CH13 : Throw it Away

"Of course, you're an interviewer too. Aren't we co-founders?"

"Oh, you speak well."

"Straighten up like an interviewer. One day, passing our interview will be something to brag about."

"Hahaha. I hope it turns out that way."

I was serious, but he took it as a joke.

Anyway, while chuckling, we started setting up a desk and chairs at the factory entrance.

"Old foremen!"

"Yes, boss."

"Let in groups of ten at a time. We're conducting interviews."

"Yes, boss."

"Wow! They're hiring us!"

"Close the factory entrance. Don't let anyone else in."

"Yes, boss."

Cheers erupted at the mention of interviews.

There were at least four or five hundred people, so it was clear that a regular method would take all day.

But I had a secret weapon.

"Come on in."

Rumble...

The applicants came in, each with a different demeanour.

Some entered confidently with bright smiles, some followed cautiously, and some hesitated before quickly slipping through the door.

"Introduce yourselves."

"Yes, I am a graduate of Seongdong Technical High School, and I worked at Chicken Fibers for two years..."

"Keep it short. Next, introduce yourself!"

"Yes, I am from Incheon Technical High School..."

I made the applicants introduce themselves and exchanged glances with Sam-bok.

With just a look, we selected the first-round passers.

Sam-bok knew how important a clear and loud voice was.

A clear and loud voice usually indicates honesty and confidence.

"Everyone, repeat after me loudly. I am honest, diligent, and always take the initiative. Give me work! I can do anything!"

I clenched my fist and demonstrated.

The applicants froze for a moment.

If they repeated my words, it would be like talking back to the boss.

I didn't mind at all.

To become an early member of Daese Group, they needed this kind of guts.

"I am honest, diligent, and always take the initiative. Give me work! I can do anything!"

"Please hire me! I can do anything!"

Surprisingly, quite a few were confident enough to follow through.

They were truly proud of themselves.

I had heard they were top graduates from technical high schools; it seemed to be true.

'Starting a business in the 60s was like taking candy from a baby. If there are people like these everywhere, it's no wonder conglomerates sprang up like mushrooms.'

There was a reason why conglomerates proliferated. In a time when people worked diligently for a monthly salary of 15,000 won, there was nothing one couldn't achieve.

Even among these proactive individuals, we could select the best of the best.

Truly, the romantic era!

My job was to treat them well. I would never repeat the mistakes of our country's conglomerates.

'Send the successful applicants to the machine room, and those who failed out the back door. Don't let them back in.'

"Numbers 2 and 7, please go to that room, and the rest follow me. Hurry up."

Sam-bok efficiently sorted the first-round passers and those who didn't make it.

"Next group, come in."

"Hello... I am..."

"Alright, everyone, repeat after me loudly. I am honest, diligent, and always take the initiative. Give me work! I can do anything!"

"...I can do anything."

"...uh..."

"I am honest, diligent, and always take the initiative. Give me work! I can do anything!"

The reactions varied as I suddenly pushed the statement on them.

It was fast and effective.

"Okay, number 3, go to that room, and the rest follow me."

Sam-bok sorted them out efficiently again.

***

"Phew, Chansu. We're finally done."

"How many passed?"

Making five hundred people shout slogans took quite some time. The sun had already set.

"There are 32 male supervisors and 120 female workers."

"Wow, that's quite a lot even after being selective."

"What will you do? Are you going to read their faces now?"

"No, I'll feed them and send them off."

"..."

Sam-bok just stared at my face without saying anything.

He no longer even tried to understand me.

His look said, 'Explain this too, will you?'

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's dinner time; shouldn't we feed them before sending them off?"

"You're not going to hire them all, are you? If we do, we'll go bankrupt, even if the work increases."

"That's why I'm feeding them before sending them off. No time to waste, go out and order all the soup from the nearby restaurants."

For 150 servings of soup, we'd have to sweep the nearby restaurants clean.

"Phew, alright. I'll do as you say. Somehow, things always turn out well anyway."

"I want sundae soup! With plenty of perilla powder!"

I shouted loudly at Sam-bok's back as he headed out of the factory.

"Sigh..."

"Boss, are you buying us food too?"

"Of course. You old foremen did a lot today. Go with Manager Lee. Go and order all the soup you can find."

The old foremen followed Sam-bok to the market, and soon the soup ladies came pushing carts with pots.

The ladies were the fastest.

"Come here. It's sundae soup. Here! Here!"

"Miss, wouldn't a hot radish soup be better? Come here. Quickly."

"Spicy market soup here! This one is the best."

"What are you doing? Everyone, have a bowl."

"Thank you, boss."

In no time, the factory turned into a dining hall.

The ladies competed to serve soup first, and the first-round passers, though bewildered, each received a bowl.

"We will conduct the final interview in an hour. Take your time and eat."

"Thank you."

"Eat up."

True to the 60s, everyone only held their spoons until I picked mine up, and then they all started blowing on their soup and eating.

Spring was still far off, so hot soup was the perfect meal.

I took my bowl and went up to the second-floor attic.

I looked down at the first floor through the window while eating.

The bustling scene was a pleasant sight.

Everyone finished eating at their own pace, and their actions afterwards varied.

"How will we conduct the final interview?"

"What final interview? It's already done."

"Huh?"

I spun Sam-bok around to face the window.

"Look at those who finished eating quickly and are helping with the cleaning. They are the final passers."

First-round passers already had some pride.

Those who finished eating quickly and helped with cleaning were truly proactive and physically fit.

In other words, the best of the best.

"You're crazy. Are you selecting based on who eats fastest?"

"Our biggest strength is speed. Speed!"

"Speed... speed?"

"I'm not joking. There's a lot of money in the world. It's just scattered around. The first to run and pick it up owns it."

"... I feel it! Speed battle!"

This guy had good instincts.

In the rapid growth era of the 60s and 70s, speed was the real competitive edge. The one who secures the business item first and gets it on track becomes a conglomerate.

The given time is the same for everyone, making it fair.

"Go down and gather those people. They might mix with the rejected ones."

"Got it. Speed battle!"

Sam-bok hurriedly went down to gather those who ate quickly and helped with cleaning.

At least nine supervisors and forty-eight female workers seemed sufficient.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Yes!!!"

"Alright, you can go home now."

"??? Huh? What about the final interview?"

"The final interview is over. We'll notify the successful applicants individually, so you can go home. Old foremen, please escort them out."

"This way to the exit."

"They will notify successful applicants individually. This way. Hurry."

"Uh..."

The old foremen herded the rejected ones out.

We fed them, so it was like giving them interview fees.

I locked the factory door and shouted toward the machine room.

"Everyone, are you ready to make some money with me?"

"Huh? Boss, are we hired?"

"Yes, you all passed."

"Wow!"

"We passed. We passed!!!"

"I'll make sure we make a lot of money. Let's start with a monthly salary of 15,000 won."

Making a lot of money.

In an era of super prosperity where anything made would sell, it wouldn't be difficult with people like these.

"Wow!"

"Wow! 15,000 won!"

Those in the machine room jumped for joy at my words.

They were the first new hires of Daese Group.

***

Half a month later,

After borrowing money, hiring people, acquiring the factory, setting up the looms, and receiving yarn from Hyesung Nylon, we finally managed to test-produce the fabric.

It was just the initial setup.

Honestly, if we hadn't received the yarn from Hyesung Nylon on time, it would have taken even longer.

To: <Daese Textile> Chansu Woo

From: <Indian Chamber of Commerce> Abdul Razak

Credit Letter Established.

Shipping and requested quantity: April 10th. 200,000 yards

"Wow, telex is amazing. Is this really from Singapore?"

Sam-bok couldn't take his eyes off the telex message.

We finally installed telex and telephone in our company.

It took half a month, even after paying an express fee.

"Keep this important document well-organized."

"Of course, do you know how much this is worth? But, are we really okay with using such expensive machines? We even bought a car last week."

Sam-bok had a point.

Installing the phone cost 50,000 won, and the telex ten times that, 500,000 won. That's an astronomical amount equivalent to 50 million won in 21st-century terms.

We also bought a company car for 300,000 won, even though it was secondhand.

"How can an exporter work without a telex?"

"The basic fee is 8,000 won. With that money, we could have borrowed from a bank..."

"Sam-bok, what did I say our competitive edge was?"

"Speed battle!"

If he knows that well, why say such things?

Sam-bok was someone I trusted to manage the company's internal affairs, so he needed to fully understand our strategy of speed battle.

I had to instil it whenever I had the chance.

"When others wait for money, we should already be where the money is. Investing in getting ahead and saving time should never be skimped on. I'm not joking."

"Got it. Got it, calm down."

"You're as much a manager as I am. It's not enough to just know; you have to genuinely feel it."

"I'll keep it in mind. Boss. Calm down."

Repeating the importance of speed battles made Sam-bok take it seriously.

A businessman who becomes stingy with investment will fail.

A company is like a living organism; you have to invest madly and earn as much as you invest.

People can't work without eating.

The better the food and drink, the more energetically they can work. Telling them to work while only eating kimchi every meal is inhumane.

"Alright, let's stop here. The factory acquisition went well, right?"

"Yes, the registration is complete. As you said, when I piled 2.5 million won in front of the Johong Bank president and asked if he'd hand over the factory or not, he signed immediately. We canceled all the bonds."

It was a natural result.

If the bank auctioned the factory for 3 million won, it would have been reauctioned a few times and eventually sold for around 2.5 million won.

The bank preferred to avoid such hassle and handed it over to me.

"Well done. Good job."

"If there's nothing else, let's go down. Today's the day for the first batch."

Sam-bok smiled brightly.

"Is the first batch out? How's the quality?"

I tried to stay composed in front of him, but I was as anxious as he was.

"Quality should be fine. The old foremen's cheeks were sunken from your pressure. And wasn't Hyesung Nylon pestered by you to change the yarn samples dozens of times? Honestly, the dyeing afterward is the same no matter who does it."

He was right.

The young president of Hyesung Nylon, Hwang Hyesung, really worked hard on the yarn quality.

He brought dozens of samples to find the optimal nylon-cotton blend ratio.

The old foremen did the same, working hard.

They set up the Karl Mayer machines perfectly for each yarn type and stayed up many nights with me during the experimental period.

Finally, we concluded that the fabric to be delivered to customers should have nylon-cotton blend ratios of 92:8 and 63:37.

"Old foremen."

"Yes, boss."

"Did the dyed samples come in?"

"Yes, both green and yellow. We processed 500 yards of each for the first run."

"Let's see."

500 yards is equivalent to 500 Korean units of fabric. It's the minimum quantity for outsourcing dyeing.

Swish.

The fabric was hung on the machine and spread out long.

"How is it, boss? Look, manager."

"The first batch? This?"

"Wow, the dyeing is great. It's clean."

"Of course, Manager Lee. It's done by the best dyeing factory in Seongsu Industrial Complex. The colour is so vivid it's almost shiny."

The old foremen and Sam-bok stroked the fabric with satisfaction, while I was dumbfounded.

Even if the old foremen didn't know better, I expected more from Sam-bok, who had worked in a textile company. I couldn't believe how poor this was...

Or maybe, the 60s had a vague concept of quality?

Swish.

I took a cutter and slashed the fabric mercilessly.

"Throw it away!"