The Exchange Rate is Dropping?
The Exchange Rate is Dropping?
Seoul's sky was exceptionally clear.
Numbers on the news filled the air.
Exchange rate: 900 won range.
The Won-Dollar exchange rate, which once hovered over 1,300 won, had now fallen to an unbelievable figure. At first, people doubted the number, then they cheered, and now... they were just accepting it as a matter of course.
But at the center of that change, there was a single reason.
A dementia treatment. Neurogen.
The news anchor was speaking with a bright expression.
"Today, the number of foreign patient arrivals has hit an all-time high."
The news anchor's voice, flowing from the restaurant TV, spread calmly. But it was always a pleasant sound to hear. After all, it was only natural that news anchors were chosen for having good voices. And they were people with crisp, accurate pronunciation, too.
People were watching the TV while eating.
The highway leading directly from Incheon Airport was always jammed. But the reason was no longer because of the daily commute.
Ambulances. Dedicated medical shuttles. VIP vehicles.
"Wow, this is seriously no joke..."
"I went there once, and it's jammed every single day. It used to only be jammed on holidays, but now it's hell, pure hell."
"They say things that can't even be treated in the US are being treated here... The medical industry must be making a killing."
"Life is more important than money, so that's only natural. Dementia is a disease that strikes regardless of whether you're rich or poor."
Dollars poured in. Euros poured in. Even Middle Eastern oil capital flocked in.
As that money was converted into Won, the exchange rate fell endlessly. It was practically bad news for export companies, but for the common people, it was welcome enough to make them cheer.
When the exchange rate drops, export competitiveness falls, but in return, only good news was heard regarding prices and the general economy for the common people.
The Republic of Korea had ended up becoming the world's hospital.
Dementia patients from all over the world flocked to the Republic of Korea.
A single dementia treatment had ended up changing the landscape of the Republic of Korea.
Furthermore, the dementia treatment wasn't a one-time cure. The medicine had to be taken consistently. That meant that foreign dementia patients had to enter the Republic of Korea unconditionally once every three months.
It wasn't that tens of millions of dementia patients all came to Korea. After all, the price of Neurogen was insanely expensive. It was a treatment that was difficult for the average commoner to afford.
But for dementia patients in Europe or the US, it was money they could sufficiently afford to pay. Since they were countries with higher average GDPs and higher salaries than the Republic of Korea. When they earn over 10 million won a month, what's 3 million won?
Perhaps that's why dementia patients from Europe and the US poured in like a tidal wave.
And it wasn't just dementia patients who came. Naturally, dementia patients were elderly people of advanced age. Would they have sent the elderly to the unfamiliar country of the Republic of Korea alone? Of course, their children followed them too.
It was no different from one dementia patient bringing two or three guardians to the Republic of Korea.
Over the past half year, one million dementia patients alone had entered the Republic of Korea. They had come to Korea after hearing the news that a dementia treatment had been developed. If you counted their companions, it was over several million.
If there were this many patients from the Republic of Korea, it wouldn't have been very good. It would have been the same as saying health insurance would be sucked dry and soon become taxes. The finances of health insurance were limited, and they weren't exactly flush with cash.
But for foreigners to whom health insurance didn't apply, that didn't apply at all. On the contrary, the more foreign patients came, the better. It made the health insurance finances robust.
Even though hospital bills jumped three to four times higher since medical insurance didn't apply, the dementia patients coming here didn't care about that. They had come because their lives were at risk in the first place.
[Restore your memories. Recover your life.]
[Welcome...]
English was written on the hospital signs instead of Korean.
Psychiatry departments faced an unexpected boom. Waiting in line was the default, and sometimes, the entire day's schedule for patient consultations would be booked up just from morning registrations. It was already a promising profession, but the competition had become even fiercer.
Of course, the Republic of Korea government didn't go around promoting it or anything.
Because it was a dementia treatment whose stability hadn't been verified yet.
The moment the government stepped up to promote it and some fatal side effect was discovered, the Republic of Korea government would have to take immense responsibility. So, while they might promote it indirectly, they didn't promote Neurogen directly by putting the Republic of Korea government's name on it.
Nevertheless, dementia patients sought out the Republic of Korea. Because it was the only treatment in the world that could restore memories. It didn't exist anywhere else.
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"Noona. You said I should do it like this, right?"
"Wow! Jaeseong-ah, you're doing great?"
Mina was diligently teaching Jaeseong. Jaeseong's motivation for studying was immense. Moreover, his intelligence was as decent as his enthusiasm. He might not be a genius who understands ten things when taught one, but he was an honor student who could easily digest three or four.
Even just this much was an immense achievement. However, as time went on, the illusion that Jaeseong's study ability was superior grew stronger.
Should I say he had more talent for studying now, a few months later, than on the first day? Jaeseong didn't know much on the first day, but now he knew how to apply formulas rather than just memorizing them, and he also showed various outstanding skills.
At least in the math that Mina was teaching, Jaeseong's ability was real. It wasn't impossible for Jaeseong to reach his goal of medical school.
"If you just do it like this, the CSAT won't be a problem, Jaeseong-ah."
"Really? I hope so."
They studied hard for an hour. After studying this much, it was time to get a little hungry and for blood sugar to drop. It wasn't a saying that applied to the young Jaeseong, but Mina was a little tired. Jaeseong noticed Mina's condition and scurried to the kitchen.
"Ah, Jaeseong-ah! I told you, you don't have to!"
"It's okay, Teacher. I should at least do this much for you."
Jaeseong opened the refrigerator door and took out a drink. Then he put the high-end snacks scattered on the table onto a tray. Jaeseong had prepared it alone. When Soyeon was there, Soyeon would prepare it, but since Soyeon had gone out for external activities like today, Jaeseong had to do it.
He had thought about hiring a housekeeper, but perhaps because there were many secrets, it was a bit... It was too much of a waste to use a Cultured Human as a housekeeper. There were not even a few hundred Cultured Humans as it was, so he planned to entrust the house cleaning to them later when the number of Cultured Humans increased.
Perhaps because Soyeon was diligently buying energy even now, the functions of the Medical Ship were being unlocked one by one.
"Delicious."
Mina enjoyed the break time with Jaeseong. Perhaps because she was a high school freshman, she had plenty of leeway. Even now, Jaeseong was going through the high school sophomore curriculum. Should I call it advanced learning?
He had already learned more than enough of the math taught to high school freshmen. Jaeseong didn't just study when he had tutoring. Even after tutoring ended, he spent 3 to 4 hours studying separately. There was nothing else to do anyway.
He had no interest in games, and he was still too young to go out into society. He wanted to become 20 years old quickly and enter society. He already had this much money, so he couldn't imagine how much more money would pile up by then.
Perhaps he could become the richest person in the Republic of Korea. Not by calculating stocks, but by calculating cash alone.
"Noona. Do you want to go for a drive?"
"A drive?"
"Yes. Since I've only been studying, my body feels stiff."
"Shall we?"
Jaeseong smiled and led Mina to the garage. The garage was full of famous foreign cars. Since Jaeseong couldn't drive, they were doing it in a way where Mina drove instead. At first, Mina trembled in fear when she saw the foreign cars.
Because it would be a big deal if she had an accident while driving. Mina wasn't a "closet license" holder, but she wasn't bold enough to drive a foreign car worth billions of won either. The car Mina owned was a common mid-sized car.
Should I call it the kind of car that young people starting their careers drive? She had even bought it used. It didn't even cost 5 million won.
If someone told her to drive a foreign car worth billions of won, her heart would naturally sink.
But after hearing from Soyeon that it didn't matter even if she totaled the car, and getting a definitive answer, she had been driving the cars without burden. Since it was insured and the car owner had said they didn't care if it got scratched, Mina had nothing to be self-conscious about.
On the contrary, the mere fact that she could drive such an expensive car was exciting.
Perhaps that was why she was secretly looking forward to Jaeseong's words.