I was taken aback as I looked at the Mother Ship booking form.
The Mother Ship's shipping space reservations were already 100% full, and even the waiting reservations were completely booked.
All by some unheard-of Japanese companies.
"Zaizu Trading? Yuri Trading? Ei Industries? Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, have you ever heard of these companies?"
"No, I also found it strange. A few weeks ago, they started appearing one by one, and recently it's rare not to see them on the shipping list."
"Those companies have taken up all the international shipping routes to North America, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Australia. It's driving me crazy."
'This isn't good...'
I had a bad feeling.
The shipping industry has been a cutthroat business up until the early 21st century.
Due to the nature of shipping rates, which don't have a fixed consumer price, shippers like us meet directly with shipping companies to negotiate prices.
If we want to export to North America, we must contact the shipping company's North America route manager directly, confirm the shipping space, negotiate the rate according to the type and volume of cargo, write a contract, and deliver the cargo to the port on the scheduled date. Only then can the goods be properly loaded and shipped.
Since shipping companies aim to transport multiple clients' cargoes on time, they leave without waiting if the cargo doesn't arrive at the port on time.
Thus, it is crucial for exports to pass customs promptly and place the cargo in the port storage yard in advance.
This was an additional difficulty for Korea, already struggling in the 60s. To send export goods to the US, we had to load them at Busan Port and send them via Kobe, Osaka, or Tokyo ports in Japan.
This was because there were no South Korean national ships that could sail directly to the United States across the Pacific Ocean.
"How many times have we missed the ship now?"
"Twice at Kobe, once at Osaka, three times in total. All because they were held up at Japanese customs. This time we sent it to Tokyo, but it still hasn't passed customs there either."
The goods we made all December didn't make it onto the ship. Since the delay in passing customs was our fault, the shipping company incurs no loss. They can just load the goods of the waiting list shippers.
Although missing the ship was not unheard of, it had never happened consecutively like this.
If my goods continued to be delayed and didn't arrive in the US by March, it would be disastrous.
I need to deliver $70 million worth of goods to the US to convert short-term foreign debt into long-term government bonds. That's how I prove my capability to American investors.
"Have you ever seen the shipping capacity fully booked at the beginning of January?"
"What do you mean...?"
"Mr. Kim, usually, the shipping volume to North America drops sharply in early January. It's incredibly busy before Christmas, and right after that, even dock workers take holidays. Yet the shipping capacity is fully booked and even the waiting list is full? Does this seem normal to you?"
"Sorry, I mainly dealt with imports and domestic sales at my previous company... Mr. Park, do you have experience?"
"Ah, no, I don't really know either."
Even experienced employees were novices in exports. It's not their fault.
"If we continue to miss ships, we won't be able to use international regular liners. We will be blacklisted by the shipping alliances."
If this continues, we will provide the shipping companies with a reason to exclude us from shipping contracts.
"Really?"
"It's not our company's fault. Japanese customs aren't releasing our goods."
"Boss, send me to Japan. I'll beg at the customs or the shipping companies to get our exports out."
"No, we need to understand the situation first. Keep this absolutely confidential and report directly to Director Lee Sam-bok only. No one else must know. Understood?"
"Yes, Boss."
"Go ahead and take care of things. For now, keep our goods only at Busan Port."
"Yes, Boss."
If this was intentional, going to Japan to beg would only make them hold our goods tighter.
They might even return the goods to Korea.
These are the same guys who did similar things even in the 21st century.
***
'I need help from the Blue House.'
In the end, I called the Blue House Secretariat.
In the 1960s, the Blue House was essentially the headquarters of major conglomerates.
"The Chief Secretary, please."
Things had been awkward before, but lately, the atmosphere had improved.
Given that my efforts are focused on repaying short-term foreign debt, anyone can see I'm a patriot.
"I urgently need your cooperation. It seems Japan is playing games with international trade routes."
"Games?"
"My goods are stuck in Japanese customs and can't get on ships bound for the US. Even the shipping capacity for US-bound ships is completely taken up. No matter how much export volume I produce, I can't send it to the US."
"Forgive me, but isn't that an overreaction? If true, the Japanese government is obstructing the exports of a Korean private company."
"I wish it was just a worry. But if we don't address this and some of the goods don't reach the US, short-term foreign debt might default. We must be cautious. Please look into it."
"I'll contact the Japanese Embassy immediately. Please come to the Blue House."
"Thank you."
The Chief Secretary understood the seriousness of the issue and invited me to the Blue House.
***
"Welcome, President Woo."
Someone greeted me as I arrived at the Blue House.
"Yes, nice to meet you. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm Yeom Won-chul, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry. Helping you is my duty."
"Ah... Yes."
I had mentioned to the Chief Secretary several times that I needed someone to assist with export affairs, and today they assigned someone.
It was sudden, but I was grateful.
This must be Yeom Won-chul, the one I'd only heard about.
He led the chemical industry in our country during the 70s as the economic chief secretary.
Known as a workaholic in the industry, he surprisingly had a round and gentle face.
'Now's not the time for this.'
I shook my head internally.
"Shall we go, Deputy Minister?"
"Yes."
I headed to the reception room with Deputy Minister Yeom Won-chul.
***
"Come in, Mr. Woo."
"Sorry for barging in. I need help."
"I've heard roughly. The Japanese aren't lending you a ship?"
"It's just a suspicion."
"Well, exporting to Southeast Asia and to the US are different levels. It's understandable to interfere."
When our country embarked on an export-driven economy, shipping was the most problematic issue, and the trade deficit with Japan was also serious.
We managed to transport goods to Southeast Asia with our ships, but crossing the Pacific required buying large ships and joining international shipping alliances.
Without joining the shipping alliances, it was hard to find cargo owners, get port warehouse support, or loading assistance. Shipping companies have been cartels since their inception.
"Have you investigated the Japanese side?"
The President turned to the Chief Secretary.
"I contacted the embassy urgently. The Japanese government replied that they could no longer prioritize Korean companies for North American-bound shipping."
"What does that mean? Speak plainly."
"So far, the Japanese government has been helping Korean companies with export tasks, but they will now treat us equally with Japanese companies, ending the special treatment."
"Special treatment? Benefits? Huh."
The President laughed in disbelief.
I couldn't help but think of what our country faced in the 21st century.
Yes, history always repeats itself.
Japan had given Korea special benefits, claiming it was Korea's fault that they were being withdrawn.
'So, they're raising the pressure since the Korea-Japan negotiations failed to ratify.'
It started here.
Historically, the Korean government couldn't withstand such pressure.
"If we want to restore the benefits, the Korean government must provide a solution."
Bang!
"Are you playing with words! Speak clearly!!!!"
"Yes, sir. Their intention is to immediately announce and implement the fisheries agreement from the Korea-Japan treaty. This was conveyed orally by the Japanese ambassador."
"What agreement? We haven't even ratified it. What are they supposed to implement?"
"They demand that Korea immediately retract its peace line, reduce Korea's exclusive fishing zone to 12 nautical miles, and designate the rest of the sea as joint waters, clearly stating it is jointly owned by Japan and Korea."
Joint waters may sound good, but it meant Japanese fishermen with superior boats would sweep our coastal areas.
"Is this outright interference in internal affairs?"
The President exploded, but there were no Japanese to hear.
"They repeated that without these demands being met, they cannot provide special treatment for Korean export volumes. Sir."
In simple terms, it meant we couldn't use international routes departing from Japan.
It was typical of Japan.
They reacted like this just because the Korea-Japan negotiations entered re-negotiation. If they knew I was negotiating short-term foreign debt with Van Flint, what would they have done?
My goods might have disappeared entirely.
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
I needed to retrieve the goods from Japanese customs.
"It looks difficult to use international shipping from Japan. Is there any ship the government can lend me?"
"Right! Support a warship immediately. No matter how rough the Pacific is, a warship can cross it."
"Sir, LSTs are warships and cannot be used for commercial purposes. This was the first condition when the US transferred LSTs to our country."
"What do you mean? They go to Qui Nhon port every time."
"That's under the pretext of combat supply for troops
in Vietnam. It's not wartime now, and a warship cannot enter another country's territorial waters, even for allies."
That makes sense.
That's why warships can't enter Somali waters with rampant pirates, or even escort merchant ships.
"Damn it..."
President Park frowned.
He slumped into his chair and lit a cigarette.
He deeply inhaled the smoke, contemplating the situation. Then, it seemed he reached a conclusion.
"Send a special envoy to Japan..."
"No, Mr. President. You cannot do that."
"Why not? If we can't export by March, the country will default. We won't be able to bring in loans or food. Are you suggesting we all starve?"
"Mr. President, if we concede now and sign the Korea-Japan treaty, we lose to Japan and get abandoned by the US. We need to prove our potential."
If we agreed to the Korea-Japan treaty, we'd lose our civil claim rights against Japan. Van Flint or Nancy's investors would never look at Korea again.
"Is there another way?"
"We need to find a ship capable of crossing the Pacific first. Chief Secretary!"
"Yes, what do you need?"
"Is there any usable ship in our country?"
The Chief Secretary couldn't answer right away.
He looked troubled, and Deputy Minister Yeom Won-chul stepped forward.
"How big of a ship do you need? I have surveyed ships during my time at the Ministry of Commerce."
He seemed confident, knowing the ins and outs of export and import tasks.
"We need to load 100 forty-foot containers. Plus, a few thousand tons of processed wood, so approximately 10,000 tons."
"Te... ten thousand tons?"
Was 10,000 tons considered large in the 60s?
Deputy Minister Yeom Won-chul looked like he was about to faint.
"Is there none? An old ship would do."
"Even new ships aren't that big. A 1,000 or 2,000-ton ship is considered large, and the few thousand-ton ships are all joint ventures with Japanese shipping companies."
Was our dependence on Japan this high?
If they were joint ventures with Japanese shipping companies, we couldn't use even the few thousand-ton ships. The Japanese government would obstruct it.
They were meticulous in their sabotage.
"Hey, is there any leftover military ship at the naval base? We can fix it and use it as a merchant ship."
"I wouldn't know that."
"!!! Fixing a warship? Fixing..."
The President's words suddenly triggered a memory.
When working on plants, I occasionally met marine engineers, and I heard a similar story from different people, finding it fascinating.
When Korea opened the North American route, it wasn't a regular merchant ship but a ship used for education at the Naval Academy or some university. They repaired it to cross the Pacific Ocean.
An instructor or professor leading students had struggled immensely to pioneer the North American route, and their alma mater had a commemorative painting in the auditorium as a tribute.
"Deputy Minister, where are our ship captains and marine engineers trained?"
"Of course, at Jinhae or Busan. But why do you ask?"
"Don't they have training ships? Even if they're old, they should be sizable enough to cross the Pacific if repaired."
"What!"
"Such an idea!"
"Get in touch with Jinhae right away... No, Mr. Woo, go check it out yourself. If it's usable, take it immediately."
The President stood up and patted my shoulder. Suddenly, Deputy Minister Yeom Won-chul and I were heading straight to Jinhae from the Blue House.
"If you find a ship, establish a shipping company. Understood?"
"What?"
"Pardon?"
"Oh..."
We all gasped simultaneously.
"Ah, yes. Mr. President. I will do that."
I was the first to snap out of it and respond.
I didn't want to start a shipping company this way, but now wasn't the time to be picky.