After Chairman Park Jin-yong left, Lee Hyun-woo closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
Actually, the outlook for the network equipment he was looking at was very promising.
‘There’s a reason why 【GB Electronics】 entered the market.’
Moreover, if they jumped in, 【Guseong】 wouldn’t just sit idly by.
His prediction was spot on.
The headline of the morning newspaper he received the next day read:
『【Guseong Electronics】 Enters the Network Equipment Business』
A gentle smile appeared on Lee Hyun-woo’s lips.
Then, a slight worry crossed his mind.
‘But won’t this affect semiconductors or mobile phones? And what about home appliances? PDP, LCD, LED, etc.? Will they cut funding for such developments?’
Thinking up to this point, Lee Hyun-woo quickly shook his head.
That wouldn’t happen.
The one place in the world that doesn’t need to be worried about is a conglomerate group.
‘Probably, 【Guseong】 will reduce investment in cars. 【GB】 originally had massive plans for overseas production bases this year, but they might adjust the pace.’
Even if that wasn’t the case, there seemed to be no need to worry further.
During the foreign exchange crisis, they seized the opportunity to rise higher, so it’s certain that in this life too, companies like 【Guseong Electronics】 and 【GB Electronics】 will move in a better direction.
‘Yes, rather than those places, it’s better to see how other places are progressing.’
The “other places” here refer to non-conglomerate companies.
There were venture companies, but three places he had connections with came to mind.
First, as he mentioned to Kim Ah-young, 【Won Computer】 had already shown results.
They had signed contracts with three companies like 【Daehan Telecom】, 【Daehan Electric】, and 【Samjin Computer】, and Kim Yoon-soo would be extremely busy throughout the first half of the year handling the volume.
Moreover, since Kim Yoon-soo’s father had invested, there was no need to worry about funding.
‘Also, 【Samjin Computer】 had a stable financial base, so there shouldn’t be any worries for the time being.’
Of course, there was a reason why Lee Hyun-woo specifically said “for the time being.”
It was because of his past life experiences.
Chairman Park Jin-yong of the ambitious 【Samjin Computer】 had once driven the company into crisis with unnecessary expansion, and had ruined the business by entering the U.S. market and releasing a ridiculous mobile phone.
‘That’s why I’ve been advising him, but who knows how long this will last.’
The persuasion difficulty, compared to Kim Yoon-soo, was probably ‘medium.’
Because Kim Yoon-soo was so easily swayed, anyone else would be ‘medium’ or higher in comparison.
Still, knowing Chairman Park Jin-yong’s character well, he felt he could steer him in the right direction just like yesterday.
That left the last place.
That was 【Alpha Cast】.
‘This place depends on the success of the MP3 player.’
He did not doubt the success.
Anyone, not just Lee Hyun-woo, if they went back to the past, would be certain of the commercial success of the MP3 player.
He just wanted to speed things up a bit more.
‘Let’s think about this a bit more.’
After much thought, Lee Hyun-woo sent an advertisement to the development team the next day.
“Manager Jang, I’ll cover the advertising cost for the MP3 player, so put up a banner. On the first page.”
Even though 【Jungle】 and Kim Ah-young had invested, 【Alpha Cast】 did not have the financial power to advertise on a portal site.
Moreover, at the moment, they were focused on production facilities, so Lee Hyun-woo decided to take the bold step.
“Huh? But, one banner on our 【Jungle】’s first page costs over 10 million won these days.”
Jang Yoo-chul widened his eyes, reminding Lee Hyun-woo of the cost.
However, Lee Hyun-woo remained calm.
“I know.”
“But you’re going to cover the banner cost?”
“Instead, we won’t use an advertising model.”
“……”
“Anyway, design it appropriately and put it up. Oh, and include a real image of the MP3 player.”
“Are you going to inform 【Alpha Cast】 about this?”
“Tell them. But don’t say that I paid for it.”
“Then what excuse should I give?”
“Just say it’s free for the first month or something.”
“Haha…”
Jang Yoo-chul laughed in disbelief.
‘But this means it’s worth the investment, right?’
【Jungle】 had already invested 1 billion won in 【Alpha Cast】.
Since the company’s value hadn’t been established yet, it was believed to be around 20% of the shares.
However, Lee Hyun-woo had said he would only claim 5% later.
‘If 5% is 1 billion won, that means 【Alpha Cast】 would be a 20 billion won company at least.’
Will it really turn out that way?
He was very curious.
The results would be shown by the sales of the MP3 player.
Thinking up to this point, Jang Yoo-chul contacted Jung Sung-woo directly that afternoon.
(Hello?)
Since Jang Yoo-chul was the developer of the MP3 file, he often met Jung Sung-woo and gave advice on the MP3 player design.
They had become quite close,
“It’s me, hyung.”
He now called him hyung.
(Oh, Yoo-chul. What’s up?)
“I’m calling to inform you about the banner advertisement going up tomorrow.”
(Ba… Banner advertisement? Did we apply for that? Did Manager Jung do it?)
Manager Jung referred to Jung Ji-hoon, who was Lee Hyun-woo’s senior in college.
Since he had earned Jung Sung-woo’s trust and handled most tasks at 【Alpha Cast】, he had a lot of authority, so Jung Sung-woo was asking if he had handled the advertisement.
Since it wasn’t true, Jang Yoo-chul quickly replied.
“No. The CEO told us to start it. Since the first month is free, it seems we’ll put it up and then decide on the second month.”
(Really? The first month is free?)
“Yes, but not for all. Only for partnered companies.”
As Lee Hyun-woo had said, he quickly made up an excuse, and Jung Sung-woo accepted it without suspicion.
(I see. But how much does a banner advertisement cost originally?)
“These days, it’s on a weekly basis. It’s 2.5 million won.”
(Wow… Jeez, 【Jungle】 is really raking in the money. They don’t just run the portal site. They do online shopping too…)
“Yes, so how many products are you going to put up on the online shopping? Actually, that’s the main point.”
(Oh, that? Well, about ten thousand?)
“What? Haven’t you been producing for quite some time? Ten thousand seems too few.”
The original release was scheduled earlier.
However, they only planned to distribute 3,000 units, leading to numerous negotiations and discussions.
The conclusion was to gather more and then release.
Since more time had passed since then, ten thousand seemed too few.
‘This is absurd.’
Unable to express his thoughts, Jang Yoo-chul sighed in frustration.
“Phew…”
(We’ve gathered thirteen thousand units now. But if we distribute some to Yongsan and other online shops, we can only do about ten thousand.)
“No, that’s not right.”
(Huh? What’s not right?)
“We need to focus everything on 【Jungle Shopping】. Since it’s next week, you can produce fifteen thousand units, right? Let’s put them all up.”
(…….)
It seemed absurd.
There was no sound from the other end of the receiver.
Inevitably, Jang Yoo-chul felt the need to recount an old story.
“Hyung, have you heard of a place called 【Won Computer】 among our close connections?”
(I’ve heard it countless times.)
“They initially had an event with a thousand units. From what I remember, they sold out in three days.”
(Really?)
“The problem was that orders kept coming in even though they hadn’t produced everything yet. So, they sent emails and posted notices about the delay, causing quite a commotion. The 【Won Computer】 CEO worked night shifts to meet the demand.”
(Wow… Jeez, they must have been swimming in money all of a sudden.)
“Of course. They’re doing well these days. They probably topped the list of budget computer companies within a year of starting.”
It was an undeniable fact.
They had even given an interview not long ago.
“And there’s also 【Samjin Computer】. They had an event with ten thousand units, splitting them into a thousand units each, and they sold out in no time.”
(Wow, listening to you makes me feel swayed. Alright, I’ll put up fifteen thousand units.)
“Ah, that’s too much. We don’t want to overextend and end up with unsold units, so let’s go with fifteen thousand for now.”
(Alright. I’ll trust you and go with that.)
“Okay, I’ll proceed with that.”
After hanging up the phone, the frustrated look on Jang Yoo-chul’s face finally disappeared.
That afternoon, Jang Yoo-chul reported the related content to Lee Hyun-woo.
“Fifteen thousand units?”
“Yes, although it’s a completely new product, I think it will sell quite well.”
“If it doesn’t sell, you’re responsible, right?”
“Huh? No, CEO…”
Jang Yoo-chul’s confidence came from Lee Hyun-woo’s investment and the free banner.
But when Lee Hyun-woo put it that way, he suddenly felt weak.
“I’m joking, joking. Geez, you’re so timid. Proceed. I think it’ll sell out in a week. Oh, before that, call the newspaper reporters.”
“Again?”
“Yes, I think if I advertise once, it’ll sell out faster.”
Hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s words, Jang Yoo-chul’s expression brightened.
‘Our basement will be filled with reporters again.’
Once again, it hit him how ingenious Lee Hyun-woo was.
He even knew how to advertise the MP3 player without spending money.
Indeed, when they called the reporters and conducted interviews about the upcoming era of MP3 players, the related headlines quickly spread.
『Lee Hyun-woo Makes Bold Investment in MP3 Player Manufacturer 【Alpha Cast】』
『Will the Era of MP3 Players Really Come?』
Lee Hyun-woo even subtly leaked the information that 【Guseong Group】 had invested in 【Alpha Cast】.
Since Kim Ah-young had invested, it wasn’t a lie.
Naturally, related content also adorned the headlines, and even foreign news covered the story.
Among foreign news, Japan was particularly sensitive to MP3 players.
Recently, Korean electronics had been rising rapidly, causing considerable wariness.
So, Honda Yoshiya, a reporter from 【Japan Gei Zai Shimbun】, quickly contacted the headquarters and faxed the article.
『South Korea Opens a New Market for Music Distribution, Now Entering the Global Market with MP3 Players?』
This title was released as an article.
Honda Yoshiya, who had been a correspondent in Seoul for about half a year, couldn’t wait even two days and contacted someone.
“Senior Sasaki?”
The person was Sasaki Masahiro, a key executive at Japan’s leading group 【Sonic】.
(Oh, Yoshiya? What’s up?)
“Did you see my article?”
(Oh, that one…?)
The reaction was lukewarm.
He should have been tense and wary.
(I saw it.)
“How is your company reacting?”
(Well… not much.)
“Not much? The era of ‘Walkman’ might be over!”
【Sonic】’s iconic portable cassette player, Walkman.
The combined sales exceeded 300 million units.
Mentioning the end of that era, he heard laughter.
(Well, you and I have different thoughts. Besides, we’ve already dominated the CD player era, so thanks for the concern, but I’ll pass on the worry.)
His senior’s reaction showed he was underestimating MP3 players.
Honda Yoshiya couldn’t help but frown.
‘What are they going to do? The standard for music playback devices might shift to Korea.’
In the past year or two, Korea had made tremendous technological advancements that Japan could no longer ignore.
Foreign companies were preparing to invest.
He knew this because he heard it from other correspondents from the U.S. or Europe.
There were many small innovative companies in Korea to invest in.
Naturally, Japanese companies shouldn’t rest on their laurels but prepare for the future.
Otherwise, the millennium era of information and communication would likely be led by Korea.
So, he explained more to Sasaki Masahiro,
(Okay, I get it. I get it. Let’s have a meal when you come back to Japan. I’ll treat you.)
It felt like his words were being brushed off.
After hanging up, he couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Phew, at this rate, 【Sonic】 will end with Walkman as a legend?’
As an economic journalist who loved Japan, he was very worried.
Japanese companies seemed to be underestimating MP3 players too much.
‘They have a misconception. If it sells well in Korea, it will sell well in the U.S. and Japan too.’
This had been the trend for the past few years.
That’s why companies like 【Guseong Electronics】 and 【GB Electronics】 were advancing day by day.
‘Let’s say it’s because they’re large companies.’
What if an unknown company called 【Alpha Cast】 released an MP3 that turned the world upside down, and it caused a tremendous reaction?
‘Korea will experience unstoppable growth through the harmony of large corporations and small innovative companies.’
Will his prediction come true?
As soon as the MP3 player was listed on 【Jungle Shopping】 over the weekend, it started selling at an astonishing speed.
