CH10 : David

"Welcome to the Bando Art Gallery."

"I came to see the paintings."

"Yes, please feel free to look around."

For the average person, the easiest way to enter the Bando Hotel was to say they were there to see the paintings.

On the first floor of the hotel was the Bando Art Gallery.

It was the same gallery where the famous painter Park Geun-soo sold his works.

It was strange to see paintings that would be worth billions in the 21st century hanging there nonchalantly.

To foreigners, they were sold as backward country souvenirs, with prices as low as a few dollars, completely disregarding the artist's artistry.

Indeed, cultural enterprises are always proportional to national power.

If I bought them, they would be valuable, but for now, I needed to focus on my own matters.

"Beautiful paintings, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are. They well express the unique aesthetic and sentiment of Korea."

I struck up a conversation with a foreigner who was admiring the paintings.

He looked quite bored, wandering around while drinking coffee provided by the gallery.

Well, there was probably nowhere else for him to go.

Compared to the booming 1960s in the US, Korea at this time was nothing more than ruins, and any tourist spots would be even less comfortable than the Bando Hotel.

Even in the 21st century, when Koreans go on overseas trips to Southeast Asia or near the Indian Ocean, the exotic scenery is exciting for a day or two, but they eventually end up lounging at a resort with a swimming pool.

"It's amazing. For a foreigner to understand Korean aesthetics."

"Haha, amazing indeed. What's more amazing is that Koreans with such sentiments are also full of ambition. Foreigners who haven't experienced it firsthand can't even imagine."

Hmm? Koreans are full of ambition?

The way he spoke reminded me of Dr. David.

David was the most pro-Korean among the World Bank inspection team.

Years later, when everyone called South Korea's economic growth in the 1980s the Miracle of the Han River, David insisted that South Korea's growth was not a miracle.

He claimed that the remarkable economic growth of South Korea was the result of the extraordinary intelligence and determined will of the Korean people, and it should not be belittled as a mere combination of luck and coincidence.

His words stuck firmly in my mind because they resonated with my own experiences of dealing with the nationalities of various countries at overseas plant construction sites.

'Come to think of it, he looks similar. The David I saw was a stout old man with a gentle demeanour on TV documentaries, but this gentleman in front of me is a dapper gentleman.'

I had to confirm because I didn't know Dr. David in his younger days.

"I am Woo Chan-soo of Daese Group. Would you like a cup of coffee? I'd like to hear your thoughts."

"Oh, are you a businessman?"

When I handed him my business card, he slightly distanced himself, looking at me warily as if I were a peddler.

"Senior businessmen say that to understand economic trends, you need to frequent the Bando Hotel. I think I understand why today."

"Haha, you are amusing. Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm David."

'Lucky! I found David right away!'

David didn't give me his business card, but he shook hands.

It didn't matter.

I was thrilled just to have found David.

"I wondered who you were, and it turns out you're an official from the World Bank. Thank you for your hard work. Please help ensure that the petrochemical complex is established in Korea soon."

"...How... Are you from the Korean government?"

David's eyes changed, and he became more cautious.

It was natural. As an official handling international loans at the World Bank, he must have faced countless bribes and lobbying attempts.

"Of course not. I'm too young to even think about entering politics in Korea. I'm a trader dealing with chemical fibres, and I happened to learn about the government's plans to establish a petrochemical complex."

"It hasn't been confirmed yet."

He was cautious, but my words seemed to spark his curiosity.

I must have mentioned high-level information.

What I said was an undeniable historical fact.

At this time, the Korean government had already decided to build a petrochemical complex and was considering when, where, and how to build it and with what money.

They didn't have the money to build the complex, and the national policy was confirmed before even conducting a feasibility study.

You could say it was a haphazard government policy, but I thought the government of this era was smart and had a strong driving force.

They knew it was impossible to escape from being a developing country without a petrochemical complex.

They understood well that economic policies that improve people's lives were much more advantageous for maintaining power than political strife.

"It will be confirmed soon. The World Bank will respond soon. Isn't that right?"

At the same time as deciding the policy, our country requested a loan from the US, and the US government, distancing itself, sent an inspection team from the World Bank to assess the situation. This was the usual process in those days.

David was the leading figure of such an inspection team from the World Bank, intended to serve as a dedicated guide for Korea.

"Confirmed? That can't be."

"Really? You could confirm it right away by sending a telex to the World Bank headquarters. It's strange. They wouldn't have bypassed the dedicated official for Korea..."

"!!!"

David's expression suddenly darkened.

No matter where you are, East or West, anyone would be extremely upset if they were excluded from their work.

'As I thought! He didn't know the information! This is why he became a pro-Korean!'

For a moment, I almost shouted, "I'm a genius!"

I had spent the night tossing and turning, pondering and pondering again.

'Why did David support the establishment of the petrochemical complex in Korea? What was his intention in sending a report to the US government independently? What was in that report that made the US government immediately approve the loan?'

I finally concluded that there was some kind of friction between David and the World Bank headquarters.

Think about it.

Would it be common for a mere dispatched officer to send a report independently to the US government?

There must have been plenty of higher-ups than David at the World Bank headquarters.

He must have prepared to resign and submitted the report.

"That's why there's no reply to the report I sent to the headquarters, no work orders..."

"What kind of report did you send?"

"I sent a report comparing the advantages of various sites for the complex, but there's no reply... What am I saying..."

David unconsciously revealed confidential information to me.

It was only natural.

He had been worrying about all the work alone.

When I asked, he unconsciously let out his complaints.

"Why do you need a comparison? It's obviously Ulsan."

I continued, pretending not to realize it was confidential.

"...How are you so sure? Do you even know what the comparison targets are?"

"If I were David, I would have considered Incheon, Yeosu, Seosan, and Ulsan. Among them, Ulsan is the best."

"How did you know the four locations? Even the Korean government doesn't know yet..."

He was shocked because I hit the nail on the head.

Of course, in the 21st century, all four locations have petrochemical complexes, with varying scales.

They might not be as well-known as the Ulsan complex, but for someone in the plant industry like me, it was too obvious.

"Why do you ask? Considering the available land, industrial water, port facilities, transportation, and electricity conditions, there are no other suitable places."

"Amazing. Then, how did you deduce that Ulsan is the best location?"

"Incheon is too expensive, and Seosan and Yeosu have soft ground, making it difficult to establish a foundation. On the other hand, Ulsan has a rock foundation, so the foundation work costs less, and it's easy to draw industrial water from the nearby Taehwa River."

"How do you know the soil conditions..."

"The surroundings of Ulsan are all low hills. I know because it's my hometown. Moreover, the soil and rocks that come out when establishing the foundation can be used to build the Ulsan port. A petrochemical complex must have a port to dock oil tankers."

"!!!"

"Excluding land costs, the basic utility construction costs alone would be around 50 billion won for Incheon, 35 billion won for Yeosu or Gunsan, but Ulsan would be sufficient with about 17 billion won."

"..."

David was so shocked he couldn't speak.

It wasn't difficult for me.

I was just repeating what had been debated among Korean plant construction companies.

"Honestly, David, you've already considered Ulsan, haven't you?"

"Wait a minute, sorry to interrupt. I just remembered I have a meeting."

"You're busy. It was an honour to meet you."

"An honor... Anyway, thank you."

David, finding me burdensome and wary, left using the meeting as an excuse.

I was satisfied enough with this.

I had given him my business card.

David would have no choice but to contact me.

He was now practically ostracized by the World Bank headquarters.

The loan the World Bank was reviewing at this time was ostensibly an IDA loan (International Development Association loan), but in reality, it was funds from the US government's foreign aid policy.

Thus, the World Bank prioritized figuring out the political intentions of the US government over objectively comparing the target countries.

At this time, South Korea's support priority was behind India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Even Pakistan was ahead of South Korea due to its proximity to China.

Of course, this was before the US entered the Vietnam War. I knew that one event, the Vietnam War, would change everything.

'David, don't forget my business card. Then you can become an executive at the World Bank right away!'

I cast a desperate spell on the back of David's head as he walked away.

***

Office on the third floor of the Bando Hotel.

David took out a thick file as soon as he entered his office.

It was a review of the site for Korea's petrochemical complex.

"Basic utility construction costs... Here it is."

David searched the index and finally found the relevant data.

"Incheon: $18.14 million (approximately 4.9 billion won)

Yeosu: $14.07 million (approximately 3.8 billion won)

Gunsan: $12.22 million (approximately 3.3 billion won)

Ulsan: $6.29 million (approximately 1.7 billion won)"

"Huh!"

David was so shocked he almost fell over.

Mr. Woo's numbers were almost identical. He even accurately estimated Ulsan's construction cost at 17 billion won.

"This is unbelievable. It was calculated by a computer."

The figures weren't something one could deduce by simply using an abacus.

They were derived using a complex mathematical model and the only computer in Korea at that time, the one belonging to the US 8th Army.

Referring to the US 8th Army Corps of Engineers' report on geological analysis, Ulsan's geology consisted mainly of thick sandstone layers, with a surface of soft rock, making it advantageous for foundation work compared to other regions.

This matched perfectly with Mr. Woo's words.

It was hard to believe that Korea, without even a soil analysis drill, could know this.

"Amazing. What was it again? Daese Group? For a textile exporter..."

David took out the business card he had put in his inner pocket.

There was an office address below the name, but oddly enough, no phone number.

He wondered if that was all and looked at the back of the card.

"Vietnam War -> Inflation Risk Hedge"

'Vietnam War, inflation risk hedge,' it said.

As an economist, David trembled all over when he saw the phrase.

"This man is a genius! A genius!"

David had to find Woo Chan-soo.

He wanted to hear more.

No, he had to hear more.

Just by compiling and conveying Mr. Woo's foresight to the US government, he felt he could gain tremendous fame.

He quickly went down the stairs, but he couldn't find Woo Chan-soo in the gallery or the lobby.

It seemed he had already left the Bando Hotel.

'I kicked away the luck that came to me. Damn...'

David became anxious.

'Woo Chan-soo... He said he was a chemical fiber exporter, right? He must have headed in that direction.'