1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 37



Only Noblemtl

Episode 37 – New Year 1989

The banquet hall on the top floor of the Daegyeong Association Building in Yeouido.

The Korea Economic Association, a gathering of Korean conglomerates, was holding a grand year-end and New Year’s party.

“The eventful year of 1988 is now coming to an end. This year, there was a special event for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and next year, Korea will finally enter an era of liberalized overseas travel. This era of full-scale openness will be a great opportunity for our economy, but it will also be a crisis.”

“If we can go out freely, we can also easily come in. As the era of the global village begins, advanced foreign capital will continue to come in and eye our home. In addition, the standards of consumers who freely travel abroad will become higher than they are now. In this time of great change, we must find a breakthrough again.”

As Myungsung Group Chairman Seo Tae-hoon finished his farewell speech, the banquet hall was filled with applause.

The heads of the conglomerates that control the Korean economy, including Oseong Group, Jewoo Group, Hyunmyeong Group, Eunseong Group, Seonjeong Group, Cheongryong Group, Hankook Chemical Group, and Lotte Group, were all gathered in one place.

“I enjoyed your speech. Your words always hit the nail on the head and are easy to understand. I think I need to learn that kind of speech, too.”

“Thank you for your compliments, Chairman. What good can you do if you just talk? You have to grow the company well like you do. I learned a lot from watching you build the semiconductor business of Oseong Electronics with determination.”

Chairman Lee Gun-chang of the Oseong Group approached Chairman Seo Tae-hoon after he finished his speech and greeted him. Lee Gun-chang introduced his son who was standing next to him.

“Say hello, this is Chairman Seo Tae-hoon of Myeongseong Group. He is the most gentlemanly person among our Daegyeonghyup members. Chairman, he is our eldest son.”

“Hello, Chairman. Nice to meet you. My name is Jin-ho Lee.”

“Oh, Jin-ho. Nice to meet you. I think I saw you once when I was young, but now you’re a full-grown young man.”

“This guy got into the Wharton School of Business Administration this time. I told him to study in Korea for his undergraduate studies and go abroad for his MBA, but he said he should go at least one year younger so he can adapt and study properly, so he studied hard. I really didn’t know he would get in like this.”

“Oh, really? Congratulations on this. Congratulations, Jin-ho. Wharton? It’s the best school for business administration.”

“I studied hard. I wanted to finish my MBA and make the semiconductor business my father started the world’s number one.”

“Wow, you’re not only smart, but your thoughts are also admirable. You must be proud.”

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat? Since you’re almost done with your speech, you should eat first. What the heck, Geonchang is bragging about his kids again? Isn’t that right?”

In the middle of the conversation, Hyunmyung Group Chairman Jeong Gu-yeong intervened.

Born into a very poor family, he was a man of great standing who raised Hyunmyung Group, one of the top conglomerates in Korea, and received the highest level of senior treatment from the Korea Economic Daily.

“Hahahaha. No, Chairman. I just brought my son out to say hello so he can get used to the atmosphere.”

“Ah, Jin-ho, when the time comes, you’ll come out here and settle down. But I don’t know if I’ll still be alive when the kid comes back after finishing nuclear school. Hehehe!”

“What are you saying, Chairman? Of all the chairman here, you are the most upright.”

“Don’t flatter me. These days, you can’t even drink cold water as you please. While we’re on the subject, let’s say hello to my children. Say hello to them, kids.”

Chairman Jeong Gu-yeong greeted his three sons in a row.

“Here, the eldest Song Hyeon is in construction, the second Song Guk is in automobiles, and the third Song Myeong just got a job at shipbuilding. They seem to be doing well at work, but no one listens to them. They all have their own ideas. Geon-chang, you should educate him properly too. No matter how much you study theory at a nuclear school, you know very well that it’s completely different when you actually go to the field, right?”

“Of course that’s true. But these days, times have changed, so it’s too dangerous to jump in without knowing anything, Chairman Wang.”

“Hey, anyway, you never say “I understand” to a single word I say. But do you know? That’s why I like you?”

Chairman Jeong Gu-yeong laughed heartily.

“What’s so funny, Chairman Wang?

As Myeongseong, Oseong, and the Chairman of Hyunmyeong Group were attached to him, the heads of other groups also joined in, one by one, to say hello.

As the crowd grew, Chairman Seo Tae-hoon tried to sneak out, but then Chairman Jeong Gu-yeong asked.

“Oh, but Taehoon, didn’t you have three kids? I think it’s about time for the oldest one to go to college.”

“Yes, Chairman. You remember that. He is the same age as Jin-ho here.”

“Oh, really? Then I guess we can be friends with Jin-ho. Bring him out sometime.”

“Yes, that’s what I should do, but this guy is busy these days. My son is busier than me these days.”

“He’s busier than the chairman of a conglomerate? What does he do?”

“I started my own business.”

“already?”

“You started a business? You didn’t join an affiliate? You set up a subsidiary?”

“No. He said he didn’t need that kind of thing and didn’t want to be interfered with, so he took out a bank loan and started it himself.”

“Hahaha! That guy is reckless. What about nuclear school?”

“He said he wouldn’t go. He said he didn’t need to go. But I told him to start after graduating from college, so he said it was now or never and he skipped college and started his own company.”

“I like that guy. So what kind of business does he have?”

For a moment, Chairman Seo Tae-hoon paused. Should he tell the truth? Should he not? He momentarily hesitated.

At the same time, I was ashamed of myself for hesitating.

“We make video games.”

“Video games?”

The atmosphere of the people gathered there suddenly froze as if a switch had been turned off. Some of the presidents tilted their heads, while others barely managed to hold back their laughter.

“Then it’s the electronics side? I don’t know much about it. But it looks promising?”

“I don’t know much about it yet, but Namjoon is taking it very seriously. He made a game called himself, and it turned out much better than I expected. It surprised me.”

“? What is that?”

“Is this the first time you’re hearing this?”

“Isn’t this a bit of an embarrassing business for us to do?”

Chairman Seo Tae-hoon could hear the chairmen gossiping among themselves.

But Seo Tae-hoon tried not to be intimidated. It seemed like he was watching from this spot what kind of gaze his son would receive from people in the future and what kind of thorny path he would face.

“Wasn’t on the 9 o’clock news a while ago? They said they opened a store in Myeongdong.”

“That’s right. I guess Jin-ho saw the news. He opened a temporary special store called Saetbyeoljeom in Myeongdong, and the idea is good and the response is great. He boasted that he would grow the company into something bigger than Nintendo and surpass Myeongseong Group. He told me that if I was interested, he would let me invest a little, so I barely managed to invest.”

“Ah, haha! I don’t know what it is, but I like one thing about my son’s ambition. He doesn’t plan on inheriting anything and wants to raise what’s his own, right? That’s right, once you’re born a man, you should have that kind of distribution, right? I thought Chairman Seo was just a picky eater, but he’s surprisingly raising his son in a generous way? Hehehe!”

Chairman Wang laughed heartily. Then the other chairman started laughing too.

“Hahaha! You really have a very independent son.”

“Video games! Those would be fun!”

“I am very excited to see it grow bigger than Myeongseong Group.”

The people’s laughter felt different from Chairman Jeong Gu-yeong’s laughter. Chairman Seo Tae-hoon knew why they were laughing.

Still, he stood there silently accepting the laughter without turning away, because that was all he could do for his son.

Oh Sung Group Chairman Lee Geon-chang did not laugh. This was because he had received a report that Oh Sung Electronics was planning to import game consoles from Japan’s Sega next year.

The eldest son of the Oh Sung Group, Lee Jin-ho, did not laugh either. He remembered two names: Seo Nam-joon and .

A friend of the same age as him created a game and started a business already. Chairman Wang only said that he was scolded for studying, but he did not spare praise for Seo Nam-joon who was not present.

A sense of competition and curiosity arose in Lee Jin-ho’s mind. He thought he had to find out properly before leaving to study abroad.

***

The new year of 1989 has arrived.

I was surprised when I saw the January calendar for the new year. Following January 1st, the 2nd and 3rd were red days.

The calendar said ‘New Year’s Holiday’. When I turned the calendar over to February, there was only one day off for Lunar New Year. It is said that Lunar New Year was first designated as a public holiday in 1989.

Then, as time passed, the New Year’s holiday disappeared and the Lunar New Year’s holiday changed to a three-day holiday. The New Year’s and Lunar New Year’s holidays switched places.

The New Year’s culture has also changed like this. Even though we have clearly lived through this era, there are many things that have been forgotten in our lives.

“happy new year.”

“Okay, you guys, stay healthy this year too, play the piano hard, and study hard.”

“yes~!”

The family woke up early in the morning and put on their traditional New Year’s clothes. I also wore a hanbok that I had made in advance and offered New Year’s bows to my parents.

They wear real hanbok on New Year’s Day and greet the new year. The houses they have are really different.

“Well, then I can’t forget the New Year’s money, right?”

“Hey~!”

He gave me, as well as my second and youngest children, some pocket money. When I opened it, it was a check for ten million won.

No, what kind of New Year’s money? I was surprised and looked at the chairman, and he smiled and said,

“I’m giving this to you as a talisman to help you earn a lot of money in the future and to bring in money. Keep it safe.”

During the holidays, my relatives came to visit us one after another. My aunt, my aunts, my cousins, and even the company presidents and executives came to greet me.

This big house was bustling with guests. The workers also had no time to rest from the first day of the new year.

I greeted my relatives, except for my uncle, who was away on a business trip abroad.

“Oh, is that Namjoon? Yeah···.”

Most of the relatives paused for a moment when they saw me, then awkwardly said a few words. The adults probably didn’t know how to deal with the eldest son of the family who came out of his room after so many years.

“Wow~! This room is total heaven!!!!”

On the other hand, my room was a paradise for my cousins, where they could play any game they wanted.

In addition to the stationary consoles, Nintendo also has a variety of portable game consoles, such as the Game & Watch, which are good for playing without fighting each other.

By the way, Nintendo’s super powerful portable game console, the Game Boy, is coming out this year. It’s a huge game that took an era by storm.

Nintendo would go on to dominate the 8-bit and 16-bit game markets with the release of the Super Famicom, following the Game Boy.

Nintendo is so far ahead, so I need to make even more fun games this year, make arcade games, and start exporting. There’s a lot to do.

But today, my priority is to play with these noisy cousins.

“Hey guys! Want to play a game I made?”

“My brother makes games?”

“lie!”

“Cute things. You still don’t know , do you? This older sister also helped me make it. I even did a polaroid. You don’t even know what that is?”

The youngest bragged about it to his younger siblings. The second oldest went into his room because it was too noisy.

When the youngest showed the younger cousins ​​, they almost fainted.

“Wow!” “Wow!” “Wow!”

“Did you really make this, hyung?”

“Mom, look at this! My brother made a game!”

“Huh? Really?”

“Wow, Namjoon hyung is really talented, right?”

The younger cousins, unable to contain their excitement, ran straight to their mom and dad and told them about .

But the adults’ reaction was different from that of the children. They couldn’t show it in front of me, but I could feel that they thought I was an oddball.

“You started a company?”

“Aren’t you going to school?”

“I guess the chairman set up a subsidiary.”

“Oh, my business is so desperately in need of investment, but you won’t listen to me.”

“I told you to go to Taegon hyung instead of the Chairman. The Chairman is a bit stuffy and stuffy, but Taegon hyung is different.”

“If he keeps doing that, when he gets older, he’ll fold up the business and take over the core affiliates as if nothing happened. Do you want him to keep doing that? It’s just a one-time thing, isn’t it?”

“Why do you look a little disappointed? Why? Do you think something will go wrong if Namjoon doesn’t come to the company?”

As I was going to the bathroom, I heard my relatives gossiping. I guess that’s all they saw, right?

No matter how much I say I’m serious about games, it’s useless. That’s just the way the world works, and that’s how the world views games now.

In the end, I have no choice but to show the results that will turn all of this around.

“Subin, are you in your room?”

When I made a sound on purpose, my relatives were startled and started to disperse one by one.

It’s not just me who’s gossiping, but they’re even gossiping about my father at home. It’s obvious that these people are living thanks to the chairman.

I must remember their faces and eyes as they disappeared, looking at my expression.

“The preparations for the Lunar New Year ceremonies are complete. Everyone, please gather together.”

The family of the Myungsung Group gathered in the living room of the chairman’s house. A large table was set up in front of an old-fashioned ten-panel folding screen with incomprehensible Chinese characters, and many carefully prepared foods were served. Since it was New Year’s Day, delicious rice cake soup was also served.

The chairman himself used a brush to paint the area.

“Namjoon, come and buy me a drink.”

I was a little nervous as I received the alcohol to be served on the ancestral rite table in front of so many relatives. I wondered if the Seo family ancestors would be angry that I had taken Namjoon’s body.

I don’t usually believe in shamanism, but I was a little concerned about my situation.

I placed a drink on the table and stepped back. Now it was my turn to bow.

“No, wait. I think I missed something.”

People were about to bow, but at the father’s words, they stood up again and inspected the table to see if there was any food missing.

“Chairman, it seems like we have everything···?”

“No, this is missing.”

The chairman took something out of his bosom.

It was the that I created.

“This is the first game that our Namjoon made. And since all of our family members helped out a little bit, we should show it to our ancestors. Don’t you think so, Namjoon?”

“Yes, father.”

I answered with a slightly heavy heart.

Father carefully placed the on the table. No one dared to object.

“That’s enough. Let’s bow.”

Following my father, my family and relatives gathered to bow towards the table where the was placed.

I sincerely hope that everything we do in the new year will go well and that Myeongseong Group will grow smoothly without wavering.

A fragrant smoke rose from the incense.