Reckless Challenge, Overwhelming Retribution
The NBC acquisition battle was taking concrete shape. Universal had formed a consortium with GE to pursue NBC. The contest had narrowed to a two-horse race between Time Warner Nextcom and the Universal-GE consortium. Even after Time Warner Nextcom, acting on Yoo Jae-won's behalf, declared its entry into the NBC bidding war, Universal refused to back down. Instead, it secured GE as a powerful backer and positioned itself against Time Warner Nextcom.
“Uncle Turner, are you sure this is all right?”
“Of course. Even if they have GE behind them, it won’t change a thing!”
Ted Turner’s booming voice came through the Android Phone, full of confidence. Yoo Jae-won pressed further.
“Then why hasn’t the federal government granted approval yet?”
“When have bureaucrats ever moved quickly? It’s the same old story.”
When Koreans traveled abroad, one of the things that surprised them most was the difference in speed. Accustomed to “hurry, hurry,” they found Europe and America unbearably slow by comparison. Even something as simple as internet service illustrated the gap. In Korea, an installer would arrive the next day—sometimes the same day if timing worked out—and the connection would be live immediately. Abroad, that was impossible. A week was considered fast. The United States was better than Europe, but still nowhere near Korean standards. That was why Nextcom’s promise to send a technician within three days at the latest, modeled on Korea’s after-sales service, was hailed as revolutionary.
It was no surprise, then, that more than three months had passed since the NBC acquisition application was filed without a decision. Still, something about the delay felt off.
“Keep a close eye on Universal’s movements.”
“Understood. Is there anyone more experienced in the broadcasting business than me?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Exactly. Just trust me.”
“Of course I do.”
If anyone other than Ted Turner had said that, Yoo Jae-won would have given a different answer. But this was the man who had built CNN and TBS, merged with Time Warner, then with Nextcom, and risen to his current position. When it came to broadcasting, no one was more of an expert than Ted Turner. On top of that, the Al Gore administration remained highly favorable toward Yoo Jae-won. If any changes occurred, plenty of people would notify him first.
“I’ll leave everything in your hands while I head back to Korea for the holidays.”
“Go ahead! Enjoy the Lunar New Year and come back safely.”
Ted Turner’s use of “Lunar New Year” made Yoo Jae-won smile. Working with him had clearly taught the American a thing or two about Korean customs.
“All right, time to get moving.”
The call with Ted Turner marked the end of Yoo Jae-won’s official schedule in San Francisco. He slipped the Android Phone into his pocket and stood up. He had decided to spend the entire third week of February in Korea for the Lunar New Year holiday. Monday through Wednesday would be rest days, Thursday through Saturday would be devoted to work in Korea, and he would return to the United States on Sunday. Tiffany, exhausted from work, had also agreed to join him for a proper break.
“Finished?”
When Yoo Jae-won emerged from the study, Tiffany greeted him from the living room with a bright smile. A large suitcase sat beside her, packed with clothes for their stay and gifts she had prepared for the family.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
At his words, Tiffany rose to her feet.
“Didi, Mommy’s going to Korea. Be good and watch the house.”
“Meow!”
Unfortunately, Didi could not come this time either. Cats were highly sensitive to changes in environment, and there were also quarantine issues. Still, even with Yoo Jae-won and Tiffany away, the San Francisco house would not be empty. They had arranged for a cat specialist to stay on-site, so there would be no problems. Besides, they could check on Didi through the eyes of Cyber Dog Jindol even from Korea. With that reassurance, the couple left without worry.
The name “Cyber Dog” had come from ID Electronics. After inviting the appliance division’s president and executives to the house and unveiling revolutionary products, Jindol and the robot vacuum had caused the biggest stir, but the other white goods were equally impressive. ID Electronics had since begun preparations for mass production and was developing a new brand. Televisions would fall under the Bordeaux line, premium white goods under Classe, but Jindol had been harder to categorize. Simply calling it Jindol felt too plain, so they added the name Cyber Dog. It had sounded odd at first, but the more they used it, the more natural it became.
Beyond appliances, ID Electronics also had semiconductor matters to handle, and Yoo Jae-won planned to address them in depth during this trip to Korea.
The couple’s arrival in Korea looked very different from before. They still landed in grand style aboard ID Group’s private jet, but the airport itself had changed. Where they once had no choice but to use the old, cramped Gimpo International Airport, they now arrived through Incheon International Airport. The difference in facilities meant everything from immigration procedures to protocol had transformed.
Incheon International Airport, designed to become a world-class hub, had opened the previous year. Busy schedules had prevented Yoo Jae-won from attending the opening ceremony or using it immediately afterward. This Lunar New Year marked his first visit, and it exceeded expectations. The new terminal was spotless. Its larger scale meant even crowded areas never felt chaotic. Cargo handling was swift, and immigration procedures were far more convenient. A dedicated VIP lane made movement effortless.
“Chairman! Madam, welcome back to Korea.”
As expected, Choi Kang-wook, Vice Chairman, and other ID Group Korea executives were waiting at the arrivals gate.
“Ah, Vice Chairman Choi, happy new year.”
Yoo Jae-won offered New Year’s greetings to Choi Kang-wook first, then shook hands with the other executives. The executives looked as though they might faint from the honor. Their expressions were not those of employees facing a difficult boss, but of fans meeting a superstar. Within ID Group, Yoo Jae-won’s presence was akin to that of a star or hero. Many projects had uncertain prospects, yet whenever he became involved, everything turned into a massive success. It was nothing short of miraculous. Moreover, Yoo Jae-won generously shared the fruits of ID Group’s growth with employees. The Lunar New Year bonus that had just been distributed was larger than any offered by other Korean conglomerates. Employees had quietly hoped for something substantial given the strong 2001 results, and the amount far surpassed those expectations. Even affiliates like ID Electronics’ appliance division, which had posted massive losses, received base bonuses, spreading warmth throughout the company.
The couple then boarded the car prepared by Vice Chairman Choi Kang-wook. Instead of stopping at ID Group’s headquarters in the Global Headquarters Building, they headed straight for the house in Deokjin-ri.
The Yoo couple’s Lunar New Year looked much like any other Korean family’s. They rose early to perform sebae for their parents and received New Year’s blessings along with sebaetdon. Though Yoo Jae-won and Tiffany possessed far greater wealth, the pocket money from their parents always felt special. The only unusual detail was that Tiffany’s envelope was noticeably thicker than Yoo Jae-won’s.
They also visited the main house to pay respects to Yoo Jae-won’s uncle and aunt, then greeted every relative without exception. By the time they had made the rounds through the neighborhood, their pockets were heavy with sebaetdon. For Tiffany, experiencing a Korean-style Lunar New Year for the first time, the day was filled with joy. She had seemed somewhat stressed lately because of Chevron, but after a few days of rest and holiday festivities, her face had regained its usual radiance.
Of course, in an ordinary household the story might have been different. Since they lived separately, the usual in-law pressures would have been lighter, but holiday stress would still have been unavoidable. Fortunately, Yoo Jae-won’s tremendous success had completely transformed his parents’ holiday experience. There was not a single trace of the usual holiday obligations. Holiday food came from a special order placed at a Korean restaurant run by a former hotel chef, and they had dedicated staff to handle housework. His parents actually doted on Tiffany more than on their own son. His mother had even taken Tiffany out for a day in the city. His father had clearly wanted to join, and looked thoroughly disappointed when the two women left without him, but there was no helping it.
Yoo Jae-won used the opportunity to slip out and meet two important people. One was Park Sang-kwon, once president of the rice bran oil factory and now president of Busan Group, one of Korea’s top five conglomerates. The other was Ryu Jun-sik, who had started with Yukyeong Chicken and built Yukyeong Group through expansion into chicken, feed, delivery, and various franchise businesses. Though the IMF crisis had briefly slowed them, Yukyeong Group had overcome the hardship and continued growing; it now ranked among Korea’s top twenty conglomerates.
Both men had long since shifted their operations to Seoul, yet their hearts remained in Deokjin-ri. Thanks to them, the Deokjin-ri industrial complex had only grown larger. Busan Group’s grain processing plant had moved in on a massive scale, while Yukyeong Group’s chicken processing and logistics facilities had expanded dramatically. Yet even combined, those two plants were smaller than ID Group’s software packaging factory. The facility produced packages for the Android operating system, ID Office, and PC and Xbox games released by ID Entertainment. What had begun as a cottage industry among friends now supplied hundreds of millions of software packages worldwide. When Steam became fully active, demand for physical packages would decline, but the corporate and collector markets were expected to remain strong well into the mid-twenty-first century. Contrary to some concerns, the factory’s future looked secure.
The meeting place was a café in front of the Deokjin industrial complex. With so many employees commuting to the complex, a thriving commercial district had sprung up nearby, complete with large supermarkets, restaurants, and pleasant cafés.
There was a great deal of catching up to do. Normally, Yoo Jae-won would have cut straight to business, but this time nearly an hour passed before the main topic surfaced.
“Are preparations for the 2002 World Cup proceeding smoothly?”
“Of course!”
“Absolutely!”
Both presidents answered with confidence.
“We’re ready to produce twice our usual volume at any moment.”
“We can handle double as well.”
Park Sang-kwon and Ryu Jun-sik spoke in turn. Yet Yoo Jae-won’s expression remained serious. Double? That would never be enough. After all, the two men were preparing for chicken and beer—the most convenient foods for watching sports. Busan Group’s flagship beer had changed names over the years. It had once been famous as Dongyang Beer, then BB Beer in the eighties and nineties, and now dominated the market as BB Lager. Competitors were pushing new brands with youthful appeal and marketing campaigns featuring “three-thousand-meter-deep bedrock water,” but none had managed to surpass BB Lager.
Yukyeong Group, naturally, meant chicken. Yukyeong Chicken had been the group’s founding business and had led Korea’s explosively growing chicken industry since the early nineties. The 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup was an event that would go down in Korean sports history, and because it was a single sport—football—the ninety-minute matches created perfect conditions for chicken and beer. While many products and services had boomed thanks to the World Cup, it was the 2002 tournament that truly popularized chicken and cemented the chicken-and-beer pairing.
“By the way, how far do you think our national team will go this World Cup?”
Yoo Jae-won asked directly about their expectations for the Korean national football team. He suspected their forecasts would differ significantly from what he knew.
“Football is a sport that benefits greatly from home advantage, so a first win is guaranteed. At the very least, they should advance past the group stage, don’t you think?”
“I agree. Even if they don’t advance regardless of goal difference, they’ll at least reach the round of sixteen.”
As expected. Their modest expectations explained why they had only prepared for double the usual volume. After all, no one could have imagined that the Korean national team would cause an upset at the 2002 World Cup. At best, people like these two presidents might have hoped the team would advance from the group stage by leveraging home advantage.
“It looks like you have a different opinion, Jae-won?”
“Yes. I believe the quarterfinals are a certainty, and even further progress is entirely possible.”
“What? The quarterfinals?”
Both men looked stunned. Given the national team’s past international performances, reaching the quarterfinals seemed impossible. That was precisely why the entire country had erupted when the team actually surpassed the round of sixteen and reached the quarterfinals. Chicken shops ran out of chicken, and supermarkets and convenience stores sold out of beer. People tried to buy live chickens at inflated prices, but unlike manufactured goods, poultry farming required time for chicks to grow.
“We need to be prepared to handle three times— no, four times the usual volume.”
At Yoo Jae-won’s words, the two men wore expressions that said “surely that’s impossible,” yet they could not bring themselves to argue. Had the report come from their own subordinates, they would have demanded explanations immediately. But this was Yoo Jae-won, the man who had performed countless miracles. In the end, both decided to prepare far more inventory than originally planned. Their trust in him was absolute.
> Chairman, the report you requested has been completed and sent.
> Additionally, internal conditions in North Korea appear unstable. A separate report has been attached.
North Korea? Had anything significant happened around this time? Searching his memories yielded nothing. Had they crossed the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea? Or were they planning a missile provocation? Since the declaration of the end of the Korean War, the peninsula’s history had entered unknown territory, rendering all knowledge gained through regression useless. Yoo Jae-won could not easily guess what was happening. He excused himself from the two presidents and immediately opened the attached file.