Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

The branch manager of the stock brokerage firm in Suwon City gave his business card to Gun-Ho.

“I don’t have my business card with me.”

“That’s fine, sir. I wanted to meet with you. We take care of our VIP clients separately.”

Gun-Ho firmly said,

“I will have to withdraw my funds next month because of my business.”

“All of the funds?”

The branch manager’s face hardened.

“I’m moving from Incheon to Seoul soon, so I have to move my account to the branch over there anyway.”

“Why don’t you leave some of your funds with us? We provide a text message service to our VIP clients with useful stock-related information. It’s not a spam message but it’s information from a reliable source.”

“I will take it into account.”

Gun-Ho couldn’t harshly decline the branch manager’s kind offer, so he just told him that he would consider it. While he was walking out of the stockbroking firm, Gun-Ho thought of his past experience with the same firm.

“When I placed my 10 million won that I borrowed from the sunshine loan program to the firm years ago, they didn’t care about me at all. Now, even the branch manager greeted me and served me a cup of tea in his office. As my mom said, a person should live a long life to see various and unexpected things in life.”

Gun-Ho stopped by a massage shop in Suwon after having his lunch in a Japanese restaurant. He felt sleepy while he was getting foot massages, probably because he just had his lunch.

“At this hour, the factory workers in the factory I used to work at must be working so hard. Money is good.”

Gun-Ho received a call from the consulting company.

“I talked with the TowerPalace condo owner, and he agreed to move out if you pay 5 million won for the moving cost.”

“That’s good. Thank you for your work.”

Gun-Ho told Manager Oh that he would send him the 5 million won moving expense for the current occupant in addition to the consultation fee.

Fifteen days later, Gun-Ho received the keys for the condo from Manager Oh. Manager Oh also handed the receipts of the last HOA payment and gas service payment paid by the previous owner.

“5 million won is not a bad deal at all. I believe I handled it very well. If someone else talked with the previous owner, he wouldn’t agree to the price.”

Manager Oh, still wearing his sports cap and chewing his gum, said to Gun-Ho.

“I know you would make it work. Thank you for your great work.”

Gun-Ho extended his hand for a handshake.

“If you need my help any time in the future, just let me know. I will do my best for you.”

Manager Oh gave Gun-Ho a military salute in a comical gesture.

“Hahaha. I will definitely do so. Thank you again.”

Gun-Ho went to his TowerPalace condo that evening.

“There are a lot of luxurious cars parked here.”

When Gun-Ho opened the condo door, a huge vacant space met his eyes.

“50 pyung is indeed large. The vacant space makes it look even larger.”

Gun-Ho thought he would have to do the wallpaper since someone had been living here for several years and left some normal wear and tear on the wall.

“I will have to do the wallpaper and renovate the bathroom.”

The next day, Gun-Ho asked a remodeling contractor to come to his condo.

“I want to change the wallpaper and renovate this bathroom.”

“Is there any particular wallpaper you like?”

The contractor asked while laying out wallpaper samples he brought on the floor.

“Hmm, it’s hard to choose; there are so many of them. I just want something bright.”

“What about this one then? This one is popular among young female homeowners these days.”

“Umm, okay. Let’s do that then.”

The remodeling contractor checked each room of the condo.

“Sir, why don’t you renovate the kitchen too?”

“The kitchen looks okay as it is.”

“Sir, once you change the wallpaper, the kitchen will look dingy. You don’t want that in a luxurious condo like this one. I can get you a good price. You should change the ceiling lights as well. There are so many well-designed ceiling lights out there. You need to replace them all. All these updates will change the price of the condo.”

Once Gun-Ho heard the change of the condo’s price, he decided to update the condo as the remodeling contractor suggested.

After the condo renovation was completed, Gun-Ho went to the condo.

“Oh, gosh. Money is good. The renovation was worth every penny. They made the condo as if it was a brand new condo. They are certainly good at what they do.”

Gun-Ho started filling the condo with necessary furniture and home appliances. He bought a sofa, a dining set, a refrigerator, a washer, etc. They were all luxurious and expensive. Gun-Ho also bought a luxurious high-end designer bed frame, a wooden desk, and a bookshelf.

“This condo is too big for me; however, after three years I expect its price to go up by 100 million won. That means I would make over 30 million every year just by living here.”

Gun-Ho finally moved to Gangnam; his long-lasting dream came true. He liked the fact that he didn’t go through a realtor to purchase a real property but bought it instead through an auction at a low price. Gun-Ho now wanted to buy a car.

“Should I buy a BMW? Since I go fishing sometimes, maybe I should by an SUV. Let’s get a Land Rover.”

Gun-Ho purchased a Land Rover Discovery for 100 million won.

“Let me see how much I have spent for the TowerPalace condo, the condo in Guweol Town, the Land Rover, and the condo renovation.”

Gun-Ho calculated how much he spent so far.

“It’s a little over 2 billion won. I can recover the money I spent on buying the condo later once I resell it, so it’s okay. The cash that I have available now is a bit more than 17.7 billion won. Let’s take out some of it and start looking for a business I can run.”

Gun-Ho’s day in Gangnam started with waking up in the morning in a luxurious 50 pyung large condo in the TowerPalace community. He then went to a fitness center in his Land Rover and after working out there, he stopped by a café inside the Education Community Center building in Yangjae Town. When he was enjoying his coffee in this café as usual, he received a call from his friend—Min-Hyeok whom he ran across in front of the National Assembly Library of Korea the other day.

“Hey, Min-Hyeok. How have you been? Did you pass the government job exam?”

“No. I think I am not smart enough.”

“Come on, cheer up! I heard many people passed the exam after several attempts.”

“What about you, Gun-Ho? What are you doing these days? You are still in Yeongdeungpo, right?”

“No, I moved to another town.”

Gun-Ho decided not to tell him that he was living in a TowerPalace condo after considering telling him for a second.

“Oh, really? I was going to ask you if you would like to have soju with me if you’re in Yeongdeunpo because I took a position of a residential manager in a OneRoom in Yeongdeungpo, so I can continue to study for the exam while making some money.

“I will buy you a soju.”

“I have to stay in this area close to the OneRoom that I am working at as a residential manager. I can’t lose this job now. The same position at a luxurious OneRoom in Gangnam is extremely competitive.”

“I see.”

“If you happen to be in the area, just let me know, okay?”

“Yeah, I will. Thank you for calling me, friend.”

“OneRoom…”

Gun-Ho thought of his old days in a OneRoom. He used to live in one of those when he studied for the level-9 government job exam.

“There was no window in my room. It was tiny, and that room didn’t have a private bathroom either. Those days were indeed painful.”

Gun-Ho didn’t even want to think of those days; he shook his head as if he wanted to shake off the memory, but he went on.

“I kept failing the exam, and I had to save money. So, I ate cooked rice and kimchi for every meal in a day because they were free; the OneRoom provided cooked rice and kimchi for its residents for free. I don’t want to go back to that life ever again.”

Gun-Ho felt sorry for Min-Hyeok.

“Min-Hyeok is the same age as me, 36 years old since New Year’s Day already passed. If he could pass the level-9 government job exam, he would start making about 2 million won per month. I’m not sure if he could plan his future—marrying someone and buying a house—with that salary.”

Gun-Ho recalled his time with Min-Hyeok when they were still in junior high school together.

“He was a good friend. He must be having a difficult life now. His father used to drive a bus, but he’s probably retired already. Whew.”