I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 49

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 49
Whoooosh—
The waves rolled in.
Giggling, Min-guk had been running away whenever the waves surged forward and chasing after them as they retreated for over an hour, completely oblivious to his pants getting soaked.
Father and Mother held hands, shrieking with the giddy joy of newlyweds, while I sat atop the sandcastle Father had built and watched the three of them play.
I was already seven years old now.
My appearance was changing dramatically, and it was becoming increasingly clear that being called a genius would grow harder to maintain. There were limits to what I could accomplish using knowledge from my past life.
And next month, South Korea would face a foreign exchange crisis.
I worried about Father’s Bossam Restaurant, and I worried about SKJ Entertainment, which Mother and Kim Mi-young were running. Father’s self-employment would certainly take a hit, and the advertising industry would begin slashing model fees.
The KOSPI would plummet to the 300s this year, and by mid-next year it would drop to the mid-200s before beginning to recover.
I remembered the IMF crisis vividly.
I had been in my late teens then, and Samjeon Group had not escaped the IMF restructuring either.
The conglomerates’ reckless diversification was one of the biggest triggers, so Samjeon Group had to undergo restructuring of over thirty percent.
Perhaps today was the happiest day South Korea would ever know.
Mother approached with a radiant smile.
“Sung-guk, what are you doing sitting there all alone?”
[Worrying about how we’ll make a living, that’s what.]
Mother plopped down beside me and scooped me into her arms.
[Mother, what are you doing?]
“Sung-guk, we came all the way to the beach—you can’t leave without getting your feet wet!”
[Mother, I hate salt water!]
I thrashed about in protest.
“No! No!”
Father came running and lifted me into his arms.
“What’s this? We came all the way to the beach and you’re going to sulk? Come on, let’s just dip your feet in the water once.”
“Father, no.”
“Big brother! Big brother! Come here!”
Min-guk joined in as well.
Father held me and made a gesture as if he were about to throw me into the sea.
“Alright, Jeon Sung-guk is going for a swim.”
“Father. Father!”
Father swung me toward the water as if to toss me in, then quickly pulled me back to his chest.
The corners of my mouth twitched upward.
[That was actually fun.]
Father stared intently at my face.
“Sung-guk, that was fun, wasn’t it?”
“….”
I clamped my mouth shut and said nothing, having just been watching Min-guk playing childishly in the seawater from where I sat on the beach.
“This rascal won’t even say anything even though he’s having fun. Come on, one more time!”
Before Father could even toss me again, I was already giggling uncontrollably.
Min-guk bounced up and down below.
“Dad, me too, me too.”
“Let your brother go first.”
Father swung me as if to toss me into the sea, then set me down on the sandy beach. Now it was Min-guk’s turn.
Waves rolled in. Soon I found myself laughing gleefully like Min-guk, running back and forth across the sand.
[Hmm… playing like a child is actually fun.]
I was savoring what little leisure remained.
* * *
November 21, 1997.
At the sound of the 9 o’clock news anchor’s voice, our entire family stared at the screen as if time had stopped.
– Dear viewers. South Korea has declared national default. Leaving behind the myth of Korea as an economic exemplar, the government has decided to request a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Truly, this has been a heartbreaking day.
Mother and Father could only blink their eyes.
“Honey, what is the International Monetary Fund?”
[It’s the abbreviation for International Monetary Fund, Mother. It’s like a bank that deals with countries, but it’s a bank that interferes a lot.]
The International Monetary Fund made numerous demands that would completely transform South Korea’s economic system. First, raise interest rates. Second, implement structural adjustment. Third, commercialize public goods.
The concept of lifetime employment disappeared from South Korea after the International Monetary Fund crisis. That’s how much the International Monetary Fund changed.
“We popped the champagne too early.”
I muttered to myself.
“Sung-guk, what did you say?”
“Mother, it’s nothing. I’m sleepy. I want to go to bed.”
I went to my room.
Many thoughts swirled through my mind.
All my assets were in the bank. Fortunately, the account Father had opened was at a bank that survived the International Monetary Fund crisis, so I didn’t need to change it.
Tonight I didn’t read books and just lay in bed.
I thought through one by one what I needed to do going forward.
With my current assets, there were only two things I could do. Stocks and real estate.
My new goal was to become a billionaire within five years.
You think I can multiply 500 million by six times or more?
Of course I can!
Because now is the beginning of the International Monetary Fund crisis. And South Korea overcomes the International Monetary Fund faster than expected.
* * *
“South Korea popped the champagne too early. Wait, this… is what Sung-guk said yesterday….”
Mother, who had been reading the newspaper, looked at me as I prepared for school.
“Sung-guk, you don’t think… no, never mind. I’ll pick you up when kindergarten ends today.”
“Yes, Mother. I’m going now.”
I quickly bowed and headed toward the kindergarten school bus.
Today at kindergarten seemed like it would be quite chaotic. Though the special class wouldn’t care, of course….
As I opened the door and entered, the children were still running around noisily.
[At seven years old….]
I shook my head, sat down, and continued reading the English book I had borrowed from Thomas yesterday.
Seo Yeo-rim approached and tapped me on the shoulder.
“Sung-guk, want to play together?”
Ever since Jeon Mi-jin left for her studies in the United States, Seo Yeo-rim and Lee Se-hee had been competing for my attention, but I hadn’t spared either of them a glance.
“I want to read.”
“I should read too.”
Seo Yeo-rim sat down beside me with a picture book, flipped through a few pages, then rested her chin in her hand and stared at me intently.
“Sung-guk, which elementary school are you going to?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Mom said I’m going to Young-sung Elementary School.”
Young-sung Elementary School was a private institution where tuition alone exceeded ten million won per year.
“I haven’t really thought about it.”
Truth be told, I had no intention of attending elementary school at all.
Samjeon Kindergarten was different—Father had made a heartfelt request, and there were many benefits to gain. But a regular elementary school? I had no desire to attend. Samjeon would likely offer to cover private school tuition, but I didn’t want their sponsorship anymore, and I didn’t want to attend school anymore either.
“Sung-guk, come to Young-sung Elementary School with us. Se-hee, Hyun-joong, and Joo-sung are all going there.”
[That’s exactly why I don’t want to. I’ve seen enough of all of you.]
“I’ll think about it.”
[Hmm, is this what they call social skills?]
I had learned how to deflect politely when I didn’t want to say no.
I’d mastered social graces in this life that I never learned during my time as a tycoon, so there was truly no need to attend school anymore.
“Alright, let’s prepare for our first lesson.”
Teacher Lee Ji-eun entered and seated the rambunctious children one by one at their desks.
[They said today’s class would be a special lecture….]
In the special class, professionals from various fields that the children were curious about would often come to give lectures.
The kindergarten’s front door slid open, and a man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties entered. He had an unassuming height, sharp eyes visible behind his glasses, and thin lips that left an impression. Of course, I knew him better than anyone. He was Jason Lee, an investment specialist at Samsung Securities.
I lifted the corner of my mouth slightly.
[Jason, it’s been a long time.]
The moment news of the International Monetary Fund bailout request broke, and they sent Jason Lee as a kindergarten special lecture instructor… That was so Samjeon Group.
* * *
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was in chaos.
South Korea had requested a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
It was already known within Samjeon, but the repercussions were far more severe than anticipated. The wave of bankruptcies among companies that were unprepared or had dismissed the possibility was painfully obvious.
Samjeon itself had no choice but to undergo restructuring.
A restructuring task force was assembled—composed entirely of elite members from within Samjeon.
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung was receiving a direct report from Bae Jin-young, the director leading the task force.
“It appears that overall group restructuring will be unavoidable.”
“How much are we talking about?”
“We may need to restructure up to thirty percent.”
Thirty percent?
Thirty percent of Samjeon Group wasn’t simply a matter of numbers. When you factored in the breadwinners and their families corresponding to that thirty percent, the ripple effects would be enormous.
“We’ll accept voluntary retirement applications over the next three months. If we don’t reach our target, we’ll proceed with forced restructuring after that.”
“Let’s proceed with that plan.”
“The biggest problem is Samsung Automotive.”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung wrapped his aching head with both hands.
Samsung Automotive had been a headache from the start. My predecessor, Chairman Jeon Ju-shin, had harbored a lifelong dream of driving a car bearing the Samjeon emblem.
Since the Samjeon Group lacked the technological capability to develop it independently, we launched the venture by purchasing external technology with capital. Moreover, domestic automotive suppliers couldn’t provide components to Samjeon Electronics due to their existing relationships with established companies.
As a last resort, Samjeon chose to import all parts from a Japanese automotive manufacturer.
But when the foreign exchange crisis struck, we couldn’t afford the import payments.
The dollar was approaching two thousand won.
“What’s the TFT team’s analysis?”
“We should divest.”
“Divest….”
Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung straightened his back. Honestly, Samsung Automotive was a division that only accumulated losses the more we invested in it. Selling it off now seemed like a viable option.
“Look into it quietly.”
“Yes, understood.”
After Bae Jin-young left, Secretary Yang entered with a worried expression.
“Chairman, you haven’t been home for three days now. Please at least go to the Samjeon Hotel suite to rest.”
“Never mind that. How could I sleep at a time like this? What about my appointment with Jason?”
“There’s a special lecture at Samjeon Kindergarten today, and lunch is scheduled after that.”
“Samjeon Kindergarten?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Since my daughter Mi-jin went abroad to study, I had grown somewhat distant from Sung-guk as well. He rejected all my sponsorships, and he even wanted to quit kindergarten—I barely managed to convince him to stay. I only heard that he continued attending.
I had a principle: if I couldn’t receive as much as I gave, I would withdraw both my money and my affection.
“Understood. Let’s go.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
* * *
Jason Lee began by reading us a newspaper editorial.
“South Korea, once called the Tiger of Asia and experiencing explosive growth, has requested IMF bailout financing. With this, South Korea is hearing criticism that it popped the champagne too early.”
After reading the editorial, Jason Lee scanned the children. Among them, only I understood what he was talking about.
“Has everyone seen the news?”
While everyone shook their heads, I nodded alone.
Jason Lee’s gaze lingered on me. I flashed a subtle smile.
Jason Lee was a typical example of a foreign national with black hair—in other words, a U.S. citizen born in South Korea who exploited our country for personal gain while appearing Korean on the surface.
Samsung Securities disappeared during the IMF crisis precisely because of this man.
Jason Lee pointed at me.
“You there, what’s your name?”
“Jeon Sung-guk.”
“Do you know what the IMF is, Sung-guk?”
“International Monetary Fund.”
Jason Lee looked at me with an impressed expression.
“Then do you also understand what it means that our country requested IMF bailout financing?”
“The nation has defaulted on its debts.”
I answered matter-of-factly.
For everyone living in this era, the International Monetary Fund crisis is only just beginning, but for me, it is merely history already passed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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