It was definitely a stroke of luck that I was able to make my first collection run in the next neighborhood's shopping district at that specific time.
The garbage man who was supposed to come after me seemed to be making a collection run in another area before coming to the shopping district next, because I never ran into him.
After several attempts, I always found that the garbage man had already collected the trash the second time around, so I stopped making a second collection run after lunch.
Instead, I focused on finding areas where I could fill up the truck, just like that shopping district.
Places where no one else was collecting during the hours I could work. After ten days of searching, I finally found a shopping district and an entertainment district about 45 minutes away by truck.
Although the entertainment district didn't fill up the truck completely, I could collect a large quantity of cans and plastic bottles, which had a relatively high unit price. After that, my routine was set.
I would go to the entertainment district far away early in the morning, come back and collect from the nearby shopping district, and finally, make another run to the faraway shopping district. This alone brought my daily income to over 60,000 won.
Three months passed. I found two more new spots, and my daily income exceeded 100,000 won. But I wanted more.
"Sir, is there any way to make more money?"
"You're asking me that now? If you want to continue in the scrap business, you should keep working and learning by experience, and eventually become independent and open your own junkyard. The timing is perfect, actually."
The owner told me that junkyards were operated under a licensing system until 1993.
So, originally, even if you wanted to open a junkyard, you couldn't unless the government granted you a license.
But as the country developed and industrialized, industrial sites expanded, and the amount of waste generated increased endlessly. With the number of junkyards remaining the same, waste management became increasingly difficult, so finally, in December 1993, the licensing system was abolished and replaced with a registration system.
He said that many areas that had been neglected due to the licensing system were now suitable for new junkyards.
"But am I ready to become independent yet?"
"That's for you to decide. Of course, in my eyes, you still seem inexperienced. It'll be a hundred years before you can catch up with me."
I didn't hesitate for long.
I immediately put my studio apartment up for sale and started looking for a site to build my own junkyard. The most important thing was deciding where to set it up.
Should I follow in the owner's footsteps and set up shop in the city? Or should I carve my own path?
In the end, I chose to set up near an industrial complex.
I thought that collecting waste paper and plastic bottles from stores and restaurants in the city would be stable, but it would be difficult to make a lot of money.
I felt that setting up in an industrial complex with many factories and companies would make it easier to collect scrap metal from factories, and the volume would be greater.
The owner said it wasn't a bad decision and cheered me on. That evening, we shared a farewell drink of makgeolli.
The following month was incredibly busy.
I was looking for land near the Ansan Industrial Complex, which I had chosen as my final location. I had 16 million won. Of course, the bigger the junkyard site, the better, and the closer it was to the industrial complex, the more expensive it was.
Eventually, I compromised and bought a 200-pyeong (approximately 660 square meters) plot of land a bit further away from the industrial complex for 10 million won.
I bought a used truck for 2 million won and installed thick plywood walls on both sides, just like the owner's truck.
I bought a used 20-foot container for 1 million won and placed it in a corner of the junkyard to serve as my living quarters and office.
I installed a simple bed, a desk for myself, two small sofas and a table for visitors, and it started to look somewhat decent.
Finally, I surrounded the junkyard with iron panels to create a fence.
"It's starting to look like a real junkyard. Not bad."
I clenched my fist as I looked at the empty junkyard.
"Alright, this is just the beginning. This year's goal is to fill up this yard!"
After completing my business registration, I headed straight to the Ansan Industrial Complex. I patted my chest and felt the brand-new business card I had received just yesterday.
"Chunha Resources. CEO Park Sol. We'll take care of it cleanly."
My heart pounded with pride at the thought of running my own business and anticipation for the future. As I entered the Ansan Industrial Complex, I saw countless small and medium-sized enterprises lined up.
Since I didn't know which company would produce what kind of waste, I just drove into the first company I saw.
"Rohan Trading. What kind of company is this?"
After briefly checking the company name, I took out my business card and entered the company. Although it was a small business, I saw people busily moving around.
They were all carrying cardboard boxes, and a forklift was also going in and out of the warehouse, working busily.
I looked around for a moment, trying to find the office, when an employee approached me and said,
"Hello, where are you from?"
"Hello, I'm from this place."
I handed him my business card, and he took it and examined it. He frowned, as if he had misread it, and looked at it several times before saying,
"It says 'resources,' are you a garbage collector?"
"Yes, that's right. I recently opened a new…"
"Then you could have just said you're here to collect garbage, why the business card… Anyway, we've piled it up behind the warehouse, so you can just take it."
The employee, unable to throw away the business card he had already received, put it in his pocket and said,
"Did you just open?"
"Yes, I recently opened a new one over there…"
"We produce a lot of boxes, so I think we'll have almost a truckload every three days. Can you come regularly? We'll neatly stack them for you. It's not that we don't have a collector, but they're always so busy that they don't come even once a week, so it always overflows. Could I ask you a favor?"
"…Yes, I understand. Today is Monday, so I'll come and collect on Mondays and Thursdays."
I felt a little hurt. He's completely ignoring me. Yes, I collect garbage, so what?
I pretended not to care and drove my truck behind the warehouse, where there was a mountain of cardboard boxes.
As I carefully stacked them onto the truck, I thought,
'Well, I've been through worse than this, so this is nothing. That guy is just an employee anyway, right? His monthly salary is probably less than 1 million won. If I can secure just a few factories with this amount of waste paper, I'll earn much more than your salary. You're pathetic.'
I had already prepared myself for this when I started. I felt a little better after mentally convincing myself by thinking about the money I would earn.
The cardboard boxes used in factories were indeed larger and thicker than those from ordinary stores, so the truck was already full even though I hadn't loaded that many.
I tightly secured them with rubber bands to prevent them from falling out and walked back to find the employee.
'Roughly calculating, if I come back and collect one more time, it'll be at least 50,000 won. Can a low-level employee like you earn 50,000 won a day? Just wait a few years, you'll still be an employee, and I'll be a rich junkyard owner.'
I approached him while belittling him in my mind and said,
"Hello, what should I call you?"
"You can call me Assistant Manager Kim."
"Assistant Manager Kim, I've loaded everything I can, but there's so much that I think I'll have to come back…"
"Yes, please come back. You don't have to tell me every little detail."
"Yes, I understand."
Everything went smoothly after that.
I visited the factories in order from the entrance of the industrial complex, and almost all of them produced a truckload of waste paper.
Some were rude, like the first factory, but surprisingly, many welcomed me when I told them I was new and would collect regularly.
Apparently, there was only one licensed junkyard in the industrial complex before.
Because of this, it was difficult for them to cover the entire vast industrial complex, and every day, the garbage piled up, let alone being collected. They even had to transport it themselves using their company trucks on several occasions.
"Let's see, I should make a rough schedule."
If I scheduled visits to six factories per day, once every three days, that would be 18 factories. If each factory produced a full truckload, that would be 400 kg per factory, so 7,200 kg for 18 factories. Twice a week, that would be 14,400 kg. Even at 70 won per kg, that would be over 1 million won per week.
Even though I had some unsuccessful visits today, I made agreements with five companies to visit twice a week.
"This is amazing. This is a jackpot. The existing junkyard has been operating in this industrial complex for over five years, they must have made a fortune. I'm so jealous. Alright! I'll conquer at least this industrial complex."
The next day, I entered a factory I hadn't visited yet. The company name was "Samhwa Metal."
"Metal! If they only produce scrap metal, that's great! But if they have aluminum or copper, that would be a jackpot…"
A truckload of aluminum would be worth at least 400,000 won. I was doing the calculations in my head as I walked in and saw an employee, so I quickly took out my business card and said,
"Hello, I'm from Chunha Resources."
"Yes? Where are you from?"
"Chunha Resources. We collect various types of waste generated by factories."
"Ah, you're a waste collector. There's a person in charge named Assistant Manager Han in the office, so please talk to him."
"Yes, I understand."
This is the first time I've encountered a company with a designated waste manager, I thought as I entered the office.
There was a male and a female employee in the office. I approached the desk with the nameplate that read "Assistant Manager Han Young-soo" and said,
"Hello, are you Assistant Manager Han?"
"Yes, I am. Where are you from?"
"Here's my business card. I'm from Chunha Resources."
"Are you here to collect scrap metal?"
"Yes, I'm from a newly opened junkyard."
"I see. We do have an existing partner, but would you like to give us a quote?"
'A quote? What does he mean? Ah, is the scrap they produce here expensive? Is it aluminum or copper? He's asking me to buy it.'
"Yes, I understand. Can I take a look first? I'll give you a quote after checking the condition."
Assistant Manager Han led me to the back of the warehouse, where there were piles of stainless steel rods.
"We're a wire manufacturer. We collect the leftover rods here after coating and cutting them."
I approached and examined them closely. They were in excellent condition.
There weren't any other materials mixed in, only stainless steel, and the coating wouldn't be a problem since it would be melted down in a furnace anyway.
"For the quote… how did you deal with the previous company?"
"They came, loaded it onto their truck, and charged a waste disposal fee per truckload."
"I see. A fee per truckload… Wait, a waste disposal fee?"
"Yes, how much would the disposal fee be?"
What is he talking about? He's offering to pay a disposal fee?