build a port there, it’ll be amazing.”

“Is that so?”

“So let’s try to build our Qui Nhon port and Cam Ranh port quickly. If that doesn’t work out, we can at least get some dredging done there. When it comes to construction, once you’ve allocated the manpower and equipment, it’s best to get the most out of it in that area.”

Chung Ju-young, who took on the biggest share of this Vietnam business, spoke excitedly.

Everyone was full of dreams as it was their first overseas venture.

Kijo, who had been talking with the members of Cheonwoohoe, moved to where Director Chae Myeong-shin was.

Director Chae Myeong-shin went to Vietnam under Chairman Park’s order, but due to lack of budget, he was not able to receive support for airfare.

For such a person, Kijo bought a plane ticket on his behalf.

Although it was something that could have been done at any time, the upright Chae Myeong-shin initially refused.

However, Chae Myeong-shin was able to convince him that he should pay for it since the reason he was going to Vietnam was to ensure the safety of the Cheongsan Consortium workers.

As Kijo sat down next to him, Chae Myeong-shin smiled and said.

“I want to go to Vietnam quickly and buy you the Vietnamese coffee I promised you.”

The Vietnamese coffee that Chae Myeong-shin had promised to buy was actually something that Ki-jo had agreed to receive in exchange for paying for the plane ticket and all of his accommodation expenses.

“You must buy me a cup of cold Vietnamese coffee every day. It is so sweet, cold and delicious that I must drink it every day.”

“Haha, I will do that.”

After exchanging jokes, the keynote speaker said a word about Vietnam.

“Chief Chae, the situation in Vietnam seems worse than in Korea during the Korean War. Didn’t we have a clear front line back then? But it seems like Vietnam doesn’t have anything like that. They say you never know when or where enemies dressed in civilian clothes might show up.”

“Well… I’ll look around the area and find the answer.”

“It’s good that you’re working hard for our company, but I think you should research what to do if Korean troops are deployed to Vietnam.”

“I’ll think about that too. It’s a possibility.”

The general opinion was that General Cha Myung-shin, who would later become the commander of the ROK Forces in Vietnam, would do well.

That was also the reason why I wanted to take Chae Myeong-shin with me on this visit to Vietnam.

The goal was to reduce the initial adaptation time for the Korean military, minimize damage, and protect the lives of the Korean military. That was also the keynote speech.

“You said you knew the Vietnamese general, right? Division Commander Thieu.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I would like to ask him to observe the South Vietnamese Army’s guerrilla suppression operation. I think we can get a lot of hints from watching the way the South Vietnamese Army fights.”

“Do you happen to know Mr. Lee Dae-yong, the military attaché at the Korean Embassy in Vietnam?”

“Yes, I know. We are from the same province, Hwanghae-do.”

“Then that’s great. Officer Lee Dae-yong and Division Commander Tiu are friends. If you ask Officer Lee Dae-yong, he’ll probably be able to connect you well.”

The keynote was that everything was made up of people and people.

I have often seen that even when you meet people individually, eventually, over time, they connect with other people and eventually, everything comes together.

It was the same this time too.

The connections between people continued.

The keynote has returned to its original position.

As we sat down, the captain announced that we would soon be arriving in Tokyo.

Kijo also talked with Lee Man-ik, who was sitting next to him.

“Sir, was it really necessary to involve Hyundai Engineering & Construction in this Vietnam expansion?”

Lee Man-ik asked in a small voice.

Kijo knew that Lee Man-ik felt a sense of rivalry with Hyundai Construction.

Although Kijo held shares in Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the executives and staff at Cheongsan Construction viewed Hyundai as a completely different company.

That was only natural. The two companies were completely different.

Kijo spoke softly, as if trying to appease Man-ik.

“Isn’t it true that Hyundai is ahead of Cheongsan in road construction? Watch carefully and learn from how Hyundai is building roads in Vietnam. You will definitely find use for it later.”

The keynote speech was to learn Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s know-how in preparation for the construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway.

“I understand, sir. But I will not lose to Hyundai in port construction. Busan Port was built by Hyundai, but Incheon Port was built by Cheongsan, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. I also believe that Cheongsan will do better.”

The keynote was that everyone on the plane was part of the same team.

Even though we are a team, sometimes we have to compete to do better.

The plane landed at Haneda Airport, where the delegation disembarked to transfer to a flight to Vietnam.

Everyone was full of motivation.

The keynote speech was that the Vietnam business would also go well.

And I wondered who Frank would introduce me to in Vietnam.