141 : I and U
Daesae Chosun, Busan Yeongdo Yard.
“Manager Byun Yeong-sik, did you receive the PSMM specifications?”
“Yes, I got a call from the Navy. With a full tonnage of 268 tons, the hull is made of aluminum alloy and a gas turbine engine is installed at a maximum speed of 40 knots. The armament was decided to be a 76mm naval gun and a 30mm autocannon.”
The final decision has been made by Baekgu-class patrol ships.
Whether it was Indonesia or Korea, it was just right for a coastal corvette. It would be better with missiles, but I don’t think I have the money for one yet.
In the meantime, it seems that the president has negotiated well with the US government to bring in a ship with a FMS (Foreign Military Sale) loan.
In the FMS method, the military contractor is in charge of design and production, but the contract subject is the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
President Park must have gotten acquainted with Nancy and Kissinger through this opportunity.
“What about technical support?”
“Yes, American BR company decided to accept our trainees when designing, and has already dispatched a technical manager for aluminum alloy welding.”
“Are you here already? Then, skilled workers who have completed the existing special welding training can be sent to Jordan.”
“Yes, you mean the seawater desalination project? The project was organized with urgency. Note here.”
Manager Byun handed me the organization chart.
“Okay, dispatch to Jordan right away.”
“Yes, boss.”
It was an organization with a deputy manager as the team leader, but this is somewhere. Let’s send it straight to Jordan.
‘If I leave it to Sambok, it will settle down quickly.’
If you work together, there are spider hands that break down machines just by getting close to them, and there are lucky people whose machines stop working even if you don’t do anything.
Sambok is exactly the latter case.
It doesn’t seem like he has any particular ability, but when he left it to him, things worked out strangely.
I want to leave the seawater desalination project to him for now.
Since BR is in the middle of designing, there will be no problem with making preparations in advance.
A seawater desalination project has joined the trend of Joseon.
Although it is still in its infancy, it is developing its assortment as a heavy industry company.
“Boss, it’s time to leave.”
“Yes, Secretary Ki. let’s go.”
Today was the day I decided to attend the completion ceremony of the Pohang Steel’s hot rolling mill.
I had a lot to do, but I had to go.
It was something to celebrate that the hot rolling mill was built nationally, and more than anything, I wanted to cheer on my colleagues who worked together as the former chairman of the promotion committee.
***
Pohang Iron & Steel, promotion committee office.
“Aye, Chairman. How long is this?”
Deputy Minister Seok Ki-hoon jumped out and greeted me.
It was rewarding to come earlier than the completion ceremony.
“What kind of chairman are you? When did Assistant Secretary Seok become the chairman of the promotion committee?”
“Hey, I’m just finishing up what President Woo has planned. I’ve been wanting to see you for a long time, but it’s nice to see you at the completion ceremony.”
“You have suffered a lot. Congratulations.”
“I am very happy that the president congratulated me. By the way, I don’t know if I deserve congratulations. I could only pull air for about a month at most.”
“You really didn’t sleep and worked hard. Take care of your body as well.”
Deputy Minister Seok Ki-hoon’s face was visibly damaged.
Not only did she lose weight, but her complexion was also bad, to the point where she wondered where she was in pain.
If you say that you pulled the air for the first plant for a month, the 21st century people will be surprised.
“It was possible because the manager of Incheon Steel’s Böst plant gave good technical advice, and the employees worked hard in three shifts.”
The social atmosphere that can push countless manpower into military style, the pride of contributing to national development, and the personal desire to succeed without fail, etc., all combined like fireworks to create an unbelievable miracle.
“How are the results? Have you tried trial production?”
“Yes, we can produce 180,000 tons of hot-rolled coil, 180,000 tons of rough steel, and 220,000 tons of sheet metal per year. The import substitution effect is expected to be about $36 million per year.”
It was amazing. It was great for a first completed factory.
After all, the scale of the integrated steelworks was really large.
This is because even if a single hot-rolled steel line is made, it has the effect of earning 36 million dollars a year.
“First of all, the slab will be imported and used.”
“Yes, it should be. In any case, if you process and sell hot-rolled steel sheets, you will be able to make up for the construction cost to some extent.”
“Is the importing country Japan? How much is it per ton?”
“… I decided to bring it at $90 per ton.”
I was surprised to hear that it was $90.
In a steel mill, a slab refers to a product in which hot molten iron is poured into a mold and hardened in the form of a plate.
In other words, it can be said that it is a semi-finished product before processing.
It is heated again and pushed with a roller to make a hot-rolled steel sheet of the desired thickness.
The price of the hot-rolled steel sheet made in this way is about $110 per ton at the global price, but if you bring the slab, which is a semi-finished product, at $90 per ton, there will be little left.
“No, 90 dollars per ton. Could it be that you didn’t do an international bidding?”
“It was a private contract, not a tender. This is because Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, through the Export-Import Bank of Japan, provided a total of $36 million in loans for the construction of the hot-rolling plant.”
It was as if they were saying to buy their semi-finished products at a high price because they would lend them money to build a factory.
It was really a jingle jingle of Japanese companies.
How could he try to use his business partner to the end like this? Even if you go until the age of 21, these guys don’t change.
“The problem is not only that. Kawasaki Heavy Industries provided 3.3 million USD worth of port loading and unloading facilities in the name of free funds for claims from Korea and Japan. In return, I was given the detailed design of the steelworks port.”
By attracting US capital, it seems that Japan was also stimulated and funds for Korean-Japanese claims flowed in one after another.
“Free funds are not free. Where in the world is there anything free? I have repeatedly said that we should be wary of participating in Japan, but what happened, Assistant Secretary Seok?”
Somehow, while I was away, it seemed that the main partner of Pohang Iron and Steel had changed from the Pittsburgh coalition in the US to the Japan Steel Coalition (JG, Japan Group).
“The matter was decided through the Blue House and came down, so we couldn’t stop it in advance. I was going to visit the boss before the full-scale construction started.”
real construction?
While I wasn’t taking care of it, the Economic Planning Agency or pro-Japanese connections didn’t seem to be idle.
“It’s a real construction project, please tell me. If I can help, I should help.”
“The plant layout plan planned by the promotion committee was I-shaped, but after a Japanese company took over the service, it changed to a U-shaped one. ”
What do you mean? It’s a U shape!
In the original history, the thing that a plant man like me regretted every time I saw Pohang Iron and Steel was the factory layout in the shape of a horseshoe.
The form itself had no choice but to cut off logistics, and automation was difficult.
I wondered why the seniors designed it this way.
I heard that the Gwangyang Works built after that was designed in the shape of an I, and productivity improved by about 8% compared to Pohang Works.
An 8% difference may not seem like much, but it is a number that cannot be ignored in a large plant like Pohang Steel.
An 8% improvement in efficiency is equivalent to building one more sector. Isn’t that a number that continues to accumulate until the steel mill goes bankrupt?
“Excuse me? Didn’t I emphasize Since Pohang Works uses the Böst method, productivity is maximized when it is in an I-shape.”
What kind of bastard did this nonsense?
I designed the Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. by building a quay in a straight line along the coastline and arranging an ore yard, a steel mill, a steel mill, and a rolling mill from the quay to the land in order.
The executive committee members also unanimously agreed.
Only then will it be compatible with the Böst method and the continuous casting method.
“I know. However, I strongly opposed it, but as Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which was in charge of the port design, insisted on the immersion-type port plan, the layout of the entire plant would be different.”
“An indented port?”
It was difficult to understand right away because it was a strange Japanese kanji, but it seemed to mean digging the land like a bay to create a port.
“If you see it with your own eyes, you will understand.”
One of the members of the promotion committee drove a jeep, and my party and I headed straight for the port.
When I arrived at the shore, I was dumbfounded.
Looking at the port side, they were really digging the land and making it into the sea.
“What are you doing when you can fill up the sea and turn it into land? Who is the bastard who made such an idiot!”
“I am Ueno Jozaburo, an advisor in charge of civil engineering at Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and a member of the Japan Port Authority.”
“That guy led this?”
“We are arguing that we have no choice but to adopt an excavation port due to the tight construction period and lack of dredger capacity. The soil from digging the land can be used for embankment, and the distance between the dredged area and the embankment area is reduced as much as it is dug, shortening the construction period.”
“What kind of bullshit are you being so creative?”
I was angry and couldn’t stand it.
It is said that since it is difficult to fill the factory site, you can reduce the area to be filled by digging.
“Someone from somewhere is ruining our harbor! stop right now! Stop right now!!!!”
I ran to the site and shouted to the workers to stop the construction immediately.
“who are you! I am the director here!”
“Get out of here, you stupid bastard.”
“This bastard!”
I didn’t even know my face, so I started cursing.
Who among the construction site supervisors in our country does not know my face? He’s a guy from Japan.
“Oh, isn’t that Mr. Woo?”
“Dorim Construction CEO Eun Joon-yong.”
“Hey, you know who this person is!”
Coincidentally, Eun, president of Dorim Construction, was present at the site.
He ran to the sound of an argument, looked at me, and yelled at the foreman.
“Boss, tell me. What’s wrong?”
“Yes, even if it is wrong, it is very wrong. We need to backfill here, so stop right now. Please expel all Japanese supervisors from the field. I am responsible.”
“As expected. It looked very strange to me. go away. baby!”
President Eun also waved his arms and kicked out the Japanese foreman, as if he thought he was good enough.
“What are those pillars on the shore?”
“That is also one of the strangest things. They say they use the corrugated shell method to make the quay. I said I would use the caisson method of Daesei Construction, but it didn’t even work.”
“Corrugated shell method? what is that?”
Are there any construction methods for quay walls that I don’t know about?
“I heard that it is a construction method in which a cylinder made of steel bars is installed in the sea and concrete is poured into it. It is easy to install and can shorten the construction period.”
what? Is it a type of cast-in-place pile construction?
Why are you using it here?
It’s not like building the Seohae Bridge.
“Use the caisson method. I will take responsibility. When the quay walls of the harbor are straight, berthing and unloading are convenient. There is no reason for that.”
There is a 21st century method, but why are you using the wrong method?
“As expected, President Wu is hot. I believe in the words of the boss, and I will proceed as it is. Every time I heard him say whether it was Jojaburo or Josapuro, a thousand dollars went up inside me, and it went well.”
I made a promise to the president of Dorim Construction.
“Woo boss, how are you? That was the reason I wanted to visit you.”
“They are like dogs. It’s preventing Pohang Iron and Steel from expanding. What do you think of Assistant Secretary Seok?”
I want to see the face of Jojaburo.
Anyway, as a technician, I can’t do this.
Isn’t it an intention to betray one’s conscience as an engineer and permanently reduce the efficiency of other people’s factories?
“I think so too. Led by Rep. Kim Joong-pil, the Economic Planning Board minister and Blue House advisory professors kissed Japanese companies.”
“Even our professors?”
“Yeah, that made me crazy. East Coast blue data, logistics efficiency analysis data, etc., came with all of them in favor of an indented port, so the committee members alone could not turn the tide. As our Korean professors did so, American technicians also crossed the river.”
Indeed, it was the form that the Blue House took and pressed.
In any case, the professors at this time were thoroughly educated in the Japanese style, and they would have received support or bribes, so it was natural for them to raise their hands in Japan.
Damn you guys.
What about those who say they’ve learned enough to learn?
Our Daesei construction proved the stability of the caisson construction method at Quyonyeon and Ulsan Port, and didn’t Hyeonsan Construction prove it at Incheon Port?
rotten bastards.
“I’m glad in the meantime. Since it is in the early stages of construction, if Dorim Construction starts restoration from now on, we can proceed according to our plan.”
“If you’re here, please help me until the end. After the completion ceremony of the hot rolling mill, I was thinking of having a discussion with Your Excellency at the meeting.”
“I will be by my side to help, so speak confidently when negotiating. No matter what you say, I will be your shield, so never back down. You know.”
“Yes, Mr. Wu.”
It seemed that now he knew why Assistant Minister Seok Ki-hoon had lost so much weight.
It must have been a great deal of heartache.
In this era, I dare to think of building a negotiation with the president.
I don’t know if it was the president’s intention or if it was because I had a uniform, but I arrived on time.
Now I know why the Pohang Iron and Steel Co. was in the wrong shape in its original history.
let’s change It must be changed before it is too late.
“Let’s go. The completion ceremony is almost over.”
It was only then that the complexion of the promotion committee members became human.
***
「(Gyeong) Pohang Steelworks Hot Rolling Mill Completion Ceremony (Congratulations)」
pop! pop!
waaa
Local residents in attendance cheered and Pohang Iron and Steel employees lined up in rows.
Member of the National Assembly and Republican Party Chairman Kim Joong-pil, Economic Planning Board Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bae Hak-ryeol, and the President delivered congratulatory speeches, followed by applause and cheers each time.
That would be the case, because a good job would be created in Pohang, which was just a poor fishing village, and money would be scattered along with it.
When this stage is over, you have to build a discussion board.