Following their instructions to follow their car, I started driving the truck.
After driving for 30 minutes outside of Seoul, we arrived at a fairly large warehouse.
"The office is inside the warehouse, so please come with us. You can park your truck here."
I parked the truck and entered the warehouse. Inside, there were clothes, toys, accessories, and even a considerable amount of home appliances.
Passing through the warehouse, we entered the office, where the man formally introduced himself again.
"This is our boss, and I'm the interpreter."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Sol from Chunha Trading."
I intentionally said "Trading" instead of "Resources."
"Our boss buys used goods in Korea and exports them to China. He's also very interested in computers. He's been trying to find used computers, but the supply is limited, it's not easy to acquire them in bulk, and the prices at secondhand stores are too high. He was looking for a solution when he saw your sign and wanted to discuss a potential deal, so we arranged this meeting."
"Exporting to China, you say. As long as the price is right and you buy in bulk, I don't care whether you export them or boil them."
The man translated my words to the Chinese boss and then asked me,
"The more, the better, he says. The Chinese market is vast, and there are plenty of buyers."
"That's great to hear. It's 100 units now, but the volume will increase in the future."
The Chinese boss looked pleased. I added,
"We're meeting for the first time, but business is simple, isn't it? Goods for money, goods for money. It's a straightforward exchange."
"Goods for money" was a junkyard term, meaning exchanging money and goods simultaneously, like with one hand receiving money and the other handing over the goods.
"That's right. But the goods need to be in good condition. We'll test them."
"Of course. We can proceed with the deal after the testing is complete."
"Our boss is satisfied. He suggests we test the computers you brought today, finalize the deal, and then go for a drink."
"Sounds good. We can't skip the drinks."
The testing began immediately. We unloaded the 50 sets of monitors and main units, and the Chinese boss and the interpreter started inspecting them thoroughly.
Perhaps because it was our first deal, they were very meticulous with the testing. One out of the 50 main units turned out to be defective.
I was a bit nervous because I had thoroughly tested them all before bringing them.
'What if they want to cancel the deal because of one defective unit?'
After the testing, they approached me, and I was relieved to see their smiles. But I still made an excuse.
"One unit is defective. That's strange. I tested them all yesterday before bringing them."
"He says a 1-2% defect rate is normal for used goods, so this is acceptable."
I was starting to like this Chinese boss.
"He says he can offer 300,000 won per main unit and 50,000 won per monitor."
Fireworks were going off in my head, but I tried to frown and said,
"300,000 won? Isn't that a bit low? We have our own acquisition costs, and after deducting labor costs, the profit margin isn't that great."
They discussed it for a moment and then said,
"How about we discuss the details over drinks?"
The Chinese boss took us to a room salon, a type of bar with female hostesses that I had only seen on TV or heard about.
It was my first time in a room salon, and I tried to act nonchalant, but all the hostesses were beautiful and wore revealing clothes, leaving me unsure where to look.
We were led to a room, and after calming my excitement, I discussed the prices with the Chinese boss for a while.
We agreed on 350,000 won per main unit and 70,000 won per monitor. Although one of the 50 main units was defective, he included it as a service for our first deal, bringing the total to 21 million won.
After the pleasant transaction, we introduced ourselves and continued chatting.
"So, you're CEO Wu. You're only 35 years old, that's impressive."
"He says you're even younger."
The interpreter, Park Ji-won, was Korean-Chinese. I was surprised by his fluency in Korean, but he explained that he learned it while working for a Korean company after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China.
The boss's name was Wu Gonghyeon, and he was a self-made secondhand wholesaler who had jumped into the trade business with Korea as soon as diplomatic relations were established, investing all his savings.
He said his initial capital was only 2 million won in Korean currency. To have acquired such a large warehouse and inventory in just two years, he must have been a shrewd businessman.
We enjoyed our drinks and returned to Chunha Resources. The next day, I threw a party for the employees.
We had grown to a team of ten, including me: one grapple truck driver hired to replace Maru, two additional employees to help with testing, two new employees to drive the trucks for sales and collection, and the existing employees.
If the used computer business didn't go as planned, all the money I earned could go towards labor costs, but I was confident.
After the grand party, we started working on sales and testing in earnest.
The year 1995 arrived. The secondhand computer business, which I started in October, continued to expand. I hired two more salespeople and purchased five 1-ton trucks and one 5-ton truck.
I also added two more employees for testing. The existing site was too small and lacked shelter from the rain, so I bought a nearby 1,320-square-meter site and built a temporary structure to conduct all the computer testing there.
I was able to barely afford it with the money I had saved and the proceeds from selling the remaining 35 computers.
From then on, everything went smoothly. Starting with Seoul, I visited junkyards all over the country, from Gyeonggi-do to Gangwon-do, Chungcheong-do, Jeolla-do, and Gyeongsang-do.
I visited every junkyard in every corner of the country. Due to the nature of junkyards, many were hidden in remote locations, but word of mouth spread, and I even received calls from junkyards I hadn't visited.
Acquisitions went very well. In November alone, I assembled and sold 250 computers, and in December, it exceeded 400.
Most junkyards had been disassembling and selling computers as scrap until I started buying them, so the volume was only going to increase, not decrease.
And now, as the new year began, the amount of money I had was…
"300 million won."
I had earned 300 million won in just three months from the computer business, and it was only going to grow. In addition to that, I had tangible assets: a 660-square-meter junkyard site, a 1,980-square-meter assembly factory, and seven trucks.
I had to make the most of this honey pot before any competitors emerged.
"But I've done all the groundwork I can in the junkyard scene."
I had already established myself as the go-to guy for collecting used computers in the junkyard world.
The problem was that some junkyard owners had started hoarding computers, thinking they could make money, just because I had started buying them after everyone else had ignored them.
I couldn't raise the purchase price recklessly because it would reveal how much I needed the computers.
It would only attract more attention and curiosity. Although I thought it was still within a safe range, I couldn't deny the growing sense of unease.
As I was contemplating these thoughts and planning for the future in the Chunha Resources office, a 1-ton truck entered through the gate.
Although it wasn't common because my junkyard was located in a remote area, sometimes 1-ton truck owners would come and sell us things, so I naturally approached the truck.
"Welcome. What brings you here?"
"I… have something to sell."
A haggard-looking man stepped out of the truck. His beard was unkempt, as if he hadn't shaved in a while.
"Okay, let me take a look."
There was a large, donut-shaped metal object in the back of the truck.
'This looks like copper.'
Upon inspection, it turned out to be high-quality copper in good condition.
"H…how much can I get for this?"
I glanced at the man. He seemed extremely anxious. He didn't seem like a typical junkyard owner, so I decided to test the waters.
"Oh, this is copper. We'll have to weigh it, but you know the price of copper has dropped recently, right?"
"Yes… so how much would it be?"
He didn't seem to know anything. The price of copper was skyrocketing. He looked naive and easy to rip off, so I said,
"I'll give you 1,000 won per kg. That's a generous offer."
He hesitated, perhaps because the price was lower than he expected, so I said again,
"You can check other places if you want. There's a junkyard called Changjo Resources nearby. Should I give you directions?"
After pondering for a while, he nodded.
I should have been happy because it seemed like I could make a decent profit, but I felt strangely uneasy. It felt like I would regret buying this.
But how could I pass up on easy money?
We weighed it, and it turned out to be 480 kg. I added 20,000 won and paid him 500,000 won. The man took the money, got back in his truck, and drove away.
"The current price of copper is around 4,000 won, so I made a fourfold profit. Not bad, not bad."
I tossed the copper onto the pile without thinking much about it and went back to the office to continue my business planning.
A few days passed, and I had completely forgotten about the copper. I was at the computer testing factory, checking the inventory, when the phone rang.
"Is that Maru?"
Only Maru and the employees knew the phone number here, so I assumed it was him and picked up the phone.
"Hello."
"Hyung! Did someone come here a few days ago to sell copper?"
Maru's unexpected question made me tilt my head.
"Copper? What copper? We buy copper every day."
"It's… what? A round part with a hole in the middle, quite large, I heard."
"A part? Round with a hole?"
I suddenly remembered the man who had brought the copper in his truck a few days ago. I had a bad feeling about it.
"Shit, I know what you're talking about. A man brought it in his 1-ton truck a few days ago, and I bought it. Why?"
I heard Maru cursing on the other end of the line before he said,
"It's stolen goods! It's a core component of a production line machine at Siho Condenser! There are people from Siho Condenser here right now."
"Damn it! Stolen goods? Siho Condenser? That's a mid-sized company with over 300 billion won in sales!"
"Anyway, come here quickly. I need to know what it is to explain the situation. It's chaos here, people are yelling and everything!"