Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Park, a financial journalist, was instructed by his editorial director to cover a big player from Gangnam District (“Gangnam”). Park, however, was not sure how to do it. A big player from Gangnam wouldn’t even consider meeting a journalist like Park. Moreover, Park was also not sure where to find a big player or how to contact that person.

After exhausting all the help he could get from his personal connections in financial sectors and even the National Tax Service, Park finally found one person—Gun-Ho Goo. Mr. Goo recently acquired Star building in Gangnam. He had also recently moved to a single house on 300 pyung (over 10,000 sqft) of land; he used to live in T apartment in Dogok Town, Gangnam. Park was told that Mr. Goo was a recluse who was reluctant to meet people.

Park thought that Gun-Ho Goo must be an old man because all those big players in Stock Street from the old days were old people, such as the famous old lady, Madam Baeck, and Mudfish from Apgoojung Town. Well, it makes sense because it takes time to build wealth, doesn’t it?

Park, however, was surprised this time when he met Mr. Goo, a reclusive big player from Gangnam, also known as the king of cash. Mr. Goo was in his 30s looking ten years younger than Park himself. Maybe he inherited money from his wealthy parents, which was Park’s original assumption. However, Park remembered being told that Mr. Goo’s parents used to live in a shabby apartment in Juan Town, Incheon City (“Incheon”). His father was unemployed, and his mother was a caregiver in a nursing home.

Mr. Goo was a college dropout in a small town and eventually graduated from a cyber college. To overcome his inherited poverty and to find a stable job, he came to Noryangjin Town (“Noryangjin”). At first, he tried to be a level-9 government employee, but after he failed the civil service exam several times, he started working in a plastic factory located in Hwaseong City (“Hwaseong”) and then moved from one factory to another in Pocheon City (“Pocheon”), Gyeonggi Province, and Yangju City (“Yangju”) afterward, working in a production line.

Mr. Goo didn’t wake up one day finding himself being rich; he was not reincarnated in a wealthy family nor did he magically become rich. His current success was based on his sheer effort and enormous luck.

Park asked Mr. Goo one last question: “How much cash do you have available right now if you don’t mind me asking?” Park expected to hear tens of millions of dollars.

“Let me see… I am not sure about the exact amount, but probably over a billion dollars.”

“Huck! A billion dollars!” Park’s jaw dropped in amazement.