Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Boom (1)
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The significance of the Plaza Accord... is that the government directly intervened in exchange rates.
It's also praised as the U.S. successfully blocking Japan's rise.
Well, it's a bit more complicated if you dig into it... but honestly, no need to know the details.
What matters is the outcome. Right?
"Soon the Japanese economy's going to go berserk. Our own boom will look like a joke in comparison."
I brought it up first when I met Executive Director Ha Joo-seong again.
Whether he'd heard a heads-up from Grandfather or was simply in awe of my abilities, Ha Joo-seong treated me with far more respect this time.
"With the yen appreciating..., exports are toast. So it'll come down to the domestic market."
Exactly.
Ha Joo-seong, who'd worked at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, would know exactly what I meant.
Most Koreans could figure it out easily, really. Money won't flow outward. So... where else could it go?
Real estate.
"Real estate's going to skyrocket. Any chance I could invest my money there?"
Japan's insane bubble economy of the '80s is... legendary.
"Sell Tokyo land and you could buy the entire U.S." That's how they described the real estate bubble back then.
No joke. Japanese land prices were 100 times those in the U.S., and 700 times in Tokyo.
Does that make sense?
Of course not. The bubble eventually burst, and Japan endured agonizing years of stagnation.
But I plan to ride that bubble and squeeze every last drop out of it. Naturally, I'll do the same during the IMF crisis and the subprime mortgage meltdown.
Why block money rolling in just because people struggle in downturns? I have no obligation to save them.
Besides, it might not even be preventable, and an imperfectly deflated bubble could balloon even bigger later.
"No interest in the stock market? I heard you prefer stocks over real estate last time..."
Ha Joo-seong cautiously suggested stocks. It was his specialty, and suited my tastes too.
Having been in finance myself.
"Yeah, stocks will surge too. But not this time. Fine under Daeha Securities, but right now... I need some off-the-books cash."
"Ah, can't be helped then. Japan's tax laws are a mess anyway, so I'll hand it to the experts."
Truth be told, I'd love to load up on NTT shares. Invincible until the bubble pops.
NTT? Japan's telecom giant, freshly listed this year after privatizing from a state-owned enterprise.
Not a household name in the 21st century, but back then, NTT topped global market caps by a mile.
In 1988, its market cap hit about $277 billion. Second-place IBM? A measly $76 billion.
For context, Korea's entire GDP barely topped $200 billion. One Japanese company dwarfed our national economy.
That was Japan's bubble era. Utter madness, with insane growth rates and economic scale.
That's why everyone saw Chairman Yoo Seong-pil as nuts for jumping into semiconductors to beat Sony.
The Japan of the lost decade in the 21st century was worlds apart from its '80s heyday.
But... stocks are tricky.
Unlike real estate, stocks draw heavy financial oversight, making laundering tough.
Time for me to start building slush funds. Feels overkill at my age, but drag my feet and the real-name financial system hits, jacking up the difficulty.
Better get ahead. Money's easy to make again.
"I'll buy land personally. Hold a bit, sell high, and pocket 5x easy."
This isn't the time for aggressive plays.
Build connections, hunker down for a solid future.
Until the day I upend everything in Korea, I'll glide quietly through the boom, biding my time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After that.
I met Senior Presidential Secretary Kim Hae-ik again after a while. He was deep in pleasant worries about maximizing the Three Lows Boom.
"You were right, Ha-yeon. The dollar really dropped. Harder than expected too. Haha, soon those worrisome foreign debts will shrink."
With Japan's exports collapsing, Korea faces almost no competition.
We'd stepped into middle-income status, with decent quality and still-cheap labor—overwhelming price competitiveness against advanced nations.
For the man steering Korea's economy, no better tailwind existed.
"Hehe, got lucky. A massive boon hits right as I dip into the field."
Semiconductors are a top export, of course. Starting there made my export interest natural.
Not for nothing I fixated on the Plaza Accord. Yen strength, semi exports, the industry—all linked, making it easy to chime in.
Still a kid, hard to wedge into unrelated fields.
Clueless to my scheming, Kim Hae-ik smirked at me.
"For someone your age, that was some conviction. Heard secondhand—you pulled off a hell of a gamble."
"Eh... just gave it a shot. Managed the risk decently."
By dumping it on Daeha Securities, but hey, the high-ups all do that.
Win and it's yours; lose and cover with company funds—that's embezzlement 101.
I shared the wins but capped losses at my assets. Pretty upright, really. Hmm... starting to think I'm too goody-goody.
Ah, living this saintly might bite me later.
"Heard you're starting second grade soon. You've grown quite a bit. Tall for your age?"
He tilted his head, looking down at me anew.
"Yep. Probably top of the class height-wise."
I flashed a pleased smile, rising on tiptoes a bit.
Thanks to reincarnation perks, I grew fast. Toyed with hormone theories, but no breakthroughs.
Aging probably halts around 17, post-growth spurt...
Anyway, it offset my age disadvantage. Adults judge kids by height, after all.
"Boom's coming soon. We lack resources, but manpower and tech have caught up somewhat. Now we reap the rewards."
A natural smile lit his face, mingled with complex emotions.
"Sounds great."
He nodded and chuckled at my question.
"Damn right. Economic bureaucrat like me getting this luck... Rare after me. Nation's too big now for one official to steer."
Kim Hae-ik added:
"But... we'll prep small measures against the coming downturn."
Every boom ends in bust.
Valuing stability over growth, he'd been bracing for recession pre-boom.
One question nagged me. Anyone would've wondered.
"Think you can stop the downturn?"
If he preps hard for the forex crisis now, could he avert it?
"Hard to say... Soft landing, maybe. Our firms are too growth-obsessed."
"Sounds tough."
"It is."
'80s Korea barely scraped middle-income, far from advanced. Superpowers like the U.S. could preempt bubbles, but not us.
Desperate to sprint forward, yet brake for future crises?
Near impossible. Politics makes it worse.
So I felt relieved.
No need to bury my last ally myself.
"Don't worry. By the boom's end... I'll have grown plenty. I'll help then."
I beamed an innocent, childish smile.
.
.
.
Well, the helping part's real.
At least I'm far more capable than most chaebols, better for economic growth.
One thief like me is plenty to rob ordinary folks blind.