It would be a mistake to say that, if he considered me to be a sympathetic person because keeping a level head is critical when it comes to company management.
“Hmm… you mean, those staffs?” asked Hak-jae
“Because of us, they couldn’t be with their children today,” I said.
I could feel his sharp glance. He looked at me for a time and then said.
“They are doing their job, whether it’s children’s day or not,”
“They will hate us,” I said.
He gave me that sharp glance again.
“Do-jun,”
“Yes, uncle,”
“If someone hates you, then do like your grandfather does,”
He continued, “Change hate into fear,”
His words exploded like fireworks in my head.
Damn, He sure as hell is a butler while I still can’t break the servant spirit.
Butlers would put productivity improvement, sales maximization and customer satisfaction before all the pigshit; sympathizing with servants.
There is something different between chairmen and CEOs.
CEOs fatten their companies up while chairmen make war for an extension of territory.
And in the territory, servants should do what their masters say.
He reached a hand up to stroke my hair behind my ear, and I looked up at him, eyebrows raised.
I wanted to find out more about him but Sang-ju suddenly appeared at my side, took my hand and pulled me away from Hak-jae.
After the trip to Seoul Land, all the family members dropped with fatigue. So did I. With mental fatigue.
But the next day, when I saw my own pasture, all trace of the fatigue flew away.
I felt a tremor of joy and excitement coursing through my body as I saw the wide open green fields where horses ran joyfully.
Now I had homework to do - I should learn to ride a horse.
At the end of the year, my horse-riding skills improved substantially.
1988 was a great year.
The constitution of the 6th republic began to take effect, and president Roh who had been chosen by direct election took office.
The bloody 8-year Iran–Iraq war ended.
President Roh launched the July 7 Declaration calling for improved relations with North Korea.
Cho Yong-pil’s 10th album was released while Metallica’s 4th album ‘... And Justice For All’ hit stores.
The Olympic Games improved South Korea’s image as a developed, stable country.
The opposition party was created in 38 years, and the government auditing system was reformed in 16 years.
A special committee was established to uncover the corruption of the 5th Republic, and a hearing was held in the National Assembly for the first time since the beginning of the Constitution.
Some famous people such as politicians, business circles and journalists attended and were televised live, which led to a national popular topic that was comparable to the Olympics, and among the members of the National Assembly, the future president became the star of the hearing.
Then in November, the former president Jeon Doo-hwan left Seoul for internal exile at a Buddhist temple after apologizing to the nation for abuses of power during his rule and surrendering his personal assets to the state.
The exchange rate reached 600 won, and the three low-boom peaked.
The population of Seoul surged as people poured into the city and as a result, Seoul house prices skyrocketed.
The government implemented housing projects, developing Mok-dong and Sanggye-dong areas but was unable to keep up with soaring real estate prices.
The new year, 1989 came.
“The government’s implemented new town development projects,”
“Slow down,” the grandfather said.
CEO of Sungyang Construction, Hong was barely able to contain his excitement.
The President’s new year address was mainly about resolving the housing shortage.
Before coming to the grandfather’s study, Hong attended a meeting organized by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Economy Planning Board , the Chief Executive of the Blue House, and the Minister of Construction.
“What are the strong candidate areas?” the grandfather asked.
“Seongnam, Bundang and Ilsan, sir”
After Hong took a sip of water, he briefed the meeting.
“But purchasing lands in those areas is not permitted?,”
“Yes, the government warned if any company monopolized any part of the lands, the company would be dealt out of the projects,”
“But some companies would probably hoard in some way or other, like using different names,” Hak-jae said, frowning.
“(There is) something different this time,” said Hong.
“Cooperate with the government,” the grandfather continued, “Not to mention everyone else (at Sunyang),” the grandfather said.
He thought it was a smart thing to do when the situation in Eastern Europe became serious and the diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were in course of time; radical changes were being made - the grandfather is convinced that the better Sunyang cooperates, the more opportunities Sunyang shall be provided with by the government.
The grandfather rummaged around in the new town development-related documents that Hong left behind, though not thoroughly, then stopped at a page.
He knitted his brows and his eyes fixed on a map with a piercing gaze.
“Something wrong, sir?” asked Hak-jae.
“No, it’s just… this place, so familiar,”
The grandfather looked at a map in the documents for a time, then picked up the receiver.
“The pasture... Yeah, send me its land registration map by fax,” he said, then put down the receiver with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
When Hak-jae was about to ask what was going on, a housemaid entered the study.
No sooner she handed the fax to the grandfather, he burst out laughing.
Hak-jae was damn curious.
“You know that I made a pasture for Do-jun?,”
“Yes, sir… no way!”
“Look,”
Hak-jae hurriedly compared the fax with the map in the documents.
“He picked that area,” the grandfather said.
“You mean, not you, Do-jun did?”