As soon as he returned to Korea, Lee Hyun-woo stopped by Hannam-dong.
Although he had contacted them in advance, Kim Sung-moo and Jang Hee-jin were surprised.
This was because he didn’t bring his wife, Kim Ah-young.
“Since it’s a hassle to book a hotel, will you let me stay here for a night?”
Jang Hee-jin made a fuss.
“A son-in-law is like a guest who stays for a hundred years. Think of this as your home and rest well.”
On the other hand, Kim Sung-moo was curious about why Lee Hyun-woo, who could still catch a flight to Jeju Island late, decided to stay for the night.
Sure enough, the reason became clear after Kim Tae-hyun arrived a little later.
“Actually, I came to specially ask you to improve the mobile CPU.”
Kim Sung-moo and Kim Tae-hyun’s eyes widened.
Kim Tae-hyun, who was more knowledgeable about technology, questioned Lee Hyun-woo.
“If you say a mobile CPU, do you mean you’re planning to make a PDA or… are you aiming to make the smartphone you mentioned before?”
“Ultimately, it’s for smartphones, but for now, I’m thinking of improving the e-book reader. Something on the level of a PDA.”
“Is it okay for you to openly declare that you’ll be our industry rival?”
“Hahaha, indeed. I might be a bit shameless. But I’m asking because I believe it will help Guseong Electronics develop.”
The two quickly understood Lee Hyun-woo’s intention.
Making a mobile CPU, as he mentioned earlier, ultimately means moving towards smartphones.
In fact, there had been reports in Guseong Electronics’ research lab about improving the PDA phone recently, and surprisingly, it included the concept of smartphones that Lee Hyun-woo had been talking about for years.
Although the word “rival” was briefly mentioned, Guseong Electronics had nothing to lose.
This was because the drive for upgrading the CPU embedded in the PDA was already in place.
Moreover, moving towards the smartphone era meant the evolution of network equipment, and thanks to Lee Hyun-woo’s early encouragement, Guseong Electronics, which had already ventured into that area, could seize another opportunity for profit.
Lee Hyun-woo, noticing that they understood everything without needing further explanation, said,
“First, I plan to conduct consistent experiments in Jeju Island. The primary goal is to download content on the e-book reader, without plugging in a LAN cable.”
“To do that, you’ll need to establish a wireless network infrastructure in Jeju Island.”
“No problem. After all, Guseong Electronics will make the equipment, and SJ Telecom will provide the service.”
In the year 2000, Samjin Computer changed its group name to SJ.
Naturally, SJ Telecom was its internet communication subsidiary.
From what he heard, it seemed like they were planning to turn Jeju Island into a place where wireless internet was possible with the help of these two companies.
It wasn’t a bad idea.
If it was possible in Jeju Island, it could certainly be extended to the mainland.
Naturally, Kim Sung-moo and Kim Tae-hyun nodded and agreed to Lee Hyun-woo’s request, and the next day, when Lee Hyun-woo left for Jeju Island, the father and son met again to discuss the future he had set in motion.
Kim Sung-moo asked first.
“The sales of PDA and PDA phones aren’t that high, right?”
“Yes, especially since the e-book reader came out, the sales of PDAs have been decreasing. Since there’s some overlap…”
In any case, both the PDA and the e-book reader were made by Jungle.
Initially, there were fewer programs used on both sides, and there were differences due to parts specifications, but as the performance of the e-book reader improved over time, it inevitably affected sales.
“What do you think? Smartphones? If Jungle is preparing for it, shouldn’t we prepare too?”
“We need to control the pace. Just because we release it first doesn’t mean it will necessarily succeed.”
“Hmm… I don’t know. My instinct tells me that releasing the smartphone first wouldn’t be bad for market dominance.”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes. This isn’t just because Hyun-woo said it. I think we’ll know in a few years. When the era comes where you can read books and use the internet on your mobile phone, the company that can produce the products consumers want immediately will become a top-tier company.”
“Yes…”
“So, I hope we can release the smartphone almost simultaneously with Jungle, without falling behind.”
“Understood, father.”
From Kim Sung-moo’s perspective, he was inciting quite a satisfying competition.
He smiled at the thought of taking his grandchildren to amusement parks while watching Guseong, which his son would inherit, and Jungle, which his son-in-law was growing, advance together.
On the other hand, Kim Tae-hyun, who had to develop the smartphone himself, wasn’t quite mentally prepared yet.
‘No matter how I think about it, isn’t it too early to release the smartphone?’
As a result, progress was slow afterward.
Although he was following his father’s orders, his personal judgment that it wasn’t the right time yet prevented him from actively overseeing it, which slowed things down.
A month later, when Kim Sung-moo asked how things were going,
“I’ve instructed the design of the mobile CPU and am preparing for the upgrade of the wireless network equipment.”
He answered briefly.
He wasn’t lying. He had indeed instructed the relevant departments on both matters.
However, subordinates always pay attention to their superior’s nuances.
Especially in Guseong, where Korea’s “fast-fast” culture was most prevalent, they would gauge whether they should hurry or take it easy based on their superior’s orders.
This added layer of nuance as the order trickled down from the vice-chairman to the subsidiary president, from the president to executives, from executives to middle management, and finally to the working-level staff, which slowed things down even more.
Thus, a month had passed, but it was as if only the title had been decided.
Should it be considered fortunate?
A turning point came for Kim Tae-hyun’s change of mind.
‘Ilhan Electric’s Cord-Free Vacuum Cleaner Causes a Sensation in Japan!’
It was right after confirming that the cordless vacuum cleaner he had received from Lee Hyun-woo’s house last time had become a huge hit in Japan.
Frankly, Kim Tae-hyun couldn’t help but be surprised.
He couldn’t have imagined that a high-priced cordless vacuum cleaner costing over 2 million won would turn out like this.
‘Come to think of it, has there ever been anything that my brother-in-law touched that didn’t sell?’
It was hard to find.
Whenever Jungle was involved, it was almost a guaranteed hit, and making something Jungle recommended didn’t result in losses.
They say humans are forgetful creatures, and once again, he realized.
Lee Hyun-woo had an exceptional eye for business.
A while later, when Kim Tae-hyun met Lee Hyun-woo in Jeju Island, the first thing he did was apologize.
“Brother-in-law, I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“To be honest, the design of the mobile CPU and the upgraded wireless network equipment has just started.”
“Oh… I see.”
“Why are you reacting like that? As if you already knew?”
“No. I didn’t know. Rather, I’m happy because it’s faster than I expected.”
It was true. Having experienced a previous life, Lee Hyun-woo, who had returned to the past, knew there were countless things to address if he wanted to speed things up.
Since it wasn’t his first time working with Kim Tae-hyun, things had never progressed at the pace he wanted.
So, hearing that the design had started after a month made him maintain a calm expression.
“If my brother-in-law is happy, then I don’t feel the same way. For some reason, it feels like I’m always playing in the palm of your hand.”
“That’s not true. I always know how busy you are. While I would like the things I mention to be prioritized, I’m not offended if they’re not, so there’s no need to come down personally to apologize.”
“That means you’ve even calculated my reaction speed. Well, I understand. Actually, besides the apology, I came down because I thought understanding your intentions fully would speed up the work.”
Hearing that, Lee Hyun-woo chuckled inwardly.
‘Does he want me to explain it all over again?’
Even though he had recited countless times how the world would change with just one smartphone, it seemed the memories of those who heard it kept resetting.
Without showing any sign of displeasure, Lee Hyun-woo explained everything in detail from start to finish.
“Ah, right, right. That’s the world you dream of. Watching videos on a smartphone while moving, and ordering items in the morning to have them arrive that evening…”
After explaining some of the most characteristic things one could do with a smartphone, Kim Tae-hyun looked at Lee Hyun-woo with much more understanding than before.
“Okay, I understand. I’ll do my best to bring the world you dream of closer, and I’ll work hard to ensure that Guseong Electronics remains Jungle’s partner in innovation.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled again.
‘It feels like he’s subtly declaring that he wants a piece of the pie too.’
Well, it didn’t matter. After all, he had come to his in-laws’ house immediately after returning from the U.S. to accommodate that.
Actually, it was because it was Guseong Electronics that the response speed was relatively fast.
SJ Telecom, which he had contacted around the same time, had no news, and Hwang Do-hoon, the team leader who was asked to coordinate with the government departments, spoke up a few days later.
“Well… The Ministry of Science and Technology contacted us, saying they’ll soon commission a study…”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m not saying we want to commercialize wireless internet immediately; I mean we want to be the testbed…”
Even the person trying to convey Lee Hyun-woo’s intentions didn’t understand.
Internet communication and such were practically key industries, so government approval was necessary.
Since the approval for the industry also had to be judged based on profitability, Jungle meant to be at the forefront and face trial and error directly.
“So, there’s no need to commission any studies.”
“Then the cost…”
“We’ll bear that too.”
“There might be… some losses…”
“There will be. But didn’t I say this is an investment? By going through trial and error and experiencing failure, we’ll have a lot to learn and gain.”
“Oh… I see. Understood. Then I’ll discuss it again with the Ministry of Science and Technology.”
“Again, there’s no need to publicize it. Just inform the Ministry of Science and Technology about living with wireless internet in Jeju Island.”
After repeating this explanation several times, he managed to get government cooperation.
Although he said there was no need to publicize it, it seemed that Hwang Do-hoon and the Ministry of Science and Technology had formed some secret agreement, as the following headline appeared in the newspaper.
‘Jeju, Becoming the Testbed for Wireless Internet?’
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled.
‘Well, I said there was no need to publicize it, not that they shouldn’t.’
Since skipping the middle steps sped up the process, this time he intended to skip the promotion.
However, Hwang Do-hoon’s media play led to active participation from SJ Telecom.
Although this process took some time, the world didn’t change that quickly.
As mentioned briefly when he met Kim Tae-hyun, it was much faster than before, so Lee Hyun-woo was rather satisfied.
It was approaching the summer of 2000, and finally, the preparation for the testbed for the wireless internet infrastructure was complete.
