[Chapter 206: The Amazing Report]
Ian provided them with a self-written brag piece about South Korea, filled with various anecdotes.
One of the stories was titled "The Outage at the Korean Supermarket."
A sudden power outage struck a supermarket in South Korea, plunging the store into darkness. Before long, an announcement echoed through the aisles, stating that out of concern for customer safety and to prevent any stampedes, shoppers were allowed to leave with their items for free, as a form of compensation for the outage.
Hearing the announcement, customers orderly made their way out through the checkouts. Once the dust settled, the supermarket manager was astonished to find the registers filled with a mound of Korean won. It turned out that after the owner made the announcement, the polite and well-mannered South Koreans had taken it upon themselves to quietly estimate the value of their items and had left money behind as they exited. What an honest and courteous society!
...
Another story, "Not Stealing Bread for Hunger," recounted a time in the winter of 1997, which marked a period of great economic hardship in South Korea.
In a courtroom located in a poor district of Seoul, a trial was taking place. On the defendant's stand stood a woman in her sixties, her face marked more by shame than the sorrow she felt. She had been taken to court by the bakery owner for stealing bread.
The judge asked, "Defendant, did you indeed steal bread from the bakery?"
The old woman bowed her head and replied in a timid voice, "Yes, Your Honor, I did steal."
The judge pressed further, "What was your motive for stealing the bread? Was it out of hunger?"
The woman lifted her head, looking straight at the judge, saying, "Yes, I was hungry, but I also needed the bread to feed my three grandchildren who lost their parents. They haven't eaten for days. I couldn't just stand by and let them starve."
A murmur of low conversation erupted in the gallery as the audience reacted to her words.
The judge banged the gavel and ordered, "Silence! I will now announce the verdict. Defendant, I must uphold the law. You have two options: pay a fine of 100,000 won or serve ten days in custody."
A look of pain and regret crossed the old woman's face, and facing the judge, she said, "Your Honor, I committed a crime, and I am willing to accept punishment. If I had 100,000 won, I wouldn't have needed to steal the bread. I'm willing to serve ten days in custody, but who will take care of my three grandchildren?"
At that moment, a man in his forties stood up from the gallery, bowing to the old woman. "Please accept the verdict of 100,000 won."
Turning to the others in the gallery, he added, "Everyone, I would like each of you to contribute 5,000 won as we pay this fine. It is a penalty for our indifference, for living in a city where a grandmother has to steal bread to feed her grandchildren."
The courtroom fell silent. After a moment, all the onlookers stood up silently, each one taking out 5,000 won and placing it in the man's hat, including the judge himself.
One comment struck a chord, "If a person commits a crime for money, that person is guilty; if a person commits a crime for bread, society is guilty; if a person commits a crime for dignity, then everyone is guilty."
...
In class, the professor spoke about the "WTO terms," but everyone felt sleepy. To wake them up, the professor resorted to storytelling.
He told about an international student in South Korea who, like others, washed dishes at a restaurant in his spare time to cover tuition costs.
In South Korea, there was an unwritten rule that restaurant dishes must be washed seven times. The pay was piecework, and due to the high demand, this student realized that washing fewer times made him more efficient. As a result, he began washing the dishes only five times and was soon recognized by his boss with a raise.
His fellow Korean students asked him for tips. He didn't hold back, saying, "What's the difference between dishes washed seven times and those washed five? Just skip two washes!"
The Korean students only nodded but slowly began to distance themselves from him.
Koreans had two presumptions about people: one, that you were innocent; the other, that you were honest. So the restaurant owner only occasionally checked the dishwashing.
During one of these checks, the owner discovered that the dishes hadn't been washed enough and confronted the student. He confidently responded, "A dish washed five times is just as clean as one washed seven times, isn't it?"
The owner simply replied, "You're dishonest. Please leave."
The student stormed onto the street, frustrated. Looking for work, he applied at another restaurant in the area.
The owner scrutinized him for a while and said, "You're the one who washes dishes five times, right? Sorry, we don't need you here!"
He faced rejection at another restaurant and another one after that. His landlord soon asked him to vacate because his 'reputation' impacted other tenants (mostly fellow students).
Even the school had a talk with him, hoping he would transfer because he had a negative influence on enrollment.
Desperate, he packed his bags and relocated to another city to start over.
Heartbroken, he warned future students wanting to study in Korea, "When washing dishes in Korea, make sure you wash seven times!"
"That's the WTO rule!" the professor admonished sternly. The students couldn't help but sit up straight, fully awake.
...
Aside from these stories, Ian had more to say about other odd news headlines, yet he didn't show them to the others, concerned they would plagiarize, as this group was known to take liberties.
They certainly were baffled by the antics labeled as South Korean.
"Is that really us?"
"Those aren't people, they're saints!"
"Ian Carr, your level of outrageousness makes us feel ashamed!"
"So, you can fabricate fake news too!"
"That's just plagiarism!"
Ian smiled broadly.
The professionalism of a top-notch journalist led him to willingly acknowledge his copying rather than admit to crafting fake news.
Such surprising values!
At that moment, Ian leisurely stated, "Once the opportunity arises, I will gradually release these reports!"
Of course, not in his own name.
Then he turned to the crowd, "Anyone have more questions?"
Using beautiful women as bait came with its downsides, keeping Ian savoring the experience and reluctant to leave South Korea.
This extended negotiations further.
...
By mid-July, at the urging of the Blue House, Samsung Group finally reached an agreement with Ian Carr.
Samsung was valued at five billion.
The Korean National Bank loaned 500 million to Carr Media, with an interest rate of 2%, paying only interest for five years.
Ian used this money to buy 10% of Samsung Group's shares, which would be held in trust by the Lee family, with Carr Media promised to help restore South Korea's reputation from the World Cup fallout.
Ian made concessions on pricing, while the South Koreans provided assistance on The Oprah Winfrey Show... they needed to fork over top dollars to purchase the show and persuade her to collaborate with LANN for a three-year term.
They also promised Ian some preferential treatment for his news channels in Korea, political resources deemed valuable, a reason why Ian agreed to the terms.
Moreover, there were tax breaks... Ian also had Actoz in Korea, which with Legendary could make him a hefty sum, and the tax exemption would save him a lot of money.
The Koreans laid out a series of demands for Carr Media's reporting, which Ian largely accepted.
He had already planned that anything that reeked of bragging, like the embarrassing stuff he had previously written, would go to CBS, Gannett, and Fox -- telling them he couldn't interfere; how could they not listen to him?
...
After everything was settled, Ian stayed for another two days, spending quality time with the four beautiful women, engaging in a quick Korean language crash course.
Their time together deepened their feelings.
By the time Ian left, Kim Hee-sun and the others were all reluctant to see him go, even going to remarkable lengths to have one last fling with him.
Thus, Ian felt compelled to tell Lee Kun-hee, "Take good care of them, these are mine now. For three years, no one else is allowed to touch them."
Ian arranged a tiered holding period for the girls: one day, one week, one month, one year, three years, five years, ten years, and permanent.
Currently, only Lena had a permanent status; Scarlett and the others were on a ten-year plan.
Kim Hee-sun and others Korean girls were on a three-year deal.
After laying all this out, Ian returned to Los Angeles with his crew.
*****
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