HELLO, WELCOME, HELLO TO DISTINGUISHED
GUESTS, MOM & Younghee.
WOW 20 YRS.
CAN IT BE THAT LONG?
IT IS FITTING THAT I WAS HERE FOR MONDAY’S
ARMED FORCES DAY, FOR THAT WAS THE SERINDIPITY THAT STARTED OUR RELATIONSHIP. MY
FATHER, JACK, WAS INVITED BACK TO KOREA BY THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT. IT WAS AN INVITATION TO KOREAN WAR VETERANS
AND MY DAD HAD FLOWN 107
MISSIONS IN THE WAR.
THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT SPONSORED THE TRIP FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
IT
WAS THERE THAT MY FATHER MET A YOUNG MAN WITH AN ELECTRIC SMILE NAMED JOSHUA
SUH.
JACK RETURNED TO CHICAGO AND SAID WE WOULD DELEVOPE SOME BUSINESS WITH
JOSHUA, AND I
THINK IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT WE HAVE DONE THAT. THE ONE THING THAT CAUSED THE TWO OF THEM
TO
HIT IT OFF WAS TRUST. TRUST IS A BIG
CONCEPT WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT DOING BUSINESS
1/2 A WORLD AWAY. I KNOW THAT
IT HELPED THAT JOSHUA A WAS A CHRISTIAN AND A MILITARY
VETERAN HIMSELF. BUT MOSTLY,
IN BUSINESS, HE FOLLOWED THRU WITH WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO.
NOW IMAGINE THE DIFFICULTIES OF OUR TWO COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS. WE DO
NOT SPEAK ANY KOREAN, THANK GOODNESS JOSHUA SPEAKS VERY GOOD KONGLISH. WE ARE
12,000 MILES AWAY;
DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY; DIFFERING CULTURES; BUT SOMEHOW THEY
MADE MADE A CONNECTION.
WE DELEVOPED A
BOND OF TRUST THAT ENABLED US TO MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER.
BUT WAIT, LETS GO BACK 20 YRS. DOES
ANYONE REMEMBER WHAT BUSINES WAS LIKE 20 YRS AGO?
THERE WAS NO INTERNET. AT
FIRST THERE WAS THE TELEX MACHINE. WE
TYPED MESSAGES AND SENT
THEM VIA PHONE LINES. LATER CAME FACSIMILE MACHINES,
THAT WERE ABOUT THE SIZE OF A DESK!
THAT MEANT WE COULD FAX DRAWINGS AND
PRINTED NOTES HERE INSTEAD OF HAVING TO POST
SAMPLES! THEN WE HAD COMPUTERS
WITH NETWORK CABLES AND SOFTWARE THAT…WELL, WE HAD
TO WAIT FOR. ONLY RECENTLY
HAVE WE HAD THE EASE BROUGHT BY THE INTERNET TO SPEED UP
BUSINESS FLOW. WE HAD 1 OR 2 VISITS A YEAR BY JOSHUA, THE
REST WAS ON US TO TRUST THAT
PARTS WOULD GET RUN & HE TO TRUST THAT WE
WOULD PAY HIM. BUT 20 YRS?
I LOOK OUT WITH THE EYES OF ABOUT A 35 YR OLD, UNTIL I LOOK INTO THE
MIRROR (LAUGH).
AS I LOOK AROUND THE ROOM I SEE ZION THE MAN, HE WAS ZION THE
BABY THEN,
NOAH WAS NOT YET BORN. NOW A QUARTER OF A
LIFE TIME HAS PAST. THOSE BOYS, LIKE MY OWN CHILDREN, ARE GROWN TO ADULTS. A
QUARTER OF A LIFETIME HAS PAST, SO 20YRS IT HAS BEEN.
IT IS FUNNY NOW, WE CAN
PICK UP AN I-PHONE OR GALAXY AND INSTANTLY SEND MESSAGES, WELL ALSMOST
INSTANTLY, I AM STILL LEARNING HOW TO USE MINE.
BUT BACK IN THOSE ‘DARK AGES’ OF BUSINESS, JOSHUA PROMISED HE WOULD BE
OUR BEST SUPPLIER. AND HE HAS BEEN. THE
RUBBER
INDUSTRY IS NOT PRETTY. CARBON
BLACK TURNS MOST THINGS DUSTY & YOU GO HOME AT NIGHT
SMELLING LIKE AN OLD
WET SUIT. THE PROCESS REQUIRES HEAT
WHICH MAKES PRESS ROOMS FEEL
LIKE FURNACES IN THE SUMMER TIME. BUT IF YOU WORK
AT IT YOU CAN MAKE A LIVING.
IT IS HONEST
WORK TO FIND A CUSTOMER’S NEED AND MANUFACTURE PARTS TO FILL THOSE NEEDS.
BUT
OUR INDUSTRY HAS REALLY DELEVOPED IN THE PAST 2 DECADES AND BANSUK IS ON THE
CUTTING EDGE OF THOSE DEVLOPEMENTS. FROM MOVING TO INJECTION PRESSES AND BUYING
NEW PRESSES,
TO BUILDING OUT AN ENTIRE IN-HOUSE LAB IN ORDER TO CERTIFY
QUALITY. IT ALLOWS FOR QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF MATERIALS THAT WE PROMISED
TO OUR CUSTOMERS.. IT IS ONE MORE DEMONSTRATION THAT BANSUK AND JOSHUA AND HIS
TEAM CAN BE TRUSTED. BANSUK HAS DONE A FABULOUS JOB OF ALWAYS STEPPING
FORWARD. SIMPLE, LOGICAL, ENGINUITY HAS
TACKLED TOUGH TASKS AND MADE IT
EASY DOING BUSINESS. THIS IS SEEN IN ON GOING
CONTINUING EDUCATION AND EVEN IN THE CHAIRMEN’S GETTING HIS DOCTOR OF RUBBER
CHEMISTRY DEGREE. ALL OF THIS BUILDS ON
THAT HANDSHAKE OF TRUST THAT WE STARTED WITH SO MANY YEARS AGO. IN THE DAILY RIGORS OF WORK
YOU CAN LOOSE
SIGHT OF THE BIGGER PICTURE. I REMEMBER A SIGN MY FATHER HAD FRAMED ABOVE
HIS
DESK WHICH READ “ IT IS DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER THAT YOUR JOB WAS TO DRAIN THE
SWAMP
WHEN YOU ARE UP TO YOUR ELBOWS IN ALLIGATORS.” THAT IS THE WAY BUSINESS IS SOME DAYS. BUT
JOSHUA HAS KEPT YOU FOCUSED ON MOVING FORWARD WITH BUSINESS DEVELOPENMENT AND
YOU, HIS TEAM, HAVE RESPONDED. YOU PROVIDE QUICK RESPONSIVE WORK TO HELP SOLVE
ANY PROBLEMS WE
HAVE. YOU MAKE BUSINESS EASIER TO TRANSACT, AND, IN FACT, A JOY
AT TIMES. THAT BRINGS ME TO
ANOTHER
PLAQUE OF MY FATHERS WHICH NOW HANGS ABOVE MY DOOR. IT READS
“LUCK IS WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN HARD WORK RUNS INTO OPORTUNITY”.
I CONSIDER
MYSELF LUCKY TO HAVE YOU, MY KOREAN FAMILY, AS A PART OF MY LIFE. LET ME TELL
YOU WE WERE LUCKY THE DAY THAT RETURNING WAR VET MET MY KOREAN BROTHER, ALL
THOSE
YEARS AGO. SO AS YOU CELEBRATE THIS 20TH ANIVERSARY I NEED TO SAY THANK
YOU FOR THE DEDICATION AND HONEST EFFORT YOU HAVE PUT INTO THIS PROCESS TO GET
US TO THIS 20TH
ANIVERSARY CELEBRATION. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS NECESSARY!
AND CONGRATULATIONS
TO JOSHUA AND HIS TEAM ON A GREAT 20 YRS. HERE’S TO 20
MORE!
1980년대 장유면의 시골풍경