Chapter 114: Channel 7
Chapter 114: Channel 7
Back when my entire fortune was in crypto, I experienced my wealth multiplying by ten, even twenty times in a short period.
In one year, I launched several businesses and tasted the sweetness of success.
‘My heart’s been trained in so many ways, there's nothing left to fear.’
I used to think that just having 100 million won would be great, but now I had 100 million dollars set aside for retirement.
I had perfectly secured the conditions to be happy even if I failed.
―Kim Shin: I bought a large building in Los Angeles.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Really?
―Kim Shin: Yep. It’s a 35-story building. I’m a landlord now.
―Oh Myeong-woo: I’m jealous.
―Kim Shin: When I buy a building in San Francisco, I’m thinking of gifting it to you.
Considering everything he had done as the vice president of Earth Resource, a large building might not even be enough.
Without Oh Myeong-woo, I wouldn't have achieved even half of my current success. I might have even failed in business.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Are you serious?
―Kim Shin: I am. I’ll handle all the tax issues perfectly and hand it over to you.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Hmm…
He was silent for a long while, perhaps moved.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Are you trying to buy my affection with money?
―Oh Myeong-woo: It’s too much money to refuse.
As long as Oh Myeong-woo continued to work as vice president, I'd probably have to keep buying him buildings.
After sharing a light joke, we started talking business.
―Kim Shin: Are we ready to launch Channel 7?
―Oh Myeong-woo: Technically, yes. But we’re still short on staff. And we’re about to surpass 300 million subscribers soon.
It was true that Earth Channel's subscriber count was a bit inflated.
This was thanks to the low $5 fee, new services, and the constant media coverage of *Top Gun* and our Korean content.
Users from the greater China region were also signing up in droves.
‘I can’t get hung up on China.’
We had technically prepared ways to circumvent the Chinese government's blocking measures. Nevertheless, I decided to think of any revenue from China as just a bonus.
The moment I became attached, I would be at their mercy.
―Kim Shin: Let’s open Channel 7.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Really? If we’re not thoroughly prepared, we could run into service errors. We have no idea how many videos people will upload or how much traffic it will generate.
Content like broadcasts or movies was consumable.
Even with masterpiece films or dramas, people who had watched them once wouldn't seek them out again right away.
On video platforms like YouTube, users uploaded countless videos and consumed them frequently.
Even with just 50 million users, the traffic could increase severalfold.
―Oh Myeong-woo: It’s a problem even if we fail. If Channel 7 flops, a ton of articles will come out about its failure, and users will turn away. It could have a negative impact on all of Earth Channel.
As the saying goes, a good start is half the battle.
If a service failed in its early stages, it was difficult to build momentum again.
Before my vacation, I would have hesitated, but after a good rest, I was brimming with energy and confidence.
―Kim Shin: Don't feel too pressured. It's not like our chances of success will dramatically increase just by delaying it.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Well, that's true.
―Kim Shin: Let's launch it as an open beta. Users might be a little more understanding.
―Oh Myeong-woo: That’s a decent idea. People tend to forgive open beta games for being full of bugs as long as they’re fun.
―Kim Shin: Exactly. And when we receive ad revenue, we need to distribute the profits to the people who uploaded the videos.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Of course. Who would upload for free?
One of the secrets to YouTube's success was sharing ad revenue with its content creators.
As a result, it created a whole new profession, with YouTubers earning tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.
It had even reached a point where "YouTuber" was ranked as the most desired job among elementary school students.
―Kim Shin: Let’s pay the ad revenue in Source Coin.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Really?
―Kim Shin: We need to increase the issuance to stabilize the price of Source Coin anyway. We can't pay the entire ad revenue in Source Coin, but up to a maximum of 10%.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Given the response to Source Coin so far… the streamers are going to go wild.
―Kim Shin: That's the point.
It would increase the coin's issuance to curb its price rise, while also helping Earth Channel's business succeed.
‘There’s an easy way to make this a hit. Is there any need to save it for later?’
Do what can be done.
Failure is possible, but just worrying about whether something will work without even trying is meaningless.
‘If coin prices are on an upswing… I should make proper use of that.’
And there was one more bold decision I had made during my vacation.
As soon as I finished my conversation with Oh Myeong-woo, I sent a text to someone else.
―Kim Shin: Still busy, I assume?
―Allison: Yes, we are. The entire department has been working overtime and on weekends to prevent items from staying sold out on the shopping site.
The shopping division.
It had become Earth Resource's key cash cow.
The employees had too much to handle, but hiring new staff wasn't happening as quickly as we wanted.
―Kim Shin: The department store you used to work at. I saw in the news that it went bankrupt recently.
―Allison: Yes. I heard from a former colleague that they tried hard to hang on, but the accumulating deficit eventually led to bankruptcy.
With the rise of online shopping and the outbreak of COVID, the American department store industry had entered a period of severe recession.
It was a dark age where Macy's, the largest department store chain in the U.S., had most of its employees on unpaid leave and drastically downsized its stores, while luxury department stores were preparing to file for bankruptcy protection.
―Kim Shin: I’m thinking of acquiring that bankrupt department store in its entirety.
―Allison: Excuse me? Are you planning to enter the department store business?
―Kim Shin: I’m not aiming for the offline market. I plan to integrate the department store into Earth Resource's shopping division.
The plan was to acquire the department store and utilize its stores and employees within the shopping division.
―Kim Shin: We’ll be able to recruit employees with experience in shopping and online sales. And we can transition a significant portion of the department store's inventory to be sold online.
―Allison: That’s true.
―Kim Shin: The department store buildings can be used as warehouses and shipping centers, while still conducting regular sales to customers.
―Allison: That’s a very big business venture.
It was a move to swallow a department store chain with six large locations in California alone.
―Kim Shin: It is. Would you be willing to take charge of this, Allison?
It would be a difficult task for me to do, but I could just have a capable employee do it.
―Allison: It’s what I used to do, so I believe I can handle it.
―Allison: But what about the employees who haven't been paid for months due to the bankruptcy, or those who were laid off?
In the United States, a job was incredibly important.
―Kim Shin: We'll bring the employees over as they are. Earth Resource has no need for layoffs.
A moment later, a text came.
―Allison: Thank you. They are my former colleagues, and some are people I was as close to as family.
―Allison: I'll work even harder for Earth Resource.
The shopping division was already severely overworked.
I was worried we might be violating U.S. labor laws, so I couldn't imagine how much harder she intended to work.
I decided to just accept the sentiment.
―Kim Shin: Please, just keep doing what you’re doing.
―Allison: Yes…
After texting Allison, a thought occurred to me.
‘Is this really a vacation?’
It felt like I had come on vacation only to continue working.
Of course, after I made the important decisions, it was other people who did the actual work.
I waited until it was lunchtime in Korea and sent a text to Jo Soo-ah.
―Kim Shin: I’m going to acquire a department store.
―Jo Soo-ah: A department store?
―Kim Shin: Yeah. The shopping business is doing so well. I’m going to try to grow it even more.
Sometimes, I felt like a little kid wanting to show off.
Talking with Jo Soo-ah helped me relax and put my mind at ease.
She was someone who liked me back when I was poor, not for the immense wealth I had now.
Only with time did I begin to realize how precious such a person was.
“Sir.”
“Yes?”
As I was exchanging texts with Jo Soo-ah in the garden, Lee Jong-yeop came running over with an urgent look on his face.
“President-elect Biden wants to meet with you, sir.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We received a direct call from the President-elect's chief of staff. It’s a formal invitation.”
* * *
After being discharged from the hospital, Dr. Lee Ho-yeon had been living at the Biolife research lab.
He ate simple instant meals and caught naps in a corner of the lab.
Together with the other researchers, he conducted suitability and analysis tests on candidate substances for the AI Surin's COVID treatment.
“Ho-yeon, a COVID vaccine has already been released. Why not use your talents for cancer or other incurable diseases?”
Many researchers, including Professor Paul, were part of Biolife.
Despite their attempts to dissuade him, Lee Ho-yeon's focus remained solely on COVID.
“COVID isn't over yet.”
“But there's a vaccine. Pfizer is releasing one next month, too. And countries like South Korea have managed to contain the damage with thorough quarantine measures.”
“That’s right. Ho-yeon, you’re pushing yourself too hard. Your body won’t be able to take it.”
Lee Ho-yeon acknowledged the validity in their words but didn't want to change his mind.
“The risk of the coronavirus will gradually decrease thanks to the vaccine. But the more people are infected, the higher the chance of a mutation.”
“Usually, mutations result in lower fatality rates and higher infectivity.”
“What if a mutation appears that increases the fatality rate, like MERS?”
He always operated by assuming the worst-case scenario.
* * *
The official term for the U.S. president begins on January 20th, so there were still two months left.
An invitation from the President-elect, who was busy meeting many people, was a significant event, but it was also something I had expected to happen.
Nevertheless, I used the help of Washington lobbying groups to find out the reason.
“It seems he’s invited not just you, sir, but also bank presidents and big shots from Wall Street.”
“So it’s not a one-on-one meeting.”
It was a little disappointing, but also a relief, as there was less pressure.
“It seems he’s planned a meeting with financiers. You can probably just exchange greetings, listen to some pleasantries, and leave, don’t you think?”
“I suppose so.”
Many people attended, including famous fund managers and investors from Wall Street.
It was a gathering that also included the presidents of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America—men who had been bankers for decades—as well as high-ranking officials from the Treasury Department.
* * *
Earth Channel posted an announcement on its main screen.
―Video services will begin next week.
Earth Channel had secured over 300 million users. Perhaps due to its influence, news articles began to appear immediately.
<Earth Channel Announces Open Beta for User-Generated Video Service>
<After Dominating the OTT Market, Earth Channel’s Next Move is a Video Platform>
<Earth Channel, Growing at a Terrifying Pace, Expands into the Video Platform Market>
Starting with the American media, articles were published in every country where Earth Channel was available.
While most reactions noted that Earth Channel's service expansion was faster than expected, the public's attention was focused on something else.
―They’re giving out Source Coin?
―That’s insane. 10% in Source Coin?
―So if you earn 100 million won, you can get 10 million won in Source Coin?
―Isn’t that Source Coin actually worth way more than 100 million?
―Totally possible, looking at the market price.
―Just hold Source Coin and it goes up. Today’s the cheapest it'll ever be.
―Looks like they’re dead set on devouring the entire video market.
―And you don’t like that?
―No… I fucking love it.