Japan Expansion 4
Okada Sota arrived in Seoul at 10 a.m.
The pleasant, cool weather greeted him in a way that made him hum under his breath, almost without noticing. His mood had been growing lighter ever since he’d found himself a little closer to his daughter, and being abroad again after so long only deepened that easy feeling.
He had always liked Korea, really.
The reason was simple: the food.
He loved Korean dishes with their sharp, rich broths, especially when paired with makgeolli, and he was particularly fond of hanwoo yakiniku as well.
To be honest, the real reason he had come to Korea was the promise he’d made to that young president who had helped bring him closer to his daughter, along with plain curiosity. He had never truly expected GyeolBit bedding to surpass Frette.
So there was no burden in his heart, only the pleasant expectation of sightseeing at his leisure. That was why he had come alone, without even bringing a secretary.
After taking a quick look at the bedding and enjoying food and drinks nearby to his heart’s content, he planned to quietly return to Japan.
After getting out of the taxi and arriving at the front entrance of Mirae Department Store, Okada glanced at the Hangul sign instead of an English one and muttered that Korean still wasn’t something he was used to.
Still, he had already gone over the guide materials listing the store address and route several times, so he entered the department store with confidence.
The inside of a department store looked more or less the same in any country, and he had little trouble riding the escalator up to the floor with the bedding section.
Finding the store was easier than he expected.
The entire booth marked GyeolBit stood right in front of him as soon as he stepped off the escalator.
The booth, decorated with mysterious blue-and-white curved patterns, had an oddly luxurious feel to it, and before he realized it, Okada had stopped walking and stared for a long moment at the entrance.
“So this is the level of it...”
He had not expected to feel something from the entrance alone, but he slowly stepped inside the booth.
The store had been arranged with a calm, refined atmosphere.
Without flashy lighting or oversized decorations, the elegant interior in white and blue made the quilts, pillows, and bedcovers stand out even more.
Bedding embroidered with the GyeolBit logo was displayed with quiet dignity, and several VIP customers were already being consulted by staff.
“Welcome. Is there a particular quilt you’re looking for?”
“Ah... do you happen to speak Japanese?”
Okada was momentarily flustered.
He had only meant to browse casually, so he hadn’t even thought of bringing an interpreter.
At restaurants, pointing at the menu had always been enough, so he had never run into trouble before, but today, visiting the booth on his own, he realized he had made a mistake.
The clerk was just as startled.
It wasn’t English but Japanese, so after a brief moment of confusion, the clerk went inside to speak with someone.
Then another staff member approached and spoke in Japanese with a slightly awkward but perfectly understandable pronunciation.
“Is there something you’re looking for?”
At last relieved, Okada shook his head and smiled.
“Not anything specific. I’d just like to get a general look around.”
The clerk bowed slightly, smiled broadly, and began the explanation.
“Certainly. Then let me tell you about our GyeolBit bedding. The signature fabric used in GyeolBit combines French linen and a special functional textile, giving it both lightness and excellent warmth and breathability. First, if you’ll take a look around the showroom here, I’ll then guide you to the room for a hands-on experience.”
Okada first examined the showroom bed.
When he laid his palm on the quilt, the surface felt wonderfully warm and soft.
The warmth of cotton, distinct from the smooth glide of silk, gave him a natural sense of comfort.
Just from the texture alone, he could tell it was high-end bedding, on par with the finest line he had brought in and used at Frette.
“Hmm, it really is soft. You said French linen?”
“That’s right. Our independently developed French linen blend from Haesol Textile is characterized by the gentle softness of modal with the subtle natural texture of linen still alive in it. Cotton also helps maintain breathability and humidity at a consistent level, and what’s even better is that it deforms very little in washing, so the quality remains stable even after long use.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. Linen products are usually difficult to maintain. They wrinkle beautifully, of course, but after long use they often lose their shape. This one doesn’t.”
Hotel bedding, unlike the quilts at home, had the constraint of being washed every day.
Because of that, how much deformation occurred after washing was an important factor in choosing bedding.
And if this really held its shape and quality even after repeated washing, that made it even more appealing.
“Ohh, I see.”
“The most important part is how it feels when you’re actually under it, isn’t it? Shall we go this way?”
After hearing the brief explanation, Okada was guided to the experience room.
In the space, arranged like a VIP room, a queen-size bed sat in the center.
At the clerk’s suggestion, he took off his shoes and lay down under the quilt for a moment, and at once a soft cushioning sensation wrapped around his body.
“This bedding is our premium line, GyeolBit Prestige. It’s especially favored by luxury hotels. Men who run hot often find that after lying still for too long, heat rises up from the mattress or won’t escape from the quilt, and they keep tossing and turning. It’s too warm under the blanket, but if you throw it off, then you’re cold...”
“Exactly. That’s me.”
He found himself drifting deeper and deeper into the clerk’s explanation.
“Because the breathability is so good, heat escapes easily, so it stays warm and cozy without becoming stuffy, allowing you to sleep comfortably even when lying down for long periods. You could say it’s a quilt that helps you sleep deeply.”
“I see.”
Okada checked the texture of the sheet as well, and it was much more luxurious than he had expected.
He imagined what it would be like to install this bedding in a VIP suite at the Okura Tokyo Hotel and nodded.
It would surely suit the hotel’s image.
This time, he paid attention to the patterns in the bedding.
Each design was sleek and refined, and especially the blend of Eastern sensibility and Western polish was exquisitely balanced.
“How was this pattern developed? It’s quite distinctive.”
“This is the Harmony pattern, designed personally by our president. It was inspired by traditional Korean motifs, but reinterpreted in a modern way. It’s also very popular with Japanese customers.”
Okada nodded.
As a hotelier, he had an instinctive sense of what kinds of bedding customers would be satisfied with.
GyeolBit bedding would definitely give his guests a new experience.
“Thank you. I understand it very well now.”
The clerk saw him off without the slightest sign of disappointment, even though he had listened for a long time and not bought anything.
That alone made Okada feel he understood why this bedding brand had become high-end.
After finishing his experience at the store, Okada decided to tour the Haesol Textile headquarters as well.
Jung Seung-hyun did not come to the store himself, but the headquarters, having already been notified, was ready to receive Okada.
In the lobby of Haesol Textile, there were exhibits showing the development process of GyeolBit bedding and its export status at a glance.
“This way, please. We’ll show you footage of our factory and the production process.”
Guided by the publicity staff, Okada checked the company’s scale and manufacturing process.
Haesol Textile had a system that was far more organized and modern than he had expected.
“We currently export to five European countries and three Asian countries. The hotel business sector, in particular, is growing steadily.”
Okada studied the promotional materials carefully.
They were filled with images of GyeolBit bedding being sold in leading department stores across Europe.
There was no doubt it was a brand recognized in the global market.
On the plane back, Okada took out the materials he had received from Haesol Textile and looked through them again.
The quality of GyeolBit bedding was clearly beyond his expectations.
It had a charm different from Frette’s, and above all, as an Asian brand, it seemed likely to feel more familiar to Japanese customers.
Should I try introducing it to some of the suites as a test?
It would be hard to replace Frette entirely while the contract was still active, but bringing GyeolBit bedding into some rooms seemed entirely possible.
He decided that as soon as he returned to Tokyo, he would discuss it with the hotel purchasing team.
*
Meanwhile, at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek.
Major General John Whitney, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, was receiving a report from Lieutenant Colonel Henry Walker that was thoroughly absurd.
“So... you’re saying you want to talk about the Korean military’s combat uniforms?”
There was a thick note of suspicion in John Whitney’s deep voice.
With his short silver hair, he had a boisterous look, but he was surprisingly sharp in detail, and anyone reporting to him was always tense.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Walker was no exception, and sweat already dotted his forehead.
“Yes, sir. This is something I observed while commanding on the ground during the recent Korea-U.S. joint exercise.”
The lieutenant colonel snapped to attention and held out the file.
Major General Whitney took it, glanced at the cover, and tilted his head.
“‘Performance Report on the Korean Military’s New Combat Uniform’? Hm... for a lieutenant colonel to write something like this himself, there must have been a serious issue.”
“I believed it was significant enough that I couldn’t leave it unreported.”
With a serious expression, Lieutenant Colonel Walker answered and began his explanation in earnest.
“The new combat uniforms worn by Korean soldiers have been shown to be 32 percent lighter than the previous standard uniforms.”
“Thirty-two percent?”
“Yes. That has a considerable impact on preserving combat effectiveness, because it significantly reduces fatigue during training and combat. On top of that, the breathability is excellent, so the uniforms cling to the body less even in the summer heat. Even without getting into the detailed numbers, I was struck by how the actual troops moved differently than they had last year. To put it simply, under the same training intensity and the same temperature, our soldiers wore down quickly, while the Korean troops still had a noticeable margin.”
The general tapped the toe of his boot as he voiced his doubt.
“Can a light combat uniform really make that much difference? The condition of the unit members could be different, and there could be all sorts of factors, couldn’t there?”
“Of course, there may be multiple causes. But the uniforms are so light, and their ventilation and waterproofing are so good, that they were clearly advantageous in terms of sweat release and temperature control.”
“Hmm...”
General Whitney flipped through the pages and skimmed the materials.
There were photographs, graphs, and a brief technical introduction provided by the Korean side.
“Dualtex? Haesol Textile?”
He rolled the words around in his mouth.
Lieutenant Colonel Walker pressed on with enthusiasm.
“From what I found out, the new uniform uses a functional fabric called Dualtex. Its performance in hot climates is outstanding, and its durability is excellent, so even after several washes there’s almost no damage. That’s why I requested a sample.”
General Whitney bit lightly at his lip, his interest clearly piqued.
“So, Colonel, do you think this uniform is something our troops need as well?”
“Yes, sir. Not just me, either; several officers on site strongly agreed. I expect this uniform to be extremely useful not only in Asia, but in deserts, jungles, and most other regions as well. The same would go for Middle Eastern areas such as Afghanistan. If we have to carry out operations for the long term anywhere in the world, I think this kind of functional combat uniform could significantly reduce our soldiers’ physical strain.”
Silence fell for a moment.
General Whitney stared ahead, lost in a brief stretch of thought, and then his expression hardened as though he had reached a conclusion.
“All right. I’ll have the report on the Korean military uniform’s performance that you prepared sent to the U.S. Department of Defense. I don’t know what kind of response we’ll get, but it’s worth trying.”
Lieutenant Colonel Walker raised a salute with visible relief.
“Thank you, sir.”
Major General Whitney gave a crooked smile and added, “We always have to keep studying new and better things. If there’s a chance, I’d like to try wearing that combat uniform myself.”
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