IWSF – Ch 280

During my stay in New York, I received lecture requests from several universities.

New York State University, Columbia University, Harvard University, MIT, and more. MIT, in particular, was very proactive, with the president himself sending a lengthy email. Their reasoning was that since I had visited Caltech, I should visit MIT as well.

“……”

Is this what they call a reason that isn’t really a reason?

Some places even offered honorary degrees as bait, but I refused them all.

Because I wouldn’t really have anything to say if I went.

It’s going to be full of people smarter than me, what would I even talk about?

“Wouldn’t a Harvard degree be cool?”

“It’s just an honorary degree, though.”

It would be nice if they’d give me an MBA later on. Though I’d need to graduate from a Korean university first.

With the US-China trade dispute resolved and Ellie’s work finished, we decided to return to Korea.

We tried to leave quietly, but there was already a huge crowd gathered at the airport. It wasn’t enough that Ronald had advertised it all over Twitter, he even came himself to see us off.

Ronald’s popularity was sky-high even in New York. It was hard to believe that his approval rating had been scraping the bottom before the Big One.

Ronald patted me on the shoulder and said, “It’s a shame you’re leaving already.”

“I’ll come visit again.”

“Haha, we are planning a summit with the Korean president soon, so I’ll see you then.”

The gathered people applauded, and I smiled and waved back.

This is my level of popularity.

It was getting embarrassing and tiring to keep doing this, so I quickly entered the departure gate. Taekgyu, who had gone in ahead and was waiting, said to me as he saw me, “Like a Hollywood star.”

***

While the plane crossed the North Pacific, I immersed myself in reading for the first time in a while.

The title of the book was ‘The Secrets of the Rothschild Family’.

But as I read it, I realized that about half of the content was the author’s imagination or speculation. That’s because there are so many things that are just not known.

The world is full of all sorts of conspiracy theories. The most famous conspiracy theory in the financial world is the idea of Jewish capital being behind the scenes.

It claims that Jewish people control the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and manipulate the world economy and politics. To this end, they made the dollar the key currency through the Bretton Woods system, and then pressured for the abolition of gold convertibility.

Of course, this is literally just a conspiracy theory.

These conspiracy theories gain traction because they can simply explain phenomena.

Various phenomena in the financial world are intricately intertwined with multiple causes and interests. But instead of explaining this with difficult economic terms, it can be neatly summarized in a single phrase: ‘It’s a conspiracy of Jewish capital.’

Does that mean these conspiracy theories have no basis at all? Not exactly. It is a clear fact that Jewish people entered the financial industry early on and wield influence with vast capital.

There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, Jewish people, being immigrants, moved residences frequently. Therefore, they preferred cash and precious metals that could be easily carried, rather than real estate that was difficult to dispose of.

Also, in the past, Christianity prohibited usury. Lending money to fellow Christians and receiving interest was considered a sin. However, Jewish people were outside of church law, so they could lend money at high interest rates.

But this moneylending business is a profession that can’t have a good image. Lending money to people in urgent need can be seen as a good thing, but people’s minds change between going into and coming out of the restroom, as they say.

When borrowing money, they are grateful even for high interest rates, but when it comes to repaying it later, their stomachs churn.

It’s fortunate if they repay it on time, but cases where they can’t repay due to circumstances are also frequent. But the moneylending business can’t be done while accommodating everyone’s personal circumstances.

When trying to forcibly recover money from people who cannot repay, all sorts of malicious and violent methods are mobilized.

As a result, Jewish people gained an image as ruthless capitalists with no blood or tears, only interested in money.

Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ features Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. When the protagonist fails to repay the money he borrowed, he tries to cut out a pound of flesh closest to his heart. (Although it was unsuccessful and backfired on him).

This can be said to be the view of Jewish people at the time among Europeans. These negative images piled up and were later used as a logic to justify the Holocaust during World War II.

In any case, even today, Jewish people possess vast capital, and based on that, they wield immense influence in American politics, economy, and finance. And at the center of it is the Rothschild family.

In an era where even dynasties struggle to last for more than 100 years, it is in itself an amazing thing that a single family has maintained wealth and power for over 250 years.

In the past, the Rothschild family possessed such immense power that they could dominate Europe. But that is probably not the case now.

Because since then, the world economy has grown at an incredible pace, and wealth has increased accordingly. Of course, the Rothschild family may have also increased their wealth, but their overall proportion must have decreased.

The conclusion is, they might be big, but not big enough to be worried about, right?

I thought of Grace Rothschild, whom I met at JPMorgan headquarters.

She seemed to know a lot about me… Well, there’s no need to worry about it.

“What are you doing?”

I turned my head and saw Ellie standing very close.

“The Secrets of the Rothschild Family, huh? Is it interesting?”

“Not really interesting. I’m just curious about how much wealth the Rothschild family has.”

Ellie briefly skimmed through the book.

“Hmm, does Jin-hoo want to make more money?”

“Of course not. I can’t even spend all the money I have before I die anyway, what’s the point of making more?”

I’m just doing what I want to do. I’m not really interested in what others say about me being the richest person in the world or whatever.

Ellie tilted her head.

“Still, people’s desires are endless, aren’t they?”

I gave a wry smile.

“That’s true.”

No matter how much money you have, the reality is that people struggle to get even more.

***

Ceylon Hotel Members’ Lounge in Namsan.

This place is only accessible to members with membership. Membership to the Ceylon Hotel cost 80 million won. As expensive as it is, the benefits are also numerous. Members can freely use the fitness center, outdoor swimming pool, golf driving range, sauna, members’ lounge, and also make reservations for golf courses owned by the Ceylon Hotel.

The fitness center at a luxury hotel is not just a workout facility, but a social gathering place for the wealthy. Members form friendships and share various information.

There was also a wives’ club of business tycoons here. The age range varied from middle-aged women to newlyweds in their 20s.

Park Young-ja, wife of Hwang Jae-hoon, chairman of Cheongun Group.

Cheongun Group, whose origins were Cheongun Construction founded in the 1980s, grew through the construction of residential apartments and officetels. Even when numerous mid-sized construction companies collapsed due to the IMF and financial crises, they (on the contrary) increased their size through mergers and acquisitions. Thanks to this, they have now risen to 22nd in the business rankings.

As Park Young-ja entered the lounge, the five women who were already there all stood up at once.

“Madam has arrived?”

“You must have had a long journey.”

“Why are you all standing up? Please sit down.”

The hierarchy among housewives is determined by their husbands’ social standing. Park Young-ja was practically the leader of this group.

They drank coffee and talked about various rumors circulating in the business world. Then, the topic of Kang Jin-hoo came up.

“I heard he came back to Korea a few days ago.”

“To move the US administration with just a few words.”

“I was so surprised when I saw that.”

“When did OTK Company get so big?”

“When I first heard about it, I just laughed, but now it’s shoulder to shoulder with Seosung Group.”

“There are even rumors that they will overtake them soon.”

“Oh my, does that mean OTK Company will become number one in the business world?”

Once the topic of Kang Jin-hoo came up, it seemed like it would never end.

When OTK Company was targeted by the Chinese government and faced sanctions, they thought that in the end, they would have no choice but to yield to China. But Kang Jin-hoo moved the US administration to resolve this situation. And he made Zhou Cha admit to the technology theft and receive an apology and compensation.

This was something no company had ever done before.

The political and business circles were once again astonished by this event.

Politicians always want to confirm that political power is above market power. However, Kang Jin-hoo did not easily bow his head to politicians, and therefore, not only the Free People’s Party but also the ruling New Politics Party did not view him favorably.

But now, no one dared to even think of messing with him. Kang Jin-hoo’s status was that immense.

These points are important, but the real reason why they were paying attention to Kang Jin-hoo was different.

It was that he was only in his mid-20s and unmarried. This meant that there was a possibility of forming a marital alliance with him through marriage.

“Who will Kang Jin-hoo marry?”

“I heard that politicians and prosecutors with daughters are all eyeing him.”

“Who wouldn’t?”

A middle-aged woman said flatteringly to Park Young-ja.

“Speaking of which, isn’t Yujin graduating high school this year? Kang Jin-hoo is also in his 20s now, they seem like a good match. How about arranging a meeting for them?”

Park Young-ja only has two daughters. Among them, her second daughter, Hwang Yujin, was known in political and business circles for her outstanding beauty. The most famous beauty in the business world is Yang Hana of CL Group, but Hwang Yujin was no less beautiful than her.

‘Our Yujin is younger than Yang Hana, after all.’

With her elegant and composed demeanor, even though she was still in high school, there was a frenzy of people wanting her as a daughter-in-law from all over.

Hwaan Group was particularly proactive. Originally, they were thinking of marrying her off to their second son, but their thoughts had changed.

If Hwaan Group’s second son is a lizard, Kang Jin-hoo is a dragon.

Hwang Yujin also seemed interested if the partner was Kang Jin-hoo. Wouldn’t it be good to marry them off right after graduation?

In places like this, she played the queen and was called ‘Madam’, but when she actually met the madams of the top 10 groups in other settings, she had to bow her head and act like a maid. She even had to fawn and flatter in front of young women who had just gotten married.

But if she could get Kang Jin-hoo as a son-in-law, her status would change instantly. Wouldn’t everyone, from the madam of SSK Group to the madam of CL Group, bow down and revere her?

‘Kang Jin-hoo is a man, so he’ll definitely like our Yujin when he sees her. The problem is how to arrange a meeting…’

Whether it’s the political or business world, there are more than one or two families aiming for Kang Jin-hoo. If they have unmarried daughters, you could say they are all interested.

“I heard Kang Jin-hoo grew up under a single mother. That’s why he thinks of his mother so dearly.”

“I heard that story too. They say he’s completely obedient to his mother’s words.”

Park Young-ja’s eyes lit up.

‘That’s right. There was such a good way. Then, is it a priority to become close with Kang Jin-hoo’s mother?’

One woman said, “But isn’t he still seeing that white woman he brought to the party back then?”

Kang Jin-hoo brought a girlfriend to the opening party, and that was an issue in the business world for a while. According to later information, she is the head of the legal team at Golden Gate. She is a talented woman with both beauty and ability.

Park Young-ja smiled and said, “Is a man dating a woman a flaw? If he’s capable, it doesn’t matter how many women he meets. You have to date a lot and experience a lot when you’re young to be faithful to your family after you get married.”

The women chimed in with her words.

“Oh my, that’s right.”

“Hehe, as expected, Madam knows a thing or two.”

“Of course. Dating is fine with anyone, but shouldn’t marriage be between business families?”

“OTK Company doesn’t have a construction company, so it’s a perfect match for Cheongun Group.”

Even knowing it was flattery, hearing these words made her feel good.

‘How wonderful would it be if Kang Jin-hoo became my son-in-law?’

If that happened, she even had thoughts of incorporating Cheongun Group into OTK Company as a subsidiary. After all, the one who would inherit that company would be her daughter’s child.

“Okay, let’s stop talking now and go practice golf.”

“Yes, Madam.”

At her words, they all stood up and moved.

Unlike the fitness center where hotel guests could also enter, only members could enter the golf driving range.

As they went inside, they saw a middle-aged woman sitting on a waiting chair.

Park Young-ja habitually scanned the woman up and down.

The clothes she was wearing were far from luxury or brand-name products. Her hairstyle and makeup were plain, and her hands were rough. Her face showed signs of hardship, and it didn’t seem like she had spent any money on grooming.

‘What, who is this ajumma? Could it be that even a woman like this has a membership?’

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