WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise

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◈ Second Life of the Trade King ◈

Chapter 25: Canadian Hard Wheat (3)

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His question, as though he suspected I knew their situation rather well, meant my assessment had hit the mark.

In an atmosphere like this, a small company like Yeongdo Trading had certainly made a strong impression on the Canadian Wheat Board.

“There’s no way I could know anyone at the Canadian Wheat Board. I have simply observed the trade structure of Canadian wheat entering Korea for a long time while working in trade. I believed its weaknesses could be identified from Korean materials alone.”

Williamson gave a small nod at my carefully explained answer in English.

He had probably not asked because he truly suspected me.

He was likely just surprised that someone so far from Canada knew their circumstances so well.

Then someone spoke.

“May I say something?”

Lee Man-gyu, Hanseong Flour Mills’ department head, rose from their seat.

As I slowly turned my head, I could guess what had prompted Lee to rise so forcefully.

My presentation had practically been a direct challenge to Hanseong Flour Mills.

“Please.”

Mark raised a hand, allowing Lee to speak.

As an evaluator, he seemed interested in watching the candidates clash.

Lee looked directly at me and began speaking in somewhat heavy English.

“President Kim of Yeongdo Trading, your insight was impressive. However, there is one point I would like to raise. The three issues you mentioned would all be resolved automatically, not through Yeongdo Trading, but through direct trade with Korea’s number one milling company, Hanseong Flour Mills.”

Then Lee turned toward Mark Williamson.

“If the Canadian Wheat Board works directly with us, you would bypass both general trading companies and the Agricultural and Fishery Products Marketing Corporation, while establishing a direct relationship with Korea’s largest milling company. In that case, is there any reason to need an intermediary channel called Yeongdo Trading?”

The words, spoken slowly and clearly, carried considerable weight.

But Mark Williamson did not answer. He merely looked at me.

Rather than state his opinion, he was telling me to rebut it.

There was no reason to refuse.

“Department Head Lee’s point is accurate. On the surface, it does appear that way. However, there are two risks.”

I looked back and forth between Lee, whose expression had stiffened, and Mark Williamson as I continued.

“First is the risk of depending on a single end user. Hanseong Flour Mills is certainly Korea’s number one milling company. However, the moment the Canadian Wheat Board relies on direct trade with one company, its entire Korean market share becomes tied to that company’s circumstances. You may wonder why that is a problem, but if Hanseong Flour Mills increases its use of American wheat next year, changes its management policy, or adjusts its Canadian wheat usage according to market conditions, CWB would lose its largest channel into the Korean market all at once. It is an efficient structure, but a dangerous one.”

Anyone could speak smoothly when presenting prepared materials.

The real test came when questions were asked.

How someone responded to questions showed their true ability.

That was why Lee Man-gyu’s gaze grew even more somber.

“And the second reason may be more fundamental than the first. It is the problem of brand burial in the Korean market.”

At the word “brand,” the smile disappeared from the lips of Mark Williamson, the Canadian Wheat Board’s Asia Marketing Director.

“The Canadian Wheat Board is not an ordinary trading company. It is the Canadian government’s grain marketing organization. What the Canadian Wheat Board must cultivate in the Korean market is not simply sales, but the national brand Canadian Wheat. But what happens if you trade directly with Hanseong Flour Mills?”

I took two slow steps forward, positioning myself between Mark and Lee.

“Canadian wheat would be processed into Gompyo Flour at Hanseong Flour Mills and sold in the Korean market. Korean bakeries and food companies would then be buying Gompyo Flour, not Canadian Wheat. And afterward? The people of Korea would not even know what the Canadian Wheat Board’s national brand was.”

Then I stepped back.

Mark Williamson and Lee Man-gyu faced each other again.

Lee had to refute my argument immediately to break its logic.

But Lee’s gaze wavered, and although their lips moved, no words came out.

What I had said struck at the fatal weakness of milling companies.

So I continued.

“Yeongdo Trading offers a different picture. We are a trading company, not a milling company. We receive Canadian wheat, but we do not process it under our own brand. We will become a single channel that supplies Canadian Wheat as Canadian Wheat to Korean milling companies, building a bridge for Canadian wheat across Korea’s milling industry.”

Perhaps afraid that Mark was truly being won over, Lee hurriedly stepped in.

“That is not necessarily true...”

But Lee could not continue.

Mark Williamson had raised a hand to stop them.

“That is enough. I have heard you well, Mr. Kim. It was a good answer. I have much more I would like to ask, but the other department heads also have their time, so let us conclude here for today.”

Williamson stood as if there was nothing more to hear.

Lee Man-gyu bit their lip after missing the chance to respond, but the evaluation was already over.

“I listened carefully to all four presentations and the question-and-answer session today. The proposals from each company showed the true reality of Korea’s grain market. However, to be honest, we have gained a new perspective on the Korean market here today. We will take that perspective back to our Winnipeg headquarters and share it with the entire marketing committee.”

The faces of Lee Man-gyu from Hanseong Flour Mills and Jeong Tae-seok from Daeseong Fisheries & Produce froze.

Williamson had not explicitly said they were eliminated, but it was impossible not to know who had made the strongest impression.

Finally, Peter Ryan, a trade officer from the Canadian Embassy’s Commercial Office, spoke.

“The final decision will be reviewed by headquarters’ marketing committee and conveyed through the consulate’s Trade Department in as little as two weeks or as long as one month. Thank you for taking the time to join us today.”

With that, the meeting ended.

Williamson rose and approached each company’s department head in turn to shake hands. When he took my hand last, he gave me a different farewell from the others.

“Mr. Kim, I look forward to seeing you again.”

His words confirmed my suspicion.

After the meeting, I gathered my presentation materials and left the conference room. An indescribably heavy atmosphere filled the space.

They all looked as though they were trying their best to remain expressionless, but the mood among Daeseong Fisheries & Produce’s team and Hanseong Flour Mills’ team was truly grim.

I did not openly gloat or act smug in this atmosphere. I deliberately slowed my pace and looked elsewhere.

Partly out of humility, but more importantly, this line of work was full of cases where someone gave a strong presentation only for the final result to be overturned later.

The basics were to present confidently, wait humbly for the result afterward, and prepare a Plan B in case things did not work out.

While waiting for the elevator, I held my document case neatly and watched the indicator descend.

Then slow footsteps approached from beside me.

Wondering if someone had not left yet, I turned to see Cho Seong-hun from Il-sung Corporation’s team following behind.

“President Kim, that was very impressive earlier.”

I was a company president, while Cho was a department head, but his social position was by no means beneath mine.

Considering Il-sung Group’s standing in Korea and the small-company presidents that department heads at a major corporation like Il-sung Corporation could command with a wave of their hand, it was remarkable enough that he was speaking to me formally.

“Was it?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven.”

Surprise appeared in his eyes.

“Twenty-seven?”

“Yes.”

“Wow... Korea has someone this talented? Did you graduate from Seoul National University?”

“No. Pusan National University.”

“Pusan National University? How did you get here?”

He did not seem to be trying to pry out a secret. He appeared genuinely curious.

In truth, there was no secret to it.

Anyone who looked into it could learn that Yeongdo Trading was close to the Australian Embassy.

“I believe the Australian Trade Commissioner recommended us.”

“Ah, right. At first, I thought I had heard of Yeongdo Trading somewhere, then I remembered it during the meeting. A small company in Busan with a firm hold on the Australian supply line. I heard several companies rushed to you when the U.S. drought became severe last year.”

“That happened. Dae-il Sugar did come to us.”

“Ha ha. We could not secure enough goods, and they kept hounding us about it. We told them to wait just two or three months, but I suppose they could not wait and rushed over to you. Anyway, I was quite impressed earlier.”

“I called your company out pretty directly. Weren’t you offended?”

“Not at all. Everyone is doing their best. If a small company wants to win a contract, it is right to do its best without worrying about us. If we did not want grounds to complain, we should have responded properly. We simply never imagined a company would openly criticize us to our faces, so we were not prepared for it. That is our fault. Anyway, our people should be more like that too... Young people these days are different from us. They have no fighting spirit.”

“...”

For some reason, he seemed to find this entertaining and kept trying to continue the conversation.

Soon, the elevator arrived. Once we stepped inside, he took out a business card from his inner pocket and handed it to me. I gave him mine as well.

“What do you think will happen?”

At his casual question, I looked straight ahead and pretended not to know.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

But he let out a short laugh at my answer.

“I think I know.”

If he knew, I had to ask.

“What do you think will happen?”

He calmly slipped my business card into his suit’s inner pocket. Maintaining a faint smile, he answered briefly.

“We will meet again.”

It was exactly what I expected.

No matter how outstanding I had been at the meeting, expecting to take all of Canada’s import volume alone would be like trying to shove a watermelon up my nose.

What impressed me was his confidence.

He was certain that Il-sung Corporation would be Yeongdo Trading’s future partner.

When the elevator doors opened, Cho Seong-hun and his subordinates were waiting outside.

“See you next time.”

He gave a slight nod with a faint smile, then walked away.

“What a frightening man.”

People who openly kept you in check were less frightening than those who approached warmly and offered their hand.

If someone openly showed hostility, you could remain on guard. But when someone smiled and extended a hand, there was no telling what they truly thought inside.

Of course, some people’s outward appearance matched what was inside.

But one could not assume everyone was like that.

What was Cho Seong-hun thinking right now?

“He must be grinding his teeth...”

Before my regression, if one of my subordinates at Glencore had come back humiliated by some small company nobody had ever heard of during a competitive presentation, I would probably have chewed them out all week, until they could not even lift their head.

That made me even more curious.

Would he still be so cordial the next time we met?

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