Chapter 74

Exclusive Korean content. I’ve never thought too much about business. Every time I enter a new field, I wonder if it will work out. Earth Resources’ division meeting was a series of fun. “Sales in the cloud sector increased by 170% compared to last month.” The era of non-face-to-face communication due to the coronavirus. As Internet companies continue to be active, the money coming in from the cloud has increased tremendously. “Sales in the shopping mall division increased by 89% compared to last week.” Shopping malls also suffered greatly from non-face-to-face contact. The effect of Source Coin paid through promotions was steadily occurring. “The daily fee on the coin exchange exceeded $7.5 million.” The exchange that created Sourcecoin’s transaction support was flooded with huge amounts of cash. Earth Resources’ first business, the calculation part, was still a cash cow. To say the growth rate in other business areas was insane was insufficient. ‘Many business units are doing well this much. It would be okay even if we lose money for 2 or 3 years in our entry into the broadcasting platform.’ Broadcasting platforms have to make huge investments in the early stages to be competitive, so it is difficult to avoid losses. It’s a question of when it will turn profitable, but it was different from when Earth Resources was just founded and supported Bio Life. ‘I can afford to invest and wait.’ In addition to the money earned from corporate activities, personal wealth continues to grow due to the booming New York stock market. If the cloud were the wings in Earth Resources, what role would the broadcasting platform play in a business unit meeting? Myung-Woo Oh and Yeonsan as vice presidents, Eddy from the cloud business unit, and Allison from the shopping mall business unit. I spoke at a meeting where members of the finance team or support team were involved. “We are going to officially enter the broadcasting platform market.” “Yes?” “A broadcast?” Everyone was surprised except for Eddie, who was greedy for the broadcasting field. The finance team and support team staff were bewildered. “We will start the field of video and broadcast content using Earth Resource’s cloud system.” A business plan that combines Netflix and YouTube. The reason for holding the business department meeting until this evening was that it was thought that there would be a heated debate between the pros and cons. There were strong competitors in this market, and it is not easy to catch up as a latecomer. There are inevitably many practical difficulties. “I agree. Thank you so much!” Eddy from the Computation and Cloud Division expressed his approval. “It will be fun. We can do well what others do.” Myungwoo Oh agrees. I turned my attention to Allison, the head of the shopping mall division. He was prudent and meticulous enough to express his disapproval. If the people who lead the business unit oppose it, they are prepared to persuade them. “Interesting.” “Are you interested?” “Yes. Isn’t there a business that the CEO started that didn’t succeed? I think I started with enough insight.” “… … .” Honestly, I thought of it as Eddie’s suggestion. I agree with you. Earth Resources has been a debt-free, blue-chip business, piling up cash every day. What about the New York stock market, which I invested in? The endless rise in stock prices. There was enough energy to venture into new businesses, and the members were full of confidence. “Good. Let’s try.” Lee Jong-yeop attended the meeting and did not say a word. Watching the conversation between Kim Shin-ina and the heads of business units, I felt something burning in my heart. ‘Okay. I came out of Arkor to see this.’ Rather than earning a stable salary, he followed his dream and boarded an airplane. Of course, while Kim Shin was willing to accept it, the salary couldn’t be compared to the time of Arcor. “CEO. It’s ingenious.” “The broadcasting platform business is a bit different from what we’ve done so far.” “Yes. So it wouldn’t be good to wait and see what to do.” The staff who leave after the meeting are also full of positive attitudes. It was very different from the days when I passed the time at Arcor and went around hospitals to suit the mood of the doctors. The broadcasting platform plan was pushed forward by me. Even if Eddy and programmers complete the technical part, the business area and promotion are more important than anything else. Right now, I have decided to give a gift to a friend who has demonstrated more than 300% of his abilities. “Myungwoo.” “Yes?” “I will grant you one wish.” “What? Maybe… really? Is that a lie?” “Right.” Establishment of the Roll Pro Game Team. It was one of Oh Myeong-woo’s most desired wishes recently. Until now, Earth Resources’ divisions have not had to operate a game team, but it is good to have their game team for publicity in order to enter the broadcasting platform market. Just as OngameNet and MBC Games maintained their gaming teams when StarCraft was at its peak of popularity. “How are you going to make it? How do you recruit players?” “I need to find out now.” Very little was known about professional gaming teams. Even though I worked at a convenience store and watched game broadcasts when I was in college, I didn’t know much about the internal situation. ‘It’s hard to do well if I say that I’m investing only with money.’ In soccer or baseball, you would have to take over an existing team, but it is not that difficult to create a new team and jump into the league. ‘A fun game, good harmony among players, and a team with overwhelming skills. That’s the goal.’ I thought that if I wanted to create a gaming team in Korea, I would have to select a leader first. Dream Art Rainbow’s Vice President Jeong Beom-tae has so many things to do right now. There weren’t many people I could trust otherwise. ―Kim Shin: The Future Automobile Group sponsors sports, right? ―Jin Yoo-gyeong: Yes. But you contacted me after a long time and asked me about that? With Ellie, who is a workaholic, most of the conversations are about work. ―Kim Shin: How do you select a sports team leader? ―Jin Yu-gyeong: The one who was pushed back in the power struggle within the group. -Kim Shin: Yes? ―Jin Yoo-gyeong: Or if you have worked hard for the company, but you have to retire. As a final courtesy to those at the director level or higher, they are sent to the general manager for 2 or 3 years. ―Kim Shin: … …. Is this the heartless world of business? I don’t think I thought about who the leader was, even when I saw the professional team. Vice President Jeong Beom-tae worked at Indream Investment for 12 years. While working in the film industry, I emptied countless soju glasses filled with tears. “That work was invested in by another company? No, our company discovered the script and has put a lot of work into it. Director Kang!” For the production of a movie, the director, staff, and actors are all set up, and the work for which the investment was negotiated is taken away by another large investment company. “Has Kang Se-ra signed a contract to shoot another movie?” The departure of the lead actor. The actor’s ticket power is important, so the work he worked on for six months was overthrown. “Director. Please, let’s stop taking additional shots here.” The director, suffering from an art disease, continued the second and third reshoots, and the production cost increased exponentially. The film had to go through countless obstacles from the screenplay stage, investment, actor selection, to pre-production by the production team. InDream is a small-scale investment company, so it couldn’t even look at a blockbuster movie with a production cost of over 10 billion won, and clung to a movie that could be made with a low production cost. The joy of seeing a movie on the screen was indescribable, but even at this time, the final stage of the distributor’s abuse of power remained. Even if you manage to schedule a release by avoiding blockbuster films monopolizing the screen. Movies cut in the middle or invested by distributors come in. If you managed to make a profit, drinking a glass of soju with sundaeguk was the reward for rewarding yourself. “There is a work whose scenario has been written. I want to receive investment from Dream Art Rainbow.” “Director Kang Ho’s film at our production company?” “Yes. Could you come in as the main investment company?” Dream Art Rainbow’s Vice President Jeong Beom-tae worked in Chungmuro until several shoes were worn out, but this was the first time he was treated like this. Representatives of the production company, who knew Indream lightly, came to explain the work. Even considering that the movie industry’s funds were dry in the era of Corona, receiving Kim Shin’s investment itself could be an issue for the public. “Infinite Challenge?” “Yes. Although there are several demanding requirements.” “If you’re a star producer like that, of course, you should recruit him.” “We still don’t know the results after independence.” “What we have done so far has already been proven. I heard that the representative is also a fan of the work.” “Ah, the representative. Then you must bring it.” PDs who are famous to viewers in the broadcasting industry have changed jobs. Organize the staff for them and recruit the cast. We rented a large studio, and it was around that time that filming of various programs began. Jeong Beom-tae continued to meet actors, producers, and directors every day. ―Vice President Jung Beom-tae. Are you busy right now? Yepp. CEO. I can call you now.” Although nominally the representative of the company, I received a phone call from Shin Kim in Silicon Valley. Dream Art Rainbow’s vice president’s office. The two producers and entertainers who were having a heated conversation about the next project froze. In Korea, Kim Shin’s reputation and wealth were to the point where even the most popular celebrities felt only envy. -I have something to ask you. Besides the content you shoot yourself, how much money have you invested in other companies? “Now it is about 72.8 billion.” As Korean broadcasting content is gaining popularity overseas, the production scale of movies and dramas has increased compared to the past. In some cases, a single movie costs 20 billion won, so if you become the main investor and take responsibility for 30%, you will need a whopping 6 billion won. Vice President Jeong Beom-tae swallowed nervously. “Did you spend too much money on investments in a short period? It is because of the cost of acquiring the production company. I will work hard to select the boulders and compose only works that can be successful.” – Uhm. “Starting next year, our goal is to make a profit, even if it is a small amount, when the contents we have invested in come out on the market. If we do not achieve our goals, we will resign at any time.” Jeong Beom-tae spoke over the phone with a spleen determination. At InDream Investments, every time a movie produced a small loss, the CEO called him incompetent and received a lot of swearing. – You don’t have to do that. “Yes?” ―You have worked hard so far, but I would like you to invest more. You need to spend about 5 times more than the amount you sprayed now. “Ah. Yes.” Five times that would be over 350 billion. It was time for Vice President Jeong Beom-tae to answer, suspecting that the calculation was wrong. ―Does it cost 15 billion to make a movie these days? “For medium and large films, yes. Staff labor costs have come down a lot, though.” ―Korean movies, entertainment, and dramas. There must be a lot of people taking a break because of coronavirus. Please actively start production. Today, we will deposit an additional 400 billion won as the capital of Dream Art Rainbow. “400 billion? Right today?” Isn’t 400 billion won like a typhoon in the Korean content industry? Of course, I’m not saying to spend all of the company’s capital in one or two years, but it sounded like a saying that if there is a good opportunity, don’t miss it. -Yes. It means to invest in the publication rights of works that have not been released due to the coronavirus after production has been completed. Sooner or later, Earth Resources will create its broadcasting platform. “Broadcasting platform… … .” ―For more details, we will make a business plan and send it to you. “Yes. CEO.” ―You must be busy, but take care of your family and work slowly. “It’s an honor to call you. CEO.” After hanging up the phone, Jeong Beom-tae leaned back on the sofa. There was a huge conversation going on during the short phone call, so I was completely distracted. 400 billion. Broadcast platform. These were words of enormous scale.