As "Japan passing" became a reality in the Asian region, the concerns of Japanese companies grew even greater.
Although no immediate direct damage had occurred, the exclusion of Japan from the free trade bloc led by South Korea, China, and Russia was a serious problem.
Furthermore, as Japan's colonial rule and war crimes emerged as international issues, negative public opinion against Japan also arose in ASEAN.
China quietly fanned these flames, trying to use it as an opportunity to increase the influence of its own companies.
In Japan, a boycott of Korean products arose, led by right-wing groups, anti-Korean groups, and "net-uyoku" (net right-wingers). Makoto Sakurai, the chairman of Zaitokukai, a representative anti-Korean group, raised his voice and shouted.
"How long are we going to be pushed around by a country that was a former colony of Japan? They don't even know the grace we showed them by annexing and developing a country that was little more than a colony of China. We don't need to deal with such ungrateful people! Unsubscribe from Faceit, cancel your Lost Fantasy accounts, and don't use OTK batteries! Those who don't are not Japanese!"
Indeed, the number of Faceit and Lost Fantasy users decreased. However, it was not at a level worth worrying about.
While a boycott was occurring in Japan, OTK Company's image within Asia improved significantly.
Faceit and Lost Fantasy became wildly popular in ASEAN. This more than made up for the decline in the Japanese market.
"If you don't want to see it, don't look. We're also having a hard time mosaicking everything. I'm not even sure why we have to do this."
OTK Games, as President Ichikawa had already declared a departure from Japan and had moved its headquarters and corporation to Detroit, also stated that it would not respond separately to the boycott.
What was noteworthy was the attitude of the Japanese media.
Unlike the last dispute, when they did not hesitate to make harsh remarks and incited anti-Korean sentiment and boycotts, even the Sankei Shimbun and NHK took a cautious stance this time.
This meant they felt a considerable sense of crisis about the current situation in East Asia.
Professor Ichiro Sasahara of the University of Tokyo's economics department contributed the following article to the media:
'I don't know what they're even trying to boycott. Even though it has decreased, our trade with Japan is always in the black, and the same goes for the travel balance. This means that Koreans buy far more Japanese products and travel to Japan far more than the other way around. Japan is an isolated and peculiar market, to the point of being called 'Galapagos,' but South Korea is incorporated into the global value chain and plays an important role in the world economy. If you had to trade with only one country between South Korea and Japan, until three years ago, every country would have chosen Japan. But now, it is highly likely that many countries will choose South Korea. As you can see from the last trade dispute, now Japan loses if it restricts exports, and Japan loses if it restricts imports. Leaving aside moral and political correctness, if we could ignore South Korea's demands before, that is no longer the case. Nevertheless, how long will we continue this self-harming act of shouting anti-Korean sentiments and calling for boycotts?'
***
Professor Kim Ho-min came to the company.
He usually had shaggy hair and a casual beard, but today, his hair was neatly combed and he was clean-shaven. He was also neatly dressed in a suit.
"You look sharp today."
"I just came from the International Battery Forum."
"Ah! I guess it was today."
Originally, it was an event for domestic battery experts to gather and exchange opinions. But at some point, it grew into an international event.
This year, too, a large number of researchers from Japan, China, and Europe entered the country.
It seemed that South Korea had somehow become the center of the global battery industry. The reason, of course, was OTK Battery.
What I realized anew from this was the importance of technology.
If it weren't for OTK Battery, would the commercialization of electric cars have progressed at such a rapid pace? Could we have won the trade dispute with Japan?
Perhaps because I'm a liberal arts major and don't know much about it, Professor Kim Ho-min's achievements were, in fact, incredibly great.
In general, technology tends to develop at a similar pace. But sometimes, a genius appears and raises the level of human technology by several steps.
OTK Battery presented a new form of battery, and other companies also disassembled and analyzed it, trying to develop new batteries by circumventing the patents.
These efforts were not entirely in vain, and a few places produced prototypes. But it still seemed there was a long way to go before commercialization.
Still, as they are continuing their research and development, something will probably come out within a few years.
No matter how good a technology is, if you stand still, you will inevitably be caught up. Therefore, to maintain the technology gap, we must also continue our research and development.
Professor Kim Ho-min scratched his head and said.
"I asked the geology professors I met through Professor Mohan's introduction a question."
"What kind of question?"
"About whether there's any possibility of Geratinium being buried in North Korea."
"Ah..."
There are many stories about the underground resources buried in North Korean soil.
In fact, Hamgyong Province produces a lot of lignite (the Aoji coal mine is also here), and there are also stories of large deposits of gold, uranium, and rare earth elements.
However, due to North Korea's closed nature, it has not yet been revealed exactly what minerals are buried there, or how large the deposits are.
When the inter-Korean railway is connected, a new infrastructure will be formed around the railway. As North Korea is highly likely to engage in resource development and sales in conjunction with the development of Siberia, global resource companies also showed great interest.
"Geographically, there's a high probability that a significant amount of rare earth elements are buried in North Korea."
"I've heard that too."
According to the estimates of a South Korean research team, about 20 to 50 million tons. There are even claims of over 200 million tons.
If this is true, it could become the world's number one producer of rare earth elements, surpassing China.
But more important than the amount of deposits is profitability.
Even if there's a billion-dollar gem buried, what's the use if it costs 1.1 billion to dig it up?
The same goes for the rare earth elements that China treats as a strategic resource. In fact, there are many countries with rare earth deposits. They just haven't touched them due to environmental destruction and profitability issues.
If China restricts exports or prices soar, they would have no choice but to start mining.
"The problem is what percentage of those rare earth elements is Geratinium."
If, by some chance, there is Geratinium, couldn't we solve the supply problem and commercialize JN Battery?
JN Battery is a game changer, a technology that will literally change the world.
If OTK Battery opened the era of electric cars, JN Battery will open a completely new world where everything is wireless.
If that happens, wouldn't it be no surprise if OTK Company's market cap were to double or even triple from what it is now?
Professor Kim Ho-min gave an awkward smile.
"Even though I say this, I'm not getting my hopes up too much. The mineral content will also be a problem, and the cost of separating pure Geratinium is not cheap."
Rare earth elements don't end with mining; they must go through processes such as separation, refining, and alloying. This requires advanced technology, and existing rare earth companies already have a firm grip on this market.
Even if we can mine rare earth elements cheaply, if the cost of extracting pure Geratinium is high, it is not easy to secure economic viability.
I said to Professor Kim Ho-min.
"A proper investigation will definitely be necessary."
If, by any chance, a large amount of high-purity Geratinium is buried in North Korean soil, all our problems will be solved in one fell swoop.
We can make JN Battery, and North Korea can secure the capital needed for economic development without outside help.
As I was thinking that, Taek-gyu stared at me intently. He looked as if he was urging me to use my foresight.
"..."
How nice it would be if I could see it just by wanting to.
***
While the South-North-Russia economic cooperation and the free trade agreement involving South Korea, China, Russia, ASEAN, Central Asia, India, and Australia were in progress, the calendar had somehow turned to December.
As we were gathered in the living room watching TV, Ellie suddenly said.
"Another year is coming to an end."
It's a thought I have every time, but it seems like time flows faster with each passing year. It feels like just yesterday that we welcomed the new year, but it's already December.
Taek-gyu said, as if in admiration for no reason.
"A lot has happened this year too."
It was truly eventful.
Buying Toyota shares, investing in TWR, the trade dispute with Japan, the restoration of California, the development of Saemangeum, the acquisition of Nikola, the inter-Korean economic cooperation, and so on.
It's hard to believe that so many things happened in one year. It somehow feels like I was standing in the middle of world history... or is that just my imagination?
As the end of the year approached, parties were held here and there, and several invitations a day flew to our home and company.
Now as in the past, the upper class wants to enjoy their own culture. So, exhibitions, concerts, and parties are held separately for the upper class.
You can't participate in real upper-class gatherings no matter how much money you pay. You need a certain amount of honor, social status, or the guarantee or recommendation of existing members.
Those who have just succeeded and started to accumulate wealth try their best to get a foothold here. There's the reason of wanting to feel like they've become part of the upper class, but there's also the purpose of getting bigger opportunities.
This is because information that cannot be found through the media or the internet is exchanged among the upper class.
If you can obtain information that is even a little faster and a little more accurate than others, that alone can allow you to seize business opportunities.
Aren't social gatherings also a part of business?
Well, it's not like we'll benefit from going. It would take ten of me to attend all these events.
Just our attendance at a party is likely to become a big issue. And if we go somewhere and not somewhere else, someone will be disappointed. So, I plan to be fair and not go to any of them.
Numerous invitations to charity parties and events also flew in from the United States. They are mainly events hosted by famous businesspeople, investors, or Hollywood stars.
Some would consider it a great honor just to receive an invitation.
"A charity party..."
Unlike Korean companies, which are stingy with donations, American companies have an active donation culture. It is also common for companies or businesspeople to operate charitable foundations.
Since it's a Puritan country, it's almost seen as an obligation.
Unlike other companies, OTK Company did not engage in any particular donation activities, but no Americans criticized it for this.
Who supplied all those relief supplies during the Big One?
Although the US government paid for some of it, the money we spent was much more. Thanks to that, it's no exaggeration to say that OTK Company had earned the right... a so-called "criticism-proof pass," to never be criticized in America.
Still, we should continue our donation activities. But this is not an easy task either.
"Can't we just simply donate to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?"
"That's true."
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is, as its name suggests, a charitable foundation established by Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates. Warren Buffett also donates a huge amount of money to it.
The founder of Microsoft and the world's richest man, he retired in his 50s, handing over the CEO position to Steve Ballmer, and has now transformed into the world's largest philanthropist.
The scale of his donations is beyond imagination. He has been donating 5 billion won a day for over 20 years.
"He's basically spending money like water."
Taek-gyu blinked his eyes.
"Isn't it hard to use even water that much?"
He's right.
But what's absurd is that even while doing this, his wealth is increasing. This is because Microsoft's stock price has continued to soar since Satya Shamalan took over as CEO.
Bill Gates spent half his life trying to make money, and is spending the remaining half of his life trying to use the money he earned for good deeds.
He is admirable in many ways. Will I be able to do that later?
Taek-gyu looked at me and asked.
"So, what are we doing next year?"
"Well, we'll keep making money."
Next year, the factories under construction in South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam will be completed, and existing lines will be replaced, doubling car production from the current level. Saemangeum will also have a certain urban framework in place.
Ellie smiled brightly and asked.
"Is that really all you're doing next year?"
I quickly added one more thing.
"Ah! Of course, we have to get married first."