Chapter 308: Developnt
[TI Special Feature] South Korea, the Quiet Dragon Awakens
―Chaebol Empire Ilsung, and the Man Standing Behind It
By | Michael Brennan (TI Asia Correspondent)
“Ilsung does not change.”
This was a common saying in the Seoul business world until just two years ago.
Chairman Kim Kangchul was a typical defensive-style executive.
South Korea's largest corporation, inherited from his predecessor.
He defended the ranking, but lacked inner substance.
There was no identity unique to Ilsung.
The fierce pursuit of Dorim, ranked 2nd in the business world.
At one point, Dorim had closed the market capitalization gap to just a third of Ilsung's.
Stability over expansion.
Managent over challenge.
That was Ilsung's DNA.
But now, no matter who you ask in Seoul, the answer is the sa.
“Ilsung has gone crazy.”
＊ ＊ ＊
■ The Beginning Was the Equipnt Business
―This is breaking news. Ilsung has announced a surprise entry into the Korean equipnt market. In the industry, there are evaluations that it is a reckless challenge by a latecor…….
This is Korean news from a year ago.
Back then, everyone laughed.
An already saturated equipnt market.
It was a red ocean where existing powerhouses were holding out.
Where would they find skilled craftsn, and how would they secure a distribution network?
The result?
Dostic market share of 88%.
14 months' worth of overseas backorders.
Plus items.
Even affordable prices.
They can't sell them because they don't have the stock.
It beca Ilsung's unique luxury brand and identity.
Among mid-to-low-tier Hunters in Korea, it has beco harder to find an Awakened who doesn't use Ilsung equipnt.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ The Revival of Ho Appliances, and the ‘Skelphone’ Syndro
―[Real-ti Trend #1] #Skelphone #Skullphone #IlsungAppliances
Kim Minwoo's NewTube channel, Mangnani.
Current subscribers: 520 million.
The channel with the fastest-growing subscriber count in the world.
The NewTube channel created after setting a world record from his very first gate.
At first, it looked like a reckless prank by a chaebol young master.
However, that ‘prank’ placed a massive premium on the brand called Ilsung.
Kim Minwoo Syndro.
Whatever Kim Minwoo uses gets a premium attached to it.
Starting from Ilsung's ho appliances, to their smartphones.
In particular, the ‘Skelphone’, which had his trademark skull attached to the back, sold out its initial stock of 5 million units in a flash after its release, elevating the Ilsung phone to a brand on par with Apple.
rhen, Cedric, Vulcan.
The Legion Commanders appeared in comrcials one after another, turning it into a series.
The whole world went wild over the surreal sight of undead promoting ho appliances.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ Ga Changer, Sli Battery
Annual salary of 1 trillion won.
This is the amount Kim Minwoo offered to Dr. Kim Seokjin.
Isn't that crazy?
That was the industry's reaction.
It didn't take long for that salary to quickly be re-evaluated as visionary foresight into the future.
―It has passed all tests. Even if you bring any battery in the world, I am confident that it cannot produce better performance than this.
The driving range of existing magic stone batteries on a single charge is 1,000km.
The sli battery's is 3,000km.
Three tis as much.
The weight, on the contrary, has been cut in half.
The world was turned upside down.
The magic stone electric vehicle market?
It was completely reorganized. A single charge is more than enough for a round trip from Seoul to Busan. The internal combustion engine market, which had been holding out using the lack of charging infrastructure as an excuse, began to collapse.
The aviation industry?
Electric airplanes beca a reality. Half the weight, three tis the output. Starting with short-haul routes, a rush to introduce electric aircraft began.
The defense industry?
The Pentagon reached out directly. Electric tanks, unmanned drone fleets. It beca impossible to discuss next-generation warfare without sli batteries.
And at the center of all this was Ilsung.
The US paid royalties to buy the technology.
Exclusive production only in South Korea and the US.
The doors to an ultra-massive market well over 1,000 trillion won opened.
Automakers all over the world sent love calls to Ilsung.
If they don't secure the right to supply batteries, they will fall behind.
Tesla, Volkswagen, Toyota.
They all pulled waiting tickets at Ilsung's door.
The shift in energy hegemony.
The era where those who held oil ruled the world was over.
Now it's batteries.
And Ilsung held the key to those batteries.
The ranking of the Korean business world?
Such things had now beco aningless.
Ilsung was not just the number one company in Korea, but had beco the gatekeeper of the global energy market.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ The Caesar Continent, and New Trade Routes
―Ilsung launches heteromorphic race employnt placent business…… “Elf secretaries, Dwarf technicians can be hired”
Various companies are participating in trade with the Caesar Continent.
However, Ilsung is different.
The master of the continent is Kim Minwoo.
Tariff exemptions.
Priority contract rights.
Access to an exclusive talent pool.
While other companies have to go through complex procedures and brokerage fees, Ilsung supplies heteromorphic manpower directly. The hiring waitlist alone has surpassed 30,000 people.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ North Korean Developnt, and the ‘Kim Minwoo Premium’
―This is breaking news. The governnt has exclusively selected the Ilsung Group as the developer for the North Korean Special Economic Zone…….
The Korean business world was turned upside down.
Even if they wanted to participate, they couldn't.
Dorim, Hanwha, KS.
Prominent major corporations proposed consortiums, but they were all rejected.
“It's driving fucking crazy, seriously.”
These are the words of a chaebol executive who requested anonymity.
What was even more absurd was the exchange rate.
Usually, when such a large-scale developnt project is announced after unification, the value of the won drops.
Financial burden, inflation concerns.
It's a textbook reaction.
But……?
The won actually showed a strong trend.
Wall Street's analysis was unanimous.
―“As long as Kim Minwoo is there, the South Korean economy will not fail.”
―“Ilsung's North Korean developnt is not a risk, but an opportunity.”
―“Buy the won. It is buying Kim Minwoo.”
The Kim Minwoo Premium.
The driving range of existing magic stone batteries on a single charge is 1,000km.
The sli battery's is 3,000km.
Three tis as much.
The weight, on the contrary, has been cut in half.
The world was turned upside down.
The magic stone electric vehicle market?
It was completely reorganized.
A single charge is more than enough for a round trip from Seoul to Busan.
The internal combustion engine market, which had been holding out using the lack of charging infrastructure as an excuse, began to collapse.
The aviation industry?
Electric airplanes beca a reality.
Half the weight, three tis the output.
Starting with short-haul routes, a rush to introduce electric aircraft began.
The defense industry?
The Pentagon reached out directly. Electric tanks, unmanned drone fleets. It beca impossible to discuss next-generation warfare without sli batteries.
And at the center of all this was Ilsung.
The US paid royalties to buy the technology.
Exclusive production only in South Korea and the US.
The doors to an ultra-massive market well over 1,000 trillion won opened.
Automakers all over the world sent love calls to Ilsung.
If they don't secure the right to supply batteries, they will fall behind.
Tesla, Volkswagen, Toyota.
They all pulled waiting tickets at Ilsung's door.
The shift in energy hegemony.
The era where those who held oil ruled the world was over.
Now it's batteries.
And Ilsung held the key to those batteries.
The ranking of the Korean business world?
Such things had now beco aningless.
Ilsung was not just the number one company in Korea, but had beco the gatekeeper of the global energy market.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ The Caesar Continent, and New Trade Routes
―Ilsung launches heteromorphic race employnt placent business…… “Elf secretaries, Dwarf technicians can be hired”
Various companies are participating in trade with the Caesar Continent.
However, Ilsung is different.
The master of the continent is Kim Minwoo.
Tariff exemptions.
Priority contract rights.
Access to an exclusive talent pool.
While other companies have to go through complex procedures and brokerage fees, Ilsung supplies heteromorphic manpower directly.
The hiring waitlist alone has surpassed 30,000 people.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ North Korean Developnt, and the ‘Kim Minwoo Premium’
―This is breaking news. The governnt has exclusively selected the Ilsung Group as the developer for the North Korean Special Economic Zone…….
The Korean business world was turned upside down.
Even if they wanted to participate, they couldn't.
Dorim, Hanwha, KS.
Prominent major corporations proposed consortiums, but they were all rejected.
“It's driving fucking crazy, seriously.”
These are the words of a chaebol executive who requested anonymity.
What was even more absurd was the exchange rate.
Usually, when such a large-scale developnt project is announced after unification, the value of the won drops.
Financial burden, inflation concerns.
It's a textbook reaction.
But……?
The won actually showed a strong trend.
Wall Street's analysis was unanimous.
―“As long as Kim Minwoo is there, the South Korean economy will not fail.”
―“Ilsung's North Korean developnt is not a risk, but an opportunity.”
―“Buy the won. It is buying Kim Minwoo.”
It sounds like a joke, but it actually beca a term used on Wall Street.
The comnt added by Moody's and S&P when upgrading South Korea's sovereign credit rating.
‘The Kim Minwoo Factor.’
A single human beca a nation's credit.
Beca its currency.
South Korea's GDP rose noticeably.
Jobs increased explosively.
The youth unemploynt rate recorded an all-ti low.
South Korea is soaring.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ Why Is the World Silent
South Korea's rapid growth.
There are two countries that should be getting the most heated about it.
The US and China.
But it's strange.
Both are quiet.
First, China.
―[Breaking News] 3 Chinese Standing Committee mbers suddenly dismissed on corruption charges
Chairman Li Zemin was uncharacteristically silent.
Ever since Kim Minwoo visited Beijing.
What moved instead was the blade of purges.
Standing Committee mbers who were in a hostile relationship with the Ilsung Group.
They disappeared without a trace.
Our Beijing correspondent said it like a joke.
“Doesn't Ilsung have a purge list.”
Before long, the era of Liang Xiaojun opened.
China promised unlimited opening to Ilsung.
Preferential treatnts not even given to their own dostic companies poured in.
Simply because he saved Shanghai?
Well.
If you consider that Liang Xiaojun is the Diocese Head of the Death Cult, the aning of that silence changes.
It's not just Ilsung.
The entirety of Korean companies was given benefits equal to their own nation.
A new wave of opening.
The doors to the 1.4 billion market opened.
Next is the US.
President Robert, stepping up his moves in earnest after his re-election.
The signing ceremony with the Caesar Continent.
At that venue, he put his arm around Kim Minwoo's shoulder and smiled.
A single photo spread around the world.
Thanks to that, stock prices rose greatly.
Leaving behind the close race with Johnson, he succeeded in re-election with a 5% margin.
Conclusion.
Currently, the countries that should be keeping them in check are unable to.
No, they aren't doing it.
The US is in a honeymoon period with Kim Minwoo.
China opened its doors on its own.
Since the G2 are quiet, the rest cannot easily make a move either.
At this very mont.
There is no country that can stop Ilsung.
＊ ＊ ＊
■ Kim Minwoo, Who Led All These Changes, Who Is He
He was different from the very beginning.
Sweeping world records right from the start.
He was quiet after that, but he began moving in earnest upon establishing the Money Talks Guild.
Resolved the Magenta Shanghai incident.
Conquered the Caesar Continent.
Concluded a treaty with the entire Earth.
He was on a different level.
He was no longer a chaebol young master.
He was not an Awakened either.
Even the job of Necromancer was insufficient to define him.
He was now the only bridge connecting two worlds.
＊ ＊ ＊
Chairman Kim Kangchul was a master of defense.
But his son is a conqueror.
The Ilsung Group's one year will be recorded as the most dramatic leap in South Korea's economic history.
No, perhaps in the entire history of humanity…….
The dragon has awakened.
And now, it is about to spread its wings.
―Michael Brennan,
Chairman Kim Kangchul put down his tablet.
The cover of TI magazine floated on the screen.
Below the headline ‘The Dragon Awakens’, the Ilsung Group logo was clear.
“Heh.”
A low exclamation leaked out.
The corners of his mouth went up on their own.
He had commanded the business world for decades, but this was a first.
To have the heart of Arica spotlight South Korea, Ilsung, and his own son like this.
“Even TI magazine is talking about our Ilsung.”
Kim Kangchul looked out the window. Seoul's skyline was reflected in the glass window.
Among those buildings, Ilsung's flag was fluttering.
“The more tis like this, the better we have to do.”
“Yes.”
Kim Hyungseok, sitting opposite him, nodded.
“We have to support Hyung solidly. While Hyung is running on the battlefield, I will take responsibility for the rear.”
The wrinkles around Kim Kangchul's eyes deepened.
Two sons.
One roams the battlefield, and one protects the empire.
Could it get any better than this.
It was then.
Knock, knock.
Along with the sound of knocking, the door opened.
“Have you all been well?”
A young man in a black suit entered. It was Kim Minwoo.
“It's been a while. Since I visited the company directly.”
Kim Kangchul stood up from his seat.
“Minwoo, what brings you here? Aren't you busy?”
“I have sothing to do.”
Kim Minwoo sat on the sofa.
Kim Hyungseok moved to the seat next to him.
The father and two sons sat facing each other.
Kim Minwoo's gaze scanned the two people.
“During this ti, our Ilsung has grown a lot.”
Kim Kangchul nodded.
“South Korea's status has also risen considerably.”
Kim Hyungseok agreed as well.
It was an earth-shattering change.
They dominated the global energy market with sli batteries.
Exclusive trade rights with the Caesar Continent, North Korean developnt projects, none of them were small.
“It is ti to take it one step further.”
Kim Minwoo took sothing out of his pocket.
A black case.
He placed it on the table with a clack.
As the case opened, a blue light leaked out.
The subtle glow unique to magic stones. Inside was a module the size of a fist.
“What is this?”
Kim Kangchul leaned forward.
“It's a magic stone cooling and power module for AI super factories.”
Kim Minwoo looked at Hyungseok and asked calmly.
“Do you know what the core of the AI competition is?”
“It's infrastructure rather than chip performance. Power and cooling. I heard the energy data centers devour is on the level of a small city.”
“Exactly.”
Kim Minwoo picked up the module.
A blue light flowed between his fingers.
“Running a single GPU factory requires power on the level of a nuclear power plant. Cooling is even more serious. It's gotten to the point where there's talk of building data centers in the Arctic because they can't handle the heat the servers spew out.”
Kim Kangchul's eyes narrowed.
“So this is the solution?”
“Yes.”
Kim Minwoo placed the module on the table.
“It's an ultra-high-efficiency system made from magic stones and gate byproducts. It has two functions.”
His finger tapped the surface of the module.
“First, dinsional emission cooling. It's an imrsion cooling thod where the server is subrged in a special liquid, but we mixed magic stone properties into this liquid. It absorbs the heat and releases it into the dinsional rift.”
“Into the dinsional rift?”
Kim Hyungseok asked back.
“Simply put, we're dumping the heat into another world. There's no heat left on Earth. The cooling efficiency is over 500% compared to existing thods.”
Kim Kangchul inhaled sharply.
“Second, a magic stone buffer power system.”
Kim Minwoo continued.
“AI computation has fluctuating power consumption. It eats up a massive amount during peaks, and then drops sharply during idle tis. Because of this volatility, the power grid becos unstable, and power plants have to be over-operated.”
He tapped the side of the module.
“This module stores peak power in the magic stone and releases it when needed. You can think of it as a miniature version of the sli battery. A 40% improvent in power efficiency, and a reduction in power generation costs.”
Silence flowed.
Kim Kangchul slowly opened his mouth.
“If this is comrcialized…….”
“Big tech all over the world will line up.”
Kim Minwoo asserted.
“Googol, Micronsoft, Omazon, Zeta. If they want to survive the AI competition, it will be impossible without this module. It will beco a structure where they have to pay us royalties every ti they build a single data center.”
Kim Hyungseok quickly tapped his calculator.
“The simple data center construction market alone is 600 trillion won annually. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Hyungseok's eyes flashed.
“If you combine operating costs, power consumption, and the AI service market running on top of it…… the estimated scale alone exceeds 2,000 trillion won. This is even bigger than the sli battery market.”
He swallowed hard.
“If batteries replaced ‘oil’, this is monopolizing ‘intelligence’. Whatever price we na will be the price.”
At those words, Chairman Kim Kangchul swallowed hard and looked at Kim Minwoo.
“……Minwoo, how on earth did you develop sothing like this?”
“Dr. Kim Seokjin. Isn't he a genius? I only gave him the concept, but he managed to produce the results on his own.”
To be exact, it was one of the technologies that appeared in the latter half of the ga. Naturally, for a rotten water veteran like Kim Minwoo, it was one of the lists worth rembering.
“The reason I haven't used it until now was because the US could throw a fit over the sli battery alone. But now, it's different. The situation.”
“Right. It's different. China is on our side, and you resolved the Shanghai incident. Sothing even the world rankers couldn't handle.”
“Since he owes a debt, Robert won't be able to throw a fit either. If he got re-elected, he has to pay it back. If he doesn't, we just have to make him want to.”
Kim Minwoo's eyes turned out the window.
“The places where AI infrastructure is gathered are essentially the eyes and brains of the world. And those eyes and brains will all be tied to our Ilsung.”
It wasn't a simple business expansion.
The place where data from all over the world gathers.
If he held that flow, he wouldn't miss even the faintest traces of the ‘Shadows’ who had slipped past the system's eyes.
Before the Outer God's descent, he had to get Earth's neural network into his grasp.
‘Earth's money is also slowly……. Escaping the route to becoming the Zimbabwe dollar.’
250 billion to 1.
It was a vastly lowered exchange rate for Achievent Points.
It was still abysmal, but it was gradually becoming useful.
Therefore, now was the perfect ti to put the product out there.
Kim Kangchul looked at his son.
The sunlight from outside the window shone on Kim Minwoo's face.
That was his son.
What was TI magazine compared to this.
The real dragon had only just begun to spread its wings.
“Good, let's do it. Let's have our Ilsung turn the world upside down.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers