America: My Time

Chapter 1252 Gap
Chapter 1242 The Gap

A country that relies almost entirely on imports, with its foreign exchange reserves under attack and its currency plummeting, what will South Korea use to cope with this financial crisis? If they don't compromise and bow to the Americans, an even bigger storm awaits them. They have long since lost any chance to struggle. Faced with absolute power, no amount of struggling from South Korea will help; refusing to admit defeat will only lead to a more miserable end.

John had given them a chance long ago, but those Koreans were too arrogant and self-righteous. They didn't take John's 'goodwill' to heart and insisted on getting more benefits from him. Now they haven't gotten any benefits and are in increasing danger. If this continues, they will go bankrupt.

Now Daewoo has come ashore. Although they paid a heavy price, at least they have escaped the crisis and are much better off than other conglomerates. No matter how much they lost, they have preserved themselves and do not need to worry about the bankruptcy liquidation crisis that may break out at any time. However, others are not so lucky.

Of course, these Koreans would never sell their heavy industry, shipbuilding, and automobile manufacturing to John. Moreover, even if they wanted to sell, the Korean government would not agree. If they were to sell these assets, Korea's heavy industry would be completely transferred to the Americans, and John would take complete control of its lifeline.

I don't know what these Koreans were thinking. They had a 'kind person' like John, but they didn't seize the opportunity. Even at this point, they still had such ridiculous ideas. They could have relieved a lot of their pressure, but their arrogance led them to reject such an opportunity.

Look at those guys in Japan. When they wanted to lower the cost of living for their people and obtain cheaper goods, they immediately took action and contacted John. They offered enough incentives to sway John, granting his retail companies access to more import rights for food and meat. The Japanese government even cooperated, all to alleviate their own financial burden.

Nobody's a fool. Why would anyone turn away such an opportunity? When the Japanese completely loosened their restrictions, John's farms got their chance. John was well aware of the Japanese schemes, but that didn't matter. As long as he could get the opportunity, no matter how much they plotted, it wouldn't be a big problem. As long as he could increase his control over the Japanese market, that was enough!
Upon receiving the requests from those guys in Japan, John quickly arranged everything, providing them with the greatest assistance in the shortest possible time. His arrangements in Southeast Asia and China proved effective, as did those in Australia and elsewhere. In short, whenever those guys in Japan needed something, John provided them with ample support.

At this time, John wasn't just seizing markets for grains and meat, but also for fast food and fruit. Wherever there was demand, John would provide "support" and capture market share. This is where the value of owning his own factories became fully apparent; his massive supply capacity directly captured a significant portion of Japan's market share.

"See? Those guys in Japan are much more pragmatic than you Koreans. The Japanese government officials and their conglomerates know what's most important. Without the people, how can they maintain their high and mighty position? So they're doing everything they can to ensure the people's livelihood, even at a cost. But look at you Koreans. I gave them so many opportunities, but they all failed in negotiations because of greed. That's the difference. To be honest, if they continue to stubbornly persist like this, I believe Korea's situation will become even more difficult."

After quickly providing support to Japan, John pointed out the gap between Japan and South Korea. After all, Lee Boo-jin now controls the retail industry. Comparing the situations in Japan and South Korea, the difference in strength immediately became apparent. Japan had already proactively offered up its market and provided opportunities, while those guys in South Korea were stubbornly holding on, still thinking about their pride and unwilling to admit defeat. They didn't even consider whether they had the strength to back down!

South Korea claims it wants to protect its own market and its own production, but does it really have the capability? While some of South Korean farmers have been protected, those in their cities will be affected. They could easily import more cheap food, but South Korea insists on this arrangement; if they don't suffer, who will?

South Korea is trying to struggle, and has already begun appealing to the public, eyeing the little gold the people hold. But the Japanese, no matter how dangerous, have never done so. Of course, Japan is stronger than South Korea, and its reserves are far greater, so they can continue to hold out.

However, no matter how much Japan insisted, it was useless. The depreciation of the exchange rate was inevitable. Moreover, John had long been prepared for this financial crisis and had been shorting them. It's just that John acted early, and not many short-selling operations were noticed, so they could continue to wait with peace of mind. "You know, it's not that they didn't ask for help, but that you refused!" Although Lee Boo-jin knew the gap between South Korea and Japan, she didn't want to admit it so easily. She found a very weak reason to explain for those South Koreans, hoping to make herself feel a little better!

"Heh, do you even believe that yourself? I don't. Don't fool yourself. What are those guys asking for help with? They don't want to put their assets on the market; they want to sell off a small portion of their assets, and they're even hoping to sell them at a high price. Aren't they too arrogant, thinking everyone else is a fool and only they are smart? If they could just show some sincerity, do you think I wouldn't give them a chance?"

If these Koreans could show sincerity and give up some market share, John would naturally do his best to help them, just like with the 'help' given to Japan. As long as there's money to be made and a market to seize, even selling at a low price wouldn't be a problem, since the market still needs to be cultivated. But these Koreans don't want to give any benefits and still dream of getting 'help'. Everyone else thinks they're fools, so it's no wonder they're in trouble.

Hearing this, Lee Boo-jin sighed. She knew that saying anything at this point would be useless; it was the truth. Those guys were too greedy and hadn't grasped the situation at all. Or rather, they thought that as long as they controlled the market, everything could be restarted and everything would be fine. In fact, they were overthinking it. The situation was much worse than they imagined. The more they insisted on this, the greater the price they would pay. After all, they had no say in the matter. This financial crisis had never been under their control from the beginning.

While it may seem that the Asian financial crisis triggered by Soros and Oil Capital was a way to reap their money, that's just the surface. The Americans want much more. Money is just the visible part of the harvest; they also want assets and markets. These are all things the Americans want. As long as South Korea doesn't hand over its assets, they won't have an easy time and won't be able to survive this disaster!
Unfortunately, the Koreans haven't realized that perhaps it's not that they lack development, but rather that they're unwilling to accept it. They believe they can hold on and shouldn't compromise with the Americans. They haven't recognized their own limitations and lack self-awareness. The more they insist, the greater their losses will be.

In terms of retail expansion, Japan and Taiwan are both expanding, and even in Southeast Asia, they are making planned expansions. However, in South Korea, all of this has come to a standstill, with absolutely no expansion efforts. This situation is entirely South Korea's own fault; it is due to their excessive greed. Now, even if they regret it, it is too late.

John no longer wanted to give them another chance. Since these guys didn't recognize their own limitations, he would teach them a lesson, let them know how terrible the consequences of missing an opportunity were, and how terrible the consequences of opposing him were.

By this time, Quantum Mining had completed its layout in Southeast Asia. Mining companies that had partnered with South Korea began to reduce sales, aiming to put more pressure on South Korea and force it to pay a higher price. If South Korea had recognized its own shortcomings, admitted its mistakes earlier, and shown sincerity, things wouldn't be like this now.

Quantum Mining is scheming against South Korea, and other mining giants are doing the same. Anyone who gives up a chance to make money is a fool. Now that such an opportunity has arisen, even without prior communication, they can cooperate tacitly to tear a piece of flesh from South Korea.

No one will refuse when faced with interests, and the Koreans themselves have no resource reserves. Faced with the current crisis, they have to bear it no matter how great the price, otherwise their situation will be even more miserable.

These guys clearly see their own problems, but they still insist on persisting, refusing to admit defeat. Even John doesn't know the current situation in South Korea, or what they're thinking. However, since these guys refuse to admit defeat, refuse to bow their heads, and refuse to show sincerity, then let's continue dragging it out. John can hold out, but can South Korea? John doesn't believe these guys can hold out for long. Without external supplies, South Korea's economy will soon be severely damaged, and they will pay an even greater price. It's all their own doing; they can't blame anyone else, and they certainly can't blame John!
(End of this chapter)