1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 351



Only Noblemtl

351 – Newsreel

The day after returning from Ulsan, Kijo felt puzzled by his eldest son’s changed attitude.

Yeongsu was originally a polite and well-mannered child, but that morning at the dinner table, the look in his eyes as he looked at himself was filled with awe.

After eating and sending Youngsu to school first, Kijo asked Seol-ryeol.

“What happened while I was in Ulsan?”

“No. Is something bothering you?”

The keynote speech on the pilgrimage question was that it was a matter of mood.

Then, before leaving the front door, I asked again.

“I think Youngsoo has something to say to me, but he’s holding it in and not saying it, so that’s why.”

He smiled as if he understood what the pilgrimage meant at the keynote speech.

“What happened?”

“Oh, that’s it… … .”

Pilgrimage told of what had happened during the few days that Gijo had been away from home.

“I heard that Youngsu went from school to the community center to watch a newsreel.”

Newsreels were films produced by the U.S. Information Service’s Liberty News or Daehan News and shown for free.

In the era when TV distribution was limited, newsreels were virtually the only way to access visual information.

“The news about Chairman Park’s visit to the U.S. came out, and Youngsoo was surprised to see you there.”

“ah…….”

Kijo seemed to know why Youngsoo was looking at him like that.

“Youngsu was so shocked that his whole body trembled. He said he wondered if it was a dream or reality when he saw Chairman Park and President Kennedy sitting next to him.”

Pilgrimage covered his mouth and laughed.

“But. While watching the movie, Youngbae suddenly stood up, pointed at the screen, and shouted, ‘It’s Youngsu’s father! It’s Youngsu’s father!’”

The keynote reminded me of the situation in the movie theater, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with Pilgrimage.

“Later, the homeroom teacher called Young-soo in and asked if it was true that his father had been to America. Young-soo answered that the person in the movie was his father. Young-soo said that when the teacher asked him in front of the kids, he was so proud of his father that his heart almost burst.”

“I see.”

Kijo nodded, hugged Pilgrimage, and left the house.

When I arrived at the company and went up the stairs, the employees I encountered also had a harder time maintaining their composure than usual.

When the door to the president’s office opened, Dae-ik and Hyeon-gyeong, who were sitting in the secretary’s office talking, hurriedly stood up and greeted Ki-jo.

Kijo asked, looking at Daeik’s bewildered expression.

“Did anyone gossip?”

Hyun-kyung answered the keynote question with a smile.

“Chief Sung spoke about the CEO.”

Daeik was startled by Hyeon-gyeong’s words and waved his hands.

“I just want the CEO and Chairman Park to be able to joke around. That’s what I said.”

I thought that this was something that Daeik, who had accompanied me to Ulsan, could say.

But Kijo hoped that such words would not spread in the market.

At the moment when he was about to give his attention, Hyun-kyung spoke.

“Sir, so I asked, is Chairman Park the problem? He seems to be close to President Kennedy.”

At Hyeon-gyeong’s words, Dae-ik touched the back of his head and bowed his head.

Hyun Kyung-do thought that she had seen the newsreel, so she said nothing more, smiled awkwardly, and went into the CEO’s office.

I was about to start work, making a cup of tea myself, when the phone rang.

It was my sister-in-law, Sunyoung.

“Brother-in-law! What’s going on? A famous star has appeared in our family!”

Kijo was embarrassed when he heard that Soonyoung had seen herself in a newsreel and that she had enjoyed it so much that she watched the newsreel with her husband several times.

“You’ve seen Dongseo many times?”

“Yes, our Ma-Ryang liked it very much. When he came out of the movie, he said, ‘As expected, it’s you, hyung.’”

Kijo listened to Sunyoung’s chatter and hung up the phone.

Kijo left the office quietly, wondering how much of himself he had appeared in the movie.

When Dae-ik and Hyeon-gyeong asked where he was going, he simply said he would go somewhere for a bit and headed to the civic center in front of the Cheongsan headquarters.

The Citizens’ Hall was located on the site of Sejong Cultural Center.

The keynote speaker went into the theater where the newsreel was being shown and took his seat.

The movie was just starting with upbeat music.

―On November 15, Chairman Park Chung-hee visited the United States and visited the White House with his entourage. To meet with President Kennedy… … .

The newsreel began with Chairman Park’s car pulling into the White House lobby.

As soon as the meeting with Kennedy on the porch, handshake, and commemorative photo were over and he went up the stairs, the meeting room appeared.

First, the faces of Kennedy and Chairman Park were shown, and when Chairman Park said, “In the US, reporters are your bosses too,” everyone was shown laughing.

At that moment, the keynote speech was captured.

The keynote speech felt ashamed.

Even though I only appeared for a second or so, it was so awkward to see myself there.

The meeting ended with a comment that the meeting was proceeding amicably, and a scene of Kennedy seeing Chairman Park off was shown.

As the two ended their conversation through the car window, Chairman Park was shown visiting Arlington National Cemetery and laying a wreath.

Then came scenes of him meeting with American ministers.

The video was out of sync with the actual chronological order of the day.

The original order was visit to the national cemetery, meeting with the minister, and summit, but the summit was moved to the front.

That seemed to be the context the government was hoping for.

It was edited to make it appear that Kennedy was the first to greet Chairman Park, laid a wreath at the national cemetery, and then met with the ministers.

The keynote came out in between and was exposed for a total of about 3 seconds.

My family and friends were going crazy because of those 3 seconds.

The keynote speaker left the civic center and instead of returning to his office, headed to the Peninsula Hotel.

The person who would be least surprised to find himself interpreting for Chairman Park next to Kennedy was Cho Joong-hoon.

Joong-Hoon went to Japan with them and was the first to know that Ki-Jo was going to Japan with Chairman Park.

When I arrived at the Peninsula Hotel and was about to go up to Joong-Hoon’s office, I saw a familiar man in the lobby.

It was Lee Maeng-hee.

The keynote speech was that he was probably working at Ankuk Fire & Marine Insurance now.

Lee Byung-chul had a bad relationship with his employees because his Hanil Bank stocks were confiscated by the state, so he left the bank and moved to a new position.

When he wondered why he was at the Bando Hotel during work hours on a weekday, Lee Maeng-hee also saw the keynote and approached him briskly.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Lee. I saw it on a news report a few days ago, so it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Hahaha.”

Kijo shook hands with Maeng-hee and asked about his father’s well-being.

Chairman Lee Byung-chul returned to Korea on December 4th.

He led the Economic Association to Europe and the United States and announced his ambition to secure a total of $1.1 billion in loans over 5 to 10 years, but the results were not good.

He had no choice but to return empty-handed.

“I’m doing well. The results of my overseas trip were not good, but I need to find another way.”

Lee Maeng-hee spoke about his father’s failure without hiding it.

It was difficult to get a feel for his tone, whether he had a quick-tempered personality or was straightforward in everything he did.

Maeng-hee was also blunt towards Gi-jo.

“I heard that KISA was established. The results of this visit by the CEO are dazzling. Hahaha.”

It didn’t sound sarcastic.

I thought there were already rumors in the financial world that he was pursuing a steel business.

Moreover, since it was confirmed through newsreels that he was the only businessman to visit the United States with Chairman Park, there was nothing left to hide.

“It’s still too early to receive congratulations. I’m working on it.”

“Well begun is half done. I believe you will do well.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Kijo was about to leave, but Maenghee grabbed Kijo’s collar.

“Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”

Maenghee led the way to the coffee shop.

As we sat across from each other drinking tea, Maeng-hee opened up about a heavy topic.

“I just left Hanil Bank, but something really funny is happening there.”

“What’s going on?”

“Do you remember when I fought with my staff before? They protested, thinking I was a special favored parachute, and then they actually dropped a parachute on me?”

I think I got the general idea.

This must be the story of Kim Jong-rak, Kim Jong-pil’s older brother.

“There was a deputy named Kim Jong-rak. There was a rumor that he would soon be put in charge of personnel affairs as a staff officer.”

*Chuicheyok (取締役) – Japanese term meaning director.

“Is that so?”

Maeng-hee said to the keynote speaker who asked calmly.

“I don’t think you know who that person is. He’s the head of the Central Intelligence Agency.”

The keynote speaker nodded.

“In a bank, personnel is everything. If you put someone in a branch with good performance, he will soon become a competent person, but if you send him away, no matter how hard you try, he will become incompetent. A mere manager was promoted quickly to the position of deciding where to put people. Do you know what I mean?”

Lee Maeng-hee was a little excited.

Kijodo also fully understood that feeling.

The older brother of the person in power suddenly got promoted and started to influence the personnel affairs of the bank, so he probably wanted to talk about how unfair it was that he had been complained about receiving a little more salary.

“As expected, this is a country that curses the rich and bows its head to the powerful. It’s so bitter… … .”

Kijo changed the subject because he thought that if he spoke carelessly about Kim Jong-pil’s older brother, he would be in big trouble.

“By the way, what’s going on at the Peninsula Hotel?”

“Oh, that’s because I want to meet some people. Hahaha.”

The angry Lee Maeng-hee hid the reason he came to the hotel.

I didn’t ask any more questions, thinking there might be something he didn’t want to talk about.

There was anticipation and excitement on his face, but he didn’t seem to be there to meet a woman.

Although Lee Maeng-hee suffered from all sorts of slander during the process of being eliminated as Samsung’s successor, everyone who knew him unanimously stated that he was not a man with complicated womanizing.

He was a man who could not even drink a glass of alcohol, just like his father, but when I saw that there were even rumors that he enjoyed alcohol and drugs, I thought that many of the rumors about him were false.

Even after meeting him in person and talking to him now, that thought hasn’t changed.

Although he was a bit hasty and choleric, he didn’t seem like a complicated person. Rather, he seemed to have many innocent aspects.

“I have someone to meet. May I stand first?”

“Oh, right. I’ve been wasting your time, sir. Hahaha.”

“No, it was nice talking to you.”

Kijo said goodbye, got up, and left the coffee shop.

Kijo went to room 300 of the Bando Hotel, met Joong-hoon, and sat on the sofa to talk to Joong-hoon.

“You say it’s hard work to show your face in a movie? This guy is talking nonsense. He looks ten times better in person than he does in real life. What are you talking about? Hahaha.”

Kijo smiled comfortably. He realized anew how great it is to meet someone who shares his feelings.

“My brother should have gone instead of me. I lost 3kg from following the entourage.”

“What? Are you making fun of me for being fat? Have you become so arrogant since you became a star on the silver screen?”

Joong-Hoon laughed heartily.

“I’m so glad you went to the U.S. and formed KISA. Look at the Federation of Korean Industries. When you went to Japan, you were right there in front of us badmouthing us. Didn’t you come back without any results?”

It seemed like Joong-Hoon couldn’t forget the humiliation he suffered on the plane to Japan.

“President Lee Byung-chul lost his bank stocks and couldn’t get a loan for the fertilizer factory. He must be burning inside right now. That’s why…”

Joong-Hoon made a face as if he was about to tell Ki-Jo an interesting story.

“I heard that the eldest son of that house has been frequenting the Bando Hotel a lot lately. I’ve seen him a few times. I wondered what kind of people he meets, but well…”

Joong-Hoon said, lowering his voice.

“The people I meet are… English doctor Lee, Opus Shin, people like ‘Dariana’, right?”

When Kijo heard the names of the people Lee Maeng-hee was meeting, he thought he knew why he was hanging around the hotel.

All three people that Joong-Hoon mentioned were loan brokers.

When his father failed to obtain a loan overseas, it seemed that he took the initiative and met with loan brokers in Korea to try to push forward the business.

“But you know, Mr. Lee Byung-chul’s eldest son doesn’t seem to know much about business yet. There’s no use meeting with those scoundrels. He’s the only person who can do business with a company as big as Samsung… … .”

Kijo seemed to know who Joonghoon was talking about.