Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

After dinner, Gun-Ho went into his sister’s couple’s room because he wanted to talk with them in private. They sat on the floor with a small floor table between them. While having his tea, Gun-Ho made his suggestion.

“Don’t you want to run a business rather than driving a wing-body truck?”

His brother-in-law smiled bitterly and said, “Of course, I want to run my own business, but I have no seed money to start it and no special experience to start it without seed money. Driving a truck is the best I can think I can do in my current situation. I’m sorry that I’m living in your parents’ house because of my financial situation.”

“Well, if you don’t get a chance to do it, then it is what it is. But since you have been in the transportation field, I think you can start your business in that field.”

“I’m not sure what types of transportation business I can just start.”

“There is a transportation company in Seonghwan Town. Are you interested in running that business?”

“A transportation company?”

Gun-Ho’s sister seemed to be intrigued, and she sat close to Gun-Ho.

“You know that driving a body-wing truck is risky. You are exposed to all sorts of car accidents all the time. I really think that you should run this company rather than continuing to drive a truck. It’s not a big company though.”

“There are several different types of transportation businesses— automobiles transportation, freight trucks transportation, connecting freight transportation, etc. Which one specifically are you talking about?”

“I knew you were knowledgeable in this field. This company provides total transportation service.”

“I guess it’s a freight transportation business then.”

“It currently has 27 trucks.”

“27 trucks? Wow!”

Gun-Ho’s sister and her husband were surprised when they heard the number of trucks that the company had.

“All of 27 are all freight trucks?”

“No. They have heavy equipment, 25-ton dump trucks, and semi-tractor-trailer trucks.”

“There should be someone already who is running that company and also its workers.”

“A president is running that company with one male worker and one female worker who is handling bookkeeping mostly. That’s it. All others are truck drivers.”

“Sounds good, but the thing is…”

When Gun-Ho’s brother-in-law let out a deep sigh, Gun-Ho’s sister asked her husband, “What’s the matter, honey?”

“The most critical thing in running a transportation company is getting a steady workflow coming in. That’s not easy at all. Otherwise, you will have all of those trucks parked in the company yard, but you still have to pay the truck drivers.”

Gun-Ho smiled.

“That’s true, but this company has already-established clients.”

“Regular clients?”

“The companies that I’m running are the clients of that company. All sorts of transportation work needed for my companies are being handled by that transportation company. In addition, it currently has several clients with a six-month contract. Its heavy equipment is being used for road work under a three-year contract as well.”

“Hmm, really?”

Gun-Ho wrote down the website address of GH Logistics on a piece of paper and gave it to his brother-in-law.

“This is their website. Visit their website to find out more when you have time.”

“Hmm, okay. Is their president going somewhere? Or do you run that company too?”

“Their president is going to China.”

“China?”

Gun-Ho’s sister and her husband looked at each other with questioning looks on their faces.

“He will be running a terminal and an intercity bus business in a city in Guizhou Province, China.”

“A terminal and an intercity bus service?”

Gun-Ho’s sister and her husband looked at each other again in surprise.

“That… that sort of business costs an enormous amount of money. Who is investing in it?”

“Well, just know that their president is going away for another work.”

“Okay. I guess I need some time to process what you just offered to me.”

“By the way, I know you have been in the transportation industry for a long time, but I’m not sure how you would do in administrative work and management. You know how to use a computer at work, right?”

“That… I think I can learn as I work.”

At that moment, Gun-Ho’s sister chipped in quickly.

“I can help him with it. I do a lot of administrative work in the nursing home where I work as a social worker. I can handle Word and Excel. Also, I have worked with Spreadsheet as well.”

“Do you think you would have time to help him while you work as a social worker?”

“Well, I can help him at night, or when I’m off from my work.”

“Hmm, really?”

Gun-Ho actually wanted his sister to work at GH Logistics rather than working in a nursing home. His brother-in-law can handle the truck drivers and maintenance of the trucks, but as to the paperwork, his sister would do a better job in managing and doing administrative work.

“Sister, how much do you make at the nursing home?”

“Me? 1.9 million won.”

Gun-Ho looked at his brother-in-law’s face. He had his eyes closed. It seemed that he was lost in thought.

Gun-Ho thought that his brother-in-law was a good-looking man. He had thick eyebrows and a straight-edged nose. His profile looked perfect to Gun-Ho, even though he wasn’t a strong-minded person. Jeong-Ah— Gun-Ho’s niece— must have taken after her father.

Gun-Ho’s brother-in-law was born and grew up in Jeongeup City, Jeolla Province. When he met Gun-Ho’s sister, he was working in the logistics department of a factory in Incheon City. His sister was working in a production site at that time. He didn’t go to college, and he was a very earnest man. That was why his sister fell in love with him, which led to their marriage. He was an earnest man, but he was not a proactive man.

‘As long as my sister supports him, he can run a small company without a problem. His earnestness will keep the company stable.’

“Brother! What are you thinking?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.”

“That transportation company in Seonghwan Town needs to be moved though. Because of the investment that I’m planning to make in China, I placed its land on the market for sale. If you decide to run the company, we will need to lease a new place.”

“We need to find a cheap place then, like somewhere under an elevated highway or near a river. A business like that doesn’t need a good location but just needs a space to place trucks and a small office. It’s more important to keep the operating cost low.”

“I totally agree with you.”

“Even though there are 27 trucks, we don’t need a space to park all of them. If 70% of the trucks are always being used, we just need a space for the remaining 8 trucks.”

Gun-Ho thought that maybe his brother-in-law would do a way better job than Jae-Sik Moon in running the freight transportation company. Jae-Sik seemed to fit better with a bus service business.

As getting ready to leave the room, Gun-Ho said to both his sister and brother-in-law, “You still have time to think about it because I need to sell the land first, where the company is sitting on right now. Once it’s sold, I will let you know. I need that money to invest in China. Once the investment in China starts, you can take over that transportation company. In the meanwhile, please search for a good location for the company to move to and get ready.”

“Okay.”