Meanwhile, Song Gil-ho, the manager of the thriving PC communication company 【Hi】, tasted defeat for the first time in his life.
Seeing the increasing number of advertisement banners on the 【Jungle】 portal site,
‘It leaves a bitter taste.’
He had to admit that the tide had turned.
So, Song Gil-ho, who was listless and silent all day as if in depression, miraculously revived the next day.
To put it accurately, he faced a significant crossroads in his life.
It was because 【Daehan Communications】, acknowledging all his contributions, had proposed to take him in.
Even though PC communication 【Hi】 is a subsidiary of 【Daehan Communications】, it wasn’t easy to transfer personnel between affiliates like moving departments, so a powerful person visited in person.
That person was Hwang Do-hoon, the head of the internet division at 【Daehan Communications】.
“We aim to complete the nationwide ISDN network within the year. But we need more people to properly drive this forward, so I came to see you personally, Manager Song. I heard you were the key contributor to 【Hi】’s vertical sales growth until last year.”
“That’s an overestimation. I didn’t do it alone.”
“You’re not only driven but also humble.”
Saying good things alone doesn’t make one an easy superior.
On the contrary, if expectations are not met, he could make a cold decision with a smile.
Moreover, it seemed like he was eager to bring Song Gil-ho along now.
‘I have to go. To evaluate it coldly, 【Hi】 has already peaked.’
Once you reach the top, the only way is down.
So, isn’t this the right time to move?
After contemplating for several days, Song Gil-ho finally made up his mind and moved to 【Daehan Communications】 without any break.
Hwang Do-hoon mentioned that the goal was to expand to a nationwide network within the year.
At least if he could assist in achieving that goal, it would mean a path to promotion here as well.
The problem arose from the first day of work.
Attending a meeting of executives above the core manager level, he heard the voices of some troubled individuals.
“Complaints are increasing because of an unknown blogger named Nostradamus.”
Nostradamus was a name Song Gil-ho had heard recently as well.
Netizens were fiercely debating his identity in the discussion rooms of PC communications.
Some netizens active in discussion rooms are close to expert levels in their fields.
So, wouldn’t they be able to debate topics related to core chips or strong dollars?
‘Come to think of it, another post was uploaded not long ago.’
He thought it might be what was being discussed in this meeting now.
And once one person started talking, others began to speak like a broken dam.
“I also checked the discussion rooms of various PC communications, and they were severely belittling the internet speed we provide.”
“The biggest problem is 【Jungle】. Many netizens are spreading Nostradamus’s posts from some of their cafes and blogs. And by expanding and reproducing this controversy, they are strengthening 【Daehan Electric Power】’s voice.”
“I met someone from 【Daehan Electric Power】 yesterday. They said they would start an internet business too and suggested a fair speed competition, knowing full well that we are the ones in the telecommunications field.”
Despite hearing various opinions, Hwang Do-hoon did not lose his smile.
Then, once the discussions ended, he said,
“You will make sure not to hear such stories again, right?”
Hwang Do-hoon seemed to have a stronger grip on the organization than expected.
His gentle tone left everyone bowing their heads without a word.
“I will meet with the ruling and opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly.”
“It’s time to visit the Ministry of Information and Communication.”
“I will contact the Blue House secretary as well.”
Moreover, they moved in unison.
Unlike 【Hi】, it seemed like they could quickly cover any issues that arose.
Would that be good for Song Gil-ho?
‘The problem needs to get more serious.’
Currently, as an outsider, Song Gil-ho couldn’t exert any power.
Therefore, instead of things going smoothly, they needed to get tangled and blocked so that the people currently in those positions would be held accountable, and he would get a chance.
‘Who knew I’d be rooting for 【Jungle】.’
To be precise, he was rooting for Nostradamus, a blogger on 【Jungle】.
He hoped that Nostradamus would continue to escalate the issue, making it difficult to solve the current problem easily.
Would his wish come true?
Not long after, in another meeting, a voice from an executive was heard.
“A café called ‘ADSL Service Promotion Headquarters’ has been created on 【Jungle】. And in just a few days, it has surpassed thousands of members.”
While everyone else’s expressions turned pale, only Song Gil-ho cheered inwardly.
In fact, the café ‘ADSL Service Promotion Headquarters’ didn’t come into being naturally.
The culprit was Lee Jung-woo, the younger brother of Lee Hyun-woo.
He, too, was always dissatisfied with the ISDN speed provided by 【Daehan Communications】.
Moreover, the fees weren’t cheap, so his dissatisfaction accumulated, and one day he came across the blog posts of the trending ‘Nostradamus’ on PC communications.
Even though there was a portal site 【Jungle】, the reason he still accessed PC communications was to avoid becoming a frog in a well, and this time he felt a sense of pride.
【Jungle】 was quickly taking away the online market share that PC communications had dominated.
So, to make this trending topic even bigger, he created the café.
He even encouraged all his acquaintances to join and asked them to spread the word.
The result was now visible.
‘It’ll surpass ten thousand members by today.’
Today, he only had morning classes, so he headed to the company right after they ended.
With a bright face, he greeted as soon as he entered the newly established second research lab.
“Hello.”
“You’re here?”
“Oh? Team Leader Lee, you’re here just in time. Look at this.”
The last person to speak was his friend, Jang Yoo-chul.
In the spirit of strictly separating work and personal life, they addressed and referred to each other formally when other staff members were around.
“What is it?”
“The café, the café. It has surpassed ten thousand members.”
He had already shared information with Jang Yoo-chul.
How many industry professionals would think that improving internet speed is urgent?
“Should we report this to the CEO?”
“Yeah, where is he now?”
“He went to 【One Computer】 for a while.”
“Then let’s tell him as soon as he gets back. But until then, there’s something we need to discuss.”
“Discuss?”
Jang Yoo-chul’s eyes sparkled.
His friend Lee Jung-woo was full of ideas.
He thought it might be inherent in their family, considering his brother Lee Hyun-woo had also constantly grown the company with his brilliant ideas.
“Isn’t the café a bit disorganized? It’s hard to find because so many new ones pop up every day.”
“There’s a search function.”
“Besides that, don’t you think we need to organize it a bit? How about grouping it by categories to make it easier to find?”
“That’s not a bad idea. Can you do it?”
At Jang Yoo-chul’s question, the second research lab staff immediately responded.
“Yes!”
“I’ll start working on it right away.”
“It seems like it won’t take long.”
In fact, meetings in this place proceeded in this manner.
It was because Lee Jung-woo had an irregular attendance.
The interesting part was that even while working on tasks, they could attend meetings.
When one staff member started off,
“The most numerous cafés are celebrity fan cafés. Should we group them under socializing?”
“Socializing sounds good.”
Someone immediately responded enthusiastically.
In 【Jungle】, they had a horizontal structure under the team leader, even though they were hired at different times due to continuous recruitment.
“Then under socializing, we should include entertainment and sports?”
“That’s not bad.”
“And combine politics and economy into one…”
“How about combining society and culture into one?”
“That sounds good too.”
In 【Jungle】, such discussions were encouraged by the corporate culture.
Rather, the CEO Lee Hyun-woo encouraged it.
He instructed to open a platform for communication without imposing one’s own thoughts.
Thus, the categories were quickly organized, and later, brilliant ideas emerged.
“How about introducing rankings?”
“Good. People love rankings. Let’s highlight the top 5 in each category prominently.”
“This might take about a week of work. But is it okay to start this way?”
The final question was directed at the two team leaders.
Immediately, Lee Jung-woo and Jang Yoo-chul nodded.
“We’ll report it to the CEO as soon as he returns, so start working on it.”
The two judged that they had enough discretion.
A little later, when Lee Hyun-woo returned to the company, they began reporting immediately.
“This is a brilliant idea. Whose idea was it?”
“The entire second research lab came up with it. Of course, it started with Team Leader Lee.”
In response to Jang Yoo-chul’s answer, Lee Hyun-woo looked at his younger brother.
In fact, Lee Hyun-woo only provided the big ideas, leaving the details to the development team.
He was always satisfied, but this time, the category-wise ranking project seemed to attract more attention, making him smile.
Then, hearing his brother’s voice,
“It’s all thanks to Nostradamus.”
He widened his eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“CEO, don’t you know? Nostradamus’s blog.”
“The CEO knows.”
“Oh, you know. Then it’s easier to explain.”
Lee Jung-woo opened his mouth with a relieved expression, as he didn’t have to give a lengthy explanation.
“There are only three posts, but all the predictions made by that blogger have come true so far. Of these, the recent one is about the speed controversy between ISDN and ADSL, which netizens are debating on PC communications.”
“Really?”
“Yes, whether ISDN is faster or ADSL is a myth, such debates have been heating up. But while I don’t know about other things, I know ADSL very well. It started in the United States…”
From this point, technical terms started pouring out, making Lee Hyun-woo’s head spin.
However, once all the explanations were over, it became easier to understand.
“Therefore, the probability of ADSL being faster is a hundred, no, a thousand times higher.”
“Then the ADSL-starting United States should have faster speeds. But as far as I know, they are slower than us.”
“The area is so vast that it got buried quickly. They just comfortably went with modems using phone lines. But our country isn’t that large, so I think it can be applied immediately. And according to Nostradamus’s post, 【Daehan Electric Power】 is going to implement it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, if they utilize towers and power lines, it will definitely speed up.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled as he knew this content well.
But Lee Jung-woo wasn’t finished yet.
“So, I created a café for the improvement of internet speed in Korea.”
“No way… you…”
“The CEO would know, right? It’s the trending topic these days.”
“ADSL Service Promotion Headquarters!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Lee Hyun-woo thought things were unfolding interestingly.
Then, the question he threw was as follows.
“So, the reason for grouping by categories and placing the top ones prominently is because of that?”
“Correct. While discussing category grouping earlier, we came up with the idea to place the ADSL Service Promotion Headquarters in the issue discussion section. It will probably rank first there. Then it will be very visible.”
“Right.”
“As more people join, the voice gets louder, and there’s no way the media won’t cover it.”
