The Price of Dreams and Hopes (2)
It goes without saying, but I couldn't buy it. It wasn't that I couldn't afford it; it was that in the current situation, there was simply no time to negotiate a contract regarding the ownership of a public park. Of course, the chances of the other party selling it were slim to none anyway. Even if a deal were struck, I couldn't exactly kick out all these people. Yoon-gi knew well that while the thought had crossed his mind, it lacked any shred of realism. It was just a choice he made because the current situation was enough to make anyone sigh.
"There's no other way." Choi Cheol-ho, having seemingly come up with a good idea, looked at everyone and spoke up.
"What is it?" At Park Yeon-ji's question, Choi Cheol-ho wore a triumphant expression.
"Let's all scatter and stand in line. And only Jung-ah will ride when it's our turn."
"Is that really okay?" Park Yeon-ji asked the obvious question. Choi Cheol-ho waved his right arm lightly, as if telling her to look around.
"Look. Everyone else is doing it."
Indeed, one could see countless fathers standing in line, and whenever it was their turn, only their children would board the ride. It’s an act that would be heavily criticized if done in the 2000s, but back in the 80s—or even up until the 90s—it was a very common sight. Perhaps any parents who had elementary school-aged children in the 90s have experienced this at least once?
Thus, Yoon-gi's family scattered across the entire park. The bodyguards dispersed accordingly, and the situation was reminiscent of a covert intelligence operation.
Choi Cheol-ho and Park Yeon-ji stood in line together, and Yoon-gi and Merrill did the same. Unfortunately, Choi Ki-hyun had to stand in line with a bodyguard. When Jung-ah appeared, one person would step out, and she would take their place. It was certainly something that would be met with heavy criticism by today's standards, but since most people in the park were doing it, no one said a word. In fact, they were looking at the people standing in line for others with pity.
Before 2010, wasn't it similar to how no one said anything when women stood in line for the men's restroom at highway rest stops during the holidays? The perception of an era is a truly terrifying thing. Of course, Yoon-gi didn't know that this would be frowned upon in the future. Because he had never been to an amusement park.
'So, amusement parks had this kind of culture.'
At least Choi Deok-bae knew. 'You get criticized for that later on?'
'Ah, I see.'
Yoon-gi, who had replied as such, thought once more. 'I really should just buy one...'
It was the moment when the amusement park Jung-ah asked for as a Christmas present truly became the literal meaning of the words.
Although the whole family couldn't enjoy it together, Jung-ah had a Christmas she was satisfied with in her own way. Of course, getting out of the park was also a headache. They stayed until evening and then started their journey home, but it was past 12 o'clock when they finally arrived.
"Whew... everyone worked really hard today." Choi Ki-hyun handed out envelopes stuffed with Christmas bonuses to the exhausted bodyguards.
"Oh, my, you really didn't have to..." said the bodyguard, who was clearly white but had become practically Korean by now. Furthermore, the other bodyguards, watching the one who received the envelope, were rubbing their hands together and bowing, transcending race.
"I hope you all get to spend next year with your girlfriends or families."
"Hahaha, we prefer the money."
The bodyguards finished their shift in high spirits, and Yoon-gi's family entered the mansion.
"Where's Jung-ah?"
"She's fast asleep."
Hearing Park Yeon-ji's answer, Choi Cheol-ho let out a long sigh and slumped back against the 3-seater sofa. He turned his head to look at Choi Ki-hyun.
"Aren't you tired, Father?"
"Oh... I'm quite tired myself. Don't even have the strength to wash up... I'll be heading in now."
Even though they were a robust family, for Choi Ki-hyun, who was quite old, today was a forced march. Even Jung-ah, a child classified as having infinite stamina, was fast asleep, so there was no way Choi Ki-hyun would be fine.
"Father, please get some rest." As soon as Park Yeon-ji finished speaking, Choi Ki-hyun's door closed.
"Whew, let's just rest too. Yoon-gi, you two go in and rest as well." Choi Cheol-ho and Park Yeon-ji also went into their room. Soon, only Yoon-gi and Merrill were left in the living room.
"Whew, I need to take a shower." Even in her exhaustion, Merrill went into the bathroom, showered with hot water, and came out. Yoon-gi went in next. As expected of young people, they were steadfastly showering in a situation where it wouldn't have been strange for anyone to just pass out.
"Whew, let's get some rest too."
Of course, it wasn't that Yoon-gi wasn't tired. His body felt like lead. Yoon-gi, who laid his body on the bed to wash away the fatigue of the day... couldn't sleep. Because Merrill wouldn't let him. It was time to pay the price for having his hands fiddled with all day.
"Excuse me? You want to buy an amusement park?" For the first time in a while, Ryu Geun-tae had entered the study.
"Yes. I went to the park with my family on Christmas, and the wait was just too long. So I figured I'd just buy one."
January 1988. To be honest, Ryu Geun-tae thought it was April 1st. Because Yoon-gi's words sounded so unrealistic.
"Uh... Chairman. You do intend to operate it if you buy an amusement park, right?"
"Of course."
Ryu Geun-tae took it as Yoon-gi wanting to run an amusement park. Otherwise, the gap between Yoon-gi's intentions and his own imagination wouldn't be bridged.
"Understood. Then, you mentioned buying an amusement park, which one are you looking at?"
At Ryu Geun-tae's question, Yoon-gi pondered for a moment before answering.
"Actually, at first, I thought I should buy one. But after thinking about it, I figured it would be better to build one."
Ryu Geun-tae nodded.
"That would certainly be the case. If it's an amusement park running well, they wouldn't sell it to us, and if it's an amusement park running at a loss, there's a high probability that it's saddled with debt."
If one were to pick the greatest strength of the YK Group, it's that there is virtually no debt. Currently, it's common for other companies to have over 500 percent debt. As such, there was no reason for YK to buy an amusement park from another company that was heavily in debt.
"Actually, at first, I briefly thought about Seoul World?" Yoon-gi showed a document to Ryu Geun-tae.
"Ah, I heard that it's opening soon."
Seoul World, scheduled to open in mid-1988. Starting with Seoul World, South Korea would establish a 3-way rivalry in amusement parks, including Lotte Land. Of course, it would effectively become a 2-way rivalry by the 2010s.
"So, since it hasn't opened yet, I thought about buying it, but something felt off."
Seoul World was basically owned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, not a private company. Therefore, there would inevitably be various restrictions on future activities. Thus, rejected. Buying the public park was also rejected because there was no reason for them to sell it. Therefore, the only thing left was 'new construction'.
"So you're planning to build a new one. Should I look for some good land?"
Yoon-gi shook his head.
"No, I already have a place in mind."
"Where is it?"
"Daejeon."
It was the moment a new landmark was about to be born, excluding the one famous bakery in Daejeon.
Daejeon. A proud city that is one of South Korea's metropolitan cities. A city where, based on the 2010s, you can go down to Daegu, a city of food, via KTX, or go up to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. And a city with a bakery that is famous throughout South Korea. And... And... And... A city where the headquarters of the three military branches are located! And...? Nothing. That's right. Nothing.
Among my military subordinates, there were often those who said things like this: [Sergeant Kim, when you are discharged, please come visit Busan. I will treat you to a full course!]
Of course, it is very rare to actually go on a full-course trip just because you went down to Busan. It was empty talk to begin with. However, when 'traveling' in a place like Busan, it wasn't very difficult to plan a schedule for a day or two. Because they had the best tourist resource called the 'sea' right there.
But Daejeon? Unfortunately, it was located inland, so it didn't have tourist resources like the sea. Is food famous like in Daegu? That wasn't it either. Why on earth is it like this? The reason is simpler than you'd think. It's because the history of the city itself is short. Since it was a city created for railway logistics to begin with, the problem with Daejeon was that there were too few historical materials that could be used as 'tourist resources'. Even if logistics gathered, it was hard to get fresh ingredients. Because it was just a place where logistics gathered, not the final destination where logistics arrived.
Therefore, Daejeon mayors have long done their best to make Daejeon 'look like something'. As a result, it was a complete failure.
In 1993, the World Expo was held in Daejeon, and I thought Daejeon's status would rise, but from the 90s generation onwards, they didn't even know that the World Expo was held in Daejeon. In severe cases, even those born in the 80s didn't know. Does anyone know the amusement park called 'Dreamland'?
Dreamland, which opened in '93 and closed in 2012. Not many people know that this existed. In fact, until 2008, Daejeon Dreamland had the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Korea! However, people went to Lotte Land or Everpark, not Dreamland. Because they didn't know.
It was certainly a decent place to live, transportation was convenient, and the infrastructure was reasonably maintained due to the large population, but strangely enough, Daejeon had no special characteristics to the point where its nickname was 'the city with nothing'.
Lee Dong-gil, the mayor of Daejeon in January 1988, was also having a headache because of this. Of course, it's true that you can get by just by staying still. However, to build political achievements and rise to a higher position, there had to be clear results.
"How can I make the name of our Daejeon known?"
City Hall meeting. There, a Grade 4 official from City Hall cautiously offered an opinion.
"How about developing traditional markets further?"
In an instant, a ballpoint pen flew and hit the Grade 4 official's forehead as if it were stuck in it. Clack-!
"Argh!"
"Hey, did you take bribes again? Traditional market development, my foot. If you want to develop them, tell them to normalize their prices and goods first. What are they making a fuss about demanding development when they are the ones who pick and choose who to sell to!"
The Grade 4 official quickly shut his mouth, and the meeting remained silent.
"Haa, with subordinates like this, who can I trust to run the city?"
When Mayor Lee Dong-gil was sighing, a Grade 7 official who was waiting for a phone call outside rushed in and reported an emergency.
"Mr. Mayor! YK has contacted every city hall saying they want to build an amusement park!"