Episode 37: Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, comparable to Cologne.
Perhaps because it is known as one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Germany, one could frequently see elegant and modern buildings alongside statues with an antique atmosphere around the city center.
Soon, the Messe Düsseldorf exhibition center came into view through the car window. The massive hall, consisting of 12 separate halls, is a dedicated convention center located on a 200,000㎡ site on the outskirts of the city. Workers were busy setting up booths assigned to various countries. The employees, looking around, were speechless at the enormous scale.
“This place is huge. As expected of a developed country.”
“Amazing. I’m really going to participate in an exhibition here?”
Behind the exhibition center, there was a moving walkway connecting the north gate and the Messe Center directly, and various facilities such as a customer center, press room, tool shop, convenience store, and food court were in place.
“This will surely have an enormous promotional effect worldwide.”
“Probably tens of thousands of people will come. They say the budget generated from this exhibition alone is enough to cover the city’s annual budget.”
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
In Düsseldorf, a medium-sized city with a population of 600,000, exhibitions accounted for a significant portion of city revenue.
Through its business model of expos, Düsseldorf hosted about 20 trade shows annually, earning hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, when combined with related income from hotels, restaurants, and tourism, the revenue from the exhibitions was comparable to the city’s annual budget.
Despite being exhausted from the flight, Mr. Shin seemed revitalized upon seeing the grand exhibition hall.
“This place really gets people fired up. But why aren’t the Anyang Steel employees here yet? Why does it look so empty?”
Mr. Shin expressed his dissatisfaction while looking around the yet-to-be-started Korean booth. Lee Chang-jin gently soothed the impatient Mr. Shin.
“Haha. They will arrive tomorrow. Since we’ve roughly looked around the exhibition hall, let’s head to the hotel and unpack first. The equipment and materials are expected to arrive by tomorrow afternoon, so let’s get some rest today and start work after taking a breather.”
“Yes, understood, sir!”
After the long flight, they unpacked at the reserved hotel and took a day to rest. The next day, the materials and equipment needed for the exhibition arrived at the airport. As soon as the equipment arrived, employees from major companies, including Anyang Steel, came out to start the preliminary work for the exhibition.
The Anyang Steel booth was placed at the center of the Korean section, with booths for Taeyang and Mirae Group on either side.
Behind them, booths for companies like Ohsung and Cheongwoo were arranged according to their rankings in the business world.
Ohsung showcased upcoming car models, including auto parts, Taeyang displayed phonographs and vacuum tube televisions, and Mirae focused on radios and cassette players. Anyang Steel’s main products were cold-rolled steel sheets, hot-rolled steel sheets, stainless steel, steel pipes, and angles.
Anyang Steel employees decorated the exhibition hall with promotional pictures and photos, and designed the interior to match the traditional Korean atmosphere. The overall direction was handled by Manager Eom, who was dispatched as the general manager.
The setup of the small vacuum dryer, developed as a prototype by Daese Industry, was also carried out in conjunction with the booth installation. Because the opening was imminent, the work continued without a break.
As the setup was nearing completion and the opening day approached, large-scale exhibition promotions were carried out.
The city authorities, the largest shareholders of the exhibition center, provided full support for this exhibition. As the countdown began, the entire city was plastered with exhibition banners and posters, and public transportation like subways and buses became moving billboards.
On the opening day, as soon as the news spread, people began flooding into the exhibition hall. They rushed to the booths of advanced countries as if they had made prior arrangements. The booths of Japanese companies, in particular, were very popular. The position of Japanese companies in Düsseldorf was beyond imagination, with a separate Japan Day event held.
That’s because Japan had already entered Düsseldorf in the 1950s. Major trading companies like Mitsubishi and Itochu led the way, and now, major Japanese companies like Nippon Steel, Toyota, Honda, Sony, Sharp, and Sanyo were well-established in key German cities.
At the Japanese booth, three beauties dressed in kimonos took turns attending to visitors. They handed out small porcelain crafts the size of a finger, traditional Japanese sweets, and cute Japanese character goods as gifts. Watching this, Gu Chang-dong murmured enviously.
“Wow, they’re promoting very well over there. Look at the crowd.”
Other advanced country booths were also packed with people. The booths of major European countries like Germany, the host country, the UK, and France were so crowded that there was no room to step.
The highlight was the USA. Surprisingly, they had moved an entire submarine from the sea to one side of the exhibition hall. As they approached the submarine, they heard water sounds along with ping-ping sound effects, the iconic sonar sound of submarines.
People who got inside the submarine were amazed by the large screen TV showing scenes as if they were navigating the deep sea.
In addition, there were miniature models of cruisers, small warships, and F-5 model fighter jets.
Feeling overwhelmed, Seo Yohan muttered as he returned from looking around the neighboring booths.
“Look at the scale of their display. The size is different, the size. It’s a completely different class. It’s a total splurge.”
“Honestly, that’s totally unfair. We should compete fairly, but this is just…”
Mr. Shin, looking awkward in his suit, fiddled with his collar uncomfortably.
Listening to him, Lee Chang-jin also commented.
“Unfortunately, this is not a sport or a game. From the companies’ perspective, why would they spend a lot of money on promotion? It’s to sell even one more product, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. But how can we do business like this? We need at least some flies to be attracted, but they’re taking all the interest away, so no one’s even coming here.”
“Really. Is it because our booth is too far from the main area? There are way too few people here.”
Unlike the booths of advanced countries, which were bustling with people, the corners for Korea and other developing countries were relatively neglected. Even the remaining visitors showed interest only in the booths of wealthier places like Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, or Malaysia, hardly even glancing at the Korean booths.
By lunchtime, only a few people, presumably buyers from Hong Kong, had visited. Seeing the empty booths, Manager Eom repeatedly adjusted his tie, looking anxious.
“This is a big problem. I didn’t expect such a poor turnout… If President Yoo finds out, there will be hell to pay.”
Seeing Manager Eom’s anxious demeanor, Lee Chang-jin offered some advice.
“Do we have any events or souvenirs prepared in advance? I noticed other booths had female employees in traditional clothing handing out things. We also need to do something to change the atmosphere.”
“We did prepare something for tomorrow… Alright, we’ll implement it now.”
In restaurants, too, people tend to avoid places with no customers.
The employees, feeling the urgency, immediately started soliciting visitors with pamphlets in hand.
Most of the employees dispatched overseas by Anyang Steel were intellectuals, but few were fluent in conversation. Even though they knew some English, very few could speak German, so they were hesitant. However, the employees of Daese Industry were different.
“Hello, do you know Kimchi? I’m Korean, come on!”
“Hi, sexy girl, you’re so beautiful. Come here, I’ll show you something!”
The sight of Manager Gu Chang-dong enthusiastically soliciting visitors with broken English and gestures made the onlookers burst into laughter. Seo Yohan and other employees also did their best to promote with their limited English skills.
Unlike the employees of Anyang Steel who cared about appearances, the employees of Daese seemed to have no shame. Seeing this, even the employees of Anyang Steel were inspired to throw away their pride and bravely dive into the crowd.
By 1 PM, seeing Manager Eom sweating and wandering around without having lunch, Lee Chang-jin bought a sandwich and orange juice and handed them to him.
“You haven’t eaten yet, right? Please eat this first.”
“Oh, thank you. As expected, you’re the only one who takes care of me.”
Sitting in the lounge, Manager Eom took a big bite of the rye sandwich.
Chewing on the ham-filled sandwich, Manager Eom muttered as if he was finally feeling alive.
“It’s tough doing this at my age. I used to handle this kind of hard work without any problem…”
“There’s no one who can withstand overwork. Do you think you’re still in your twenties? Take care of your body. Overworking will only lead to illness.”
“Thank you. But it seems our country is still unfamiliar to these Europeans. Most of them ask where our country is located…”
“Well, it’s still like that. Our country doesn’t have much global recognition yet.”
Lee Chang-jin gave a wry smile. The international recognition of Korea in the 1970s was just about that. To foreigners, Korea was mostly unknown, and those who knew a bit of history or were educated only remembered Korea as a country devastated by the Korean War and divided.
Despite such indifference, the employees focused on promoting diligently.
Perhaps their hard work paid off, as there were significantly more people in the afternoon.
“Fortunately, the situation seems much better than before.”
“It has improved a bit, but still… It’s problematic if this continues.”
Although the number of visitors increased thanks to the employees’ efforts, it was still insignificant compared to other booths. With the exhibition lasting only 5 days, a special measure was needed.
“So, is there a way to attract attention?”
“Well, I’m not sure what we should do.”
The employees gathered to discuss the matter. Then, Gu Chang-dong, who had been listening intently, offered a suggestion.
“How about we attract attention with traditional Korean performances like sangmo spinning or pungmul (a traditional Korean percussion performance)? It would be a first-time experience for people here.”
“Pungmul? Can you elaborate?”
At Lee Chang-jin’s interest, Gu Chang-dong spoke confidently.
“I was part of a pungmul troupe in high school. This friend, Seo Yohan, is also great at sangmo spinning. We even won a gold medal in a city competition during high school.”
“Sounds good. Are there any others here who have experience with pungmul?”
Several employees from Anyang Steel raised their hands.
They were all from rural areas. Even Yong-pal joined in.
“I can play the jing (a large gong) and janggu (an hourglass-shaped drum). I used to do it a lot back in the day.”
Hearing this, Manager Eom, intrigued, muttered.
“Hmm. That sounds good. What do you think? Do you think there will be complaints about the noise?”
“I think it’s a good idea. We can get prior consent from the organizers. Doing short promotional events or ceremonies during the morning opening or lunch break should be permissible.”
“Alright. But how will we get traditional costumes and instruments?”
“We can make the sangmo and costumes from available fabrics. If needed, we can make jing or kkwaenggwari (a small gong) at a workshop. The embassy or KOTRA might have some promotional items we can borrow. Oh, it would be good to contact them for souvenirs. Also, can you arrange for a slot machine? It would be great to hold a prize event.”
Manager Eom, resting his chin in thought, responded.
“That’s quite a demanding request. Hmm… The embassy might be difficult to persuade due to their high standards. Alright, I’ll try to use all my contacts.”
“Thank you. Manager.”
“Okay, prepare as discussed. Mr. Yoo, did you get everything?”
“Yes, I’ve noted everything.”
One of the employees, who had been diligently taking notes, replied.
“Then prepare everything as discussed. Contact the higher-ups for the souvenirs and other equipment.”
“Yes, understood.”
The employees, with their tasks assigned, scattered to attract more visitors. Having walked around so much in the afternoon, the bottom of their suits was soaked with sweat. As evening approached and the exhibition hall became quieter, Lee Chang-jin gathered the exhausted employees and clapped his hands.
“Alright, let’s wrap up for today. Anyang Steel has reserved a Korean restaurant nearby, so let’s all move there. We’ll meet in the lobby in about an hour after stopping by the hotel. Take a quick shower and come out.”
“Yes, understood.”
After a quick shower in his room, Lee Chang-jin came out to the sound of the phone ringing.
When he answered, a familiar voice spoke.
“Ah, Mr. Lee, it’s Eom Gi-jun. I contacted KOTRA and the embassy, but the release of items needs approval from higher-ups, so it won’t happen immediately. It seems we won’t get it in time for the exhibition.”
“Then let’s put that on hold and focus on preparing the Samulnori (a traditional Korean percussion quartet). There are quite a few expatriates and Koreans living in Germany. Please make some calls for help. I’ll check for souvenirs through my contacts in Mannheim.”
“Got it. See you at the restaurant later.”
After finishing the call, Lee Chang-jin headed down to the lobby. He seemed to have come down too early as no one else was there yet.
Looking around the hotel lobby, Lee Chang-jin sat by the window and ordered coffee. While sipping his coffee and checking his notebook for the next contact number, he suddenly heard a swishing sound and sensed someone approaching.
“Excuse me, may I join you here?”
“Yes, of course.”
As he absent-mindedly looked up, he saw a familiar face.
The person standing in front of him was none other than Chief Success Kim of the Central Intelligence Agency.
- To be continued in Episode 38 -
