Empire of the Ring

Because there were no rooms left in the hotel at the Arirang Autonomous State, the state had to borrow five empty houses that were built for new immigrants. It was because the businessmen of Korean construction consortium decided to make their head office for the highway building project at the autonomous state.

The duration of the construction was five years from now, and since the roads would need to be taken care of regularly, the staffs of the Korean consortium needed a decent management office in a place where there were infrastructures around. The city of Atyrau was the perfect place for them but the problem was that they did not speak Kazakh in order to communicate with the local people. That was why they chose the Arirang Autonomous State since they could get Youngho’s help and other Koryoins’ help as well.

“Mr. Lee. We need a lodging facility, as well as an office facility— where we can eat and sleep. We saw an empty lot near the airfield. We’d like to build facilities that we’ll be using. Would that be possible?”

“Tell me anything you want. I’ll be glad to help.”

“We’d like to buy an area about four acres of size.”

“We have plenty of lands, why are you trying to buy land? Just use them and don’t worry about it.”

“But it’s the company’s property that we should make it under our name.”

“Would it be alright if I write you permission for free land use?”

“…”

Youngho was talking to Im Min-soo—who was the president of the Korean construction consortium that consisted of five construction companies.

The consortium had decided to build their own buildings since they could not spend so much money to stay at the state’s hotel. They needed a living place for more than a hundred staff members.

“You can pick anywhere near the control tower. We’re also building a hotel with a hundred guest rooms near there.”

“Alright, that’s great. We’ll build our lodging facility and the head office there. Do you have any construction policies in the autonomous state?”

There were no such rules in the autonomous state since it was a newborn country.

“Well, you can discuss that with our construction director. He’ll explain everything to you in detail.”

“Can I request the construction to the state. That must be possible too.”

“Of course, we’ll help. The price here is cheaper than Seoul, so you won’t have to pay too much.”

Wages for workers in Kazakhstan and construction materials only cost about 40 percent of what must have cost in Seoul. It was dirt cheap prices compared to Seoul. It was the same in any country, but the cost was a huge part of a total construction cost. The Korean businessmen were already getting advantage of it.

Likewise, most of the area where the highway would be laid was a national property—that they did not need to pay for the land. That was why they decided to invest in constructing private highways. Because it rarely rained, they would not have to build subsidiary facilities—so the construction cost was massively reduced. Moreover, most of the land was flat that they did not need to build tunnels. They would only need to build some bridges.

All of the factors combined, the whole construction cost was only about ten percent of what they must have paid in Korea. The Korean construction consortium agreed on receiving mineral resources from the Kazakh government as a payment for their construction of highways. Due to the cheap construction cost, it seemed that the consortium earned more than the Kazakh government. Moreover, the consortium was now partnered with the government for any future constructions as well. Joining the current project was like winning a lottery for the consortium.

“H Corporation’s Kim Joohyuk recommended this place to have our head office but honestly, I’m worried about the inconvenient transportation.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t be worried. We’ve got light airplanes and they can land on most of the surfaces. We’ll let you use our planes.”

Since Kazakhstan’s roads were only paved around big cities, and there were no roads in the vast plains and fields—it was inconvenient to get from one place to another. The Korean staffs would understand in a few days that the Arirang Autonomous State was equipped with the most convenient transportation system.

“Oh, I’m glad that the workers could travel and stay comfortably. I especially like the fact that the autonomous state has a lot of Korean products.”

Most of the daily necessaries used in the autonomous state were from South Korea. It was because many of Kazakh products were below Youngho’s standards but since he could not buy expensive European products, he decided to import Korean goods. The warehouse was filled with Korean products delivered in containers. If there was a supply shortage, Youngho would ask Sergey to send things from Volgograd—because Yaniv was still importing Korean goods and making a lot of money from selling them to Russia, and Central Asian regions.

***

H Rotem’s assembly factory was now set to be built near Astana.

It was a convenient location to receive parts from Vladivostok, and since there were a lot of other factories nearby, it was the best location to recruit workers.

Kim Joo-hyuk, who tried to attract a small parts factory in the autonomous state felt extremely sorry to Youngho.

“Mr. Lee. I have no words to say.”

The decision was made by the Kazakh government that H Corporation had no other choice. Since the state received expensive medical devices and goods from the corporation, Youngho did not feel resentful. He was rather thankful.

“Oh, you shouldn’t feel sorry. I wouldn’t have been able to take care of it even if we had built a parts factory here. But instead, the Korean construction consortium decided to make their head office here.”

In fact, Youngho was glad that the parts factory was not built in the state since it was not part of the high-tech industry. Having the Korean consortium in the state was more helpful because it was a group of people that consumed the most of what was produced by the autonomous state.

“The new president of the consortium Mr. Im has been working in the industry for almost forty years. He’s a living legend. I’m sure the chairman of our corporation had a reason for putting him in charge of this project.”

“Oh, I see but why do you think the chairman sent such a talented person to this remote place?”

“Our corporation doesn’t look at Kazakhstan as an underdeveloped country.”

“That makes me happy to hear that.”

“Well, you’ll see how great he is when you start working with him. I guarantee.”

Whether it would be good or bad, Youngho had no idea. It would be revealed to him in time. Now, Kim Joo-hyuk would be going back to Korea, and Youngho would not see him again unless there was another project in Kazakhstan.

It would not be right if they did not share a drink on this kind of day.

“I should treat you a good-bye drink tonight.”

“A good-bye drink? No way. I’m going to visit here often. I’m going back to my formal life but I’m still holding the title of the H Corporation’s director in Kazakhstan.”

“Well, you’d be more than welcome to visit here. I’ll treat you as an honored guest of the state.”

***

“Man, the summer’s going to pass while you wait until those vessels were made.”

Jong-il scolded Youngho after hearing that Youngho had been waiting for canoes to be made from the shipyard in the autonomous state.

“Do you know any other way?”

“For sure. There are sturdy rubber boats too. You need to buy banana boats and gears for water sports. The kids will have so much fun.”

“How do you know such things so well?”

“It’s just common sense. Why are you asking such a silly question?”

There was nothing Jong-il did not do to play with girls back in Korea. He knew how to have fun.

Adults could fish and do more quiet activities for fun but there were not many activities available for kids in the summer. It seemed that the kids and youths in the autonomous state were not as privileged as the ones in Baku. They played in nature but it could get old.

Youngho prepared rubber boats and water sports gears from Baku. If he could not find things in Baku, he ordered things from Istanbul. As he bought a lot of fun things, Zeynep and Jelyan wanted to come along with him to the autonomous state. They had never used the water sports gears before. Soon, Fatima and Leon joined them as well as Cha Insoo and Jong-il’s families.

The river that was connected to the Arirang Autonomous State was a branch of the Ural River. It was only a hundred kilometers long but since it was attached to the Ural River, its volume was great. It was also crystal clear.

That river was now so crowded with young people of the autonomous state. It seemed all of the youths of the state had come out to play. After watching them for a few days, Youngho shook his head. They never grew tired of playing in the water, and during the weekends even adults joined them—that the area near the wharf was full of people.

Ever since they moved to the autonomous state, they had been working so hard forgetting about entertaining themselves. Now that there was something for all to enjoy, people excitedly came out to play in the water, even though the water was not warm enough yet. Youngho felt sorry for making them work too hard for the state.

This was the slowest time of the year for the autonomous state now.

People only needed to wait until the grains were ripe. Youngho felt that he should send all of them for a group trip to a near vacationland. Kids could be sent on a field trip as well.