Empire of the Ring

The royal-owned island in Greece’s the Aegean Sea had been purchased for 20 million dollars under Koç Holding’s arrangement.

The area was about 40 square kilometers, about five kilometers east and west and about eight kilometers north and south.

It was such a historic place that pirates used to be based long ago because of its small bay.

The island was one of the numerous islands on the road connecting the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. So, it was lucky that the Kazakh royal family got to own it.

The reason for buying the island was to use it as a forward base. It was a marine forward base that to use it as a military port for escort ships to protect merchant vessels of Kazakhstan.

It was not easy to set up a marine base in the waters of another country, but it was possible because the royal family took over failing Greek shipping companies that had been holding back the Greek economy and promised a strategic partnership with Greece on the condition that oil from the Caspian Sea would be supplied through Turkey, which the Greek government desperately needed.

Youngho took advantage of the fact that Turkey and Greece were in a hostile relationship. For that reason, the royal island became a buffer zone of Greece and Turkey.

Recently, it was also agreed to use it as a home port of the Navy which belonged to the Kazakh royal family with Park Jong-il’s efforts, so the construction of the pier was being sped up.

The Greek island’s pier, runway, and other facilities construction were being organized by the royal construction company, Arirang Construction.

The start of Arirang Construction was triggered by the acceptance of employees of N Builder, a mid-sized South Korean construction company.

“Your Highness, N Builder’s employees are not thinking of going back.”

“Didn’t our contract end because their Korean headquarters went bankrupt?”

“It’s over. But the staffs here insist on completing the construction here on their own.”

The Construction Director of the royal territory, Min Nikolayevich, looked troubled.

The workers of the royal territory and N Builders had spent several months sweating together, so it was difficult for Min to kick them out when they insisted to stay even though their contract was over. It was strictly a breach of contract, so this had to be dealt with in principle.

N Builder took part in the project for the Kurdish settlement, but it went bankrupt due to bad management at its Korean headquarters, which also halted the construction work and forced the dispatched employees to withdraw from the site.

The contract between the royal family and Korean companies was not an option, as it required them to return the construction rights without conditions if they could not carry out the work due to bankruptcy.

“How is the company’s construction technical skill?”

“As far as I can see, the company has great know-how. It has carried out a lot of big projects overseas and is recognized for its construction capacities. And most of all, the employees are very loyal to the company. They say they’ve made a lot of effort to save the company. I heard that they mostly stayed at the company without even being paid for several months.”

“That is a rare case in the current time.”

“Your Highness. It’s a waste to let go of a skilled company and its executives and employees. Can’t we take it?”

“I’m sure you’re not talking about taking over a bankrupt company.”

“I mean, let’s accept the executives and employees. We wouldn’t envy a world-class construction company if we had advanced construction techniques and engineers.”

“Taking them means that we should take them as citizens of Kazakhstan. Would they leave a good place like Korea and bring their family to this poor place?”

“They’d think differently if they can live in the royal territory. Isn’t our state better than big cities in developed countries?”

“Well, we have pretty good medical, education, and cultural facilities, but the weather is not quite right.”

After conversing with Construction Director Min, Youngho decided to accept only executives and employees of N Builder and created a new construction company for the royal family. As a result, 150 executives and employees were accepted at the royal territory.

The fact that they had been loyal to their company played a huge role in accepting them with ease. They would be bringing in their families as well, as soon as their properties in Korea were sorted out.

Outside the Arirang command, life was like Korea’s in the 70s and 80s. However, Kazakhstan had a more leisurely life than Korea, which was in infinite competition. That was why the employees of N Builder chose Kazakhstan although it was still a developing country.

The only problem would be the harsh weather of Kazakhstan. Youngho wondered if they would survive through the harsh winter here.

It’s too cold to put out a face in winter, and it’s too hot to breathe in the dusty wind in summer.

***

The Greek island had its own name, but everyone called it the Arirang Island.

Park Jong-il complained about the name “Arirang” being used repeatedly, but it was not forced by anyone but naturally named so.

“The name of the river at the royal territory is Arirang, the shipping company is Arirang, and the hotel is Arirang. Can’t we come up with a better name? Isn’t it a bit weird now that we’re putting the name of Arirang everywhere?”

“What’s wrong with Arirang? I heard that foreigners find it easy to pronounce and memorize.”

“I’m kind of bored because I’ve heard it so much. I’d rather have it named after Leon or Jelyan.”

“It’s already being called Arirang Island. Why should we change it? Just call it the Arirang Island.”

“With a bad naming sense…”

“Let’s stop talking nonsense and let’s take a break. I feel sweaty.”

Park Jong-il and Youngho, who visited the Arirang Island to find out the progress of the construction, were also heading toward the beach to cool off.

On the island, employees of Arirang Construction were working on the pier, the runway, and other facilities.

The Mediterranean Sea in September was sweltering with hot temperatures which went up to 35 degrees in Celsius. Because of this, the workers jumped into the sea from time to time.

Even though the beach was right next to the construction site, the seawater was so dark in the shade of a reef that people needed the courage to get in the water. If there was a shark hiding between the rocks, they would be helpless from its attack.

“Shall we get in?”

Some of the workers who were familiar with the sea even collected seafood from diving deep, so Youngho was curious about what was in the sea.

As he was about to enter the seawater, an employee who was collecting seafood was rushing out to the beach, surprised by something.

“What is it? Is there a shark?”

The construction crew assiduously swam all the way to Youngho and Jong-il and shouted that there were old waste ships and facilities that looked like historical sites in the sea.

It was already well-known that the Mediterranean was a treasure chest of undersea artifacts.

There were already more than 300 ports in the fourth century B.C., and from the Bronze Age to modern times, the number of sunken ships was estimated to be 100,000. Moreover, they were not affected by heavy waves that they were in good condition.

In particular, the early-developed Greek waters were dotted with ruins and countless ships that were sunken because of the Aegean Sea’s numerous reefs and pirates’ activities.

Considering such historical facts, it would not be a surprise if underwater relics were found but it could be difficult to develop due to the historical site. If it turned out to have an archaeological value, it would be a matter that should be consulted with the Greek government. Thus, Youngho was hoping it would be just a site that was not worth much for attention.

“Call some of the royal bodyguards. Tell them to bring some scuba gear.”

“You want to get in there yourself?”

“Of course, what else do we need to do? Let’s check it out with our own eyes.”

“Great. I’ll get my body warmed up in a long while.”

“Oh, you know it’s not much of an exercise.”

“There are a lot of sharks in the Aegean Sea. This could be dangerous.”

“I’ve never seen a shark here before. What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t heard it yet. A while ago, a boat of refugees was attacked by a group of sharks. You have to pack an electric shocker or a harpoon.”

“Hey! Why do you say that now? We have to stop the construction workers from entering the sea.”

It would be shocking to hear that employees who had no idea there were sharks at the sea.

As Youngho announced that there could be sharks in the sea, all of the workers did not enter the sea anymore.

It would be nice if there were any streams, but unfortunately, there were only little springs on the island, so they were only used as drinking water.

The problem immediately arose when hundreds of construction officials rushed in while the residents were running out of water. No civil engineering work could be done if there was no water. Besides, workers could not wash their sweaty bodies with the seawater.

So the installation of the desalination system was rushed, but it would be ready only in few months. Arirang Construction was forced to bring water from the land.

Although some islands developed as tourist destinations had been receiving water from the land by ship, the Arirang Island was not a tourist destination and had not many residents, so there was no such benefit.

Youngho arranged a water supply ship to deliver water every day for industrial and household water, and the few residents loved it, saying that they were blessed by the pier construction. Thanks to the royal family’s purchase of the island, the islanders were also benefiting from it.