I headed towards Hankuk University in my CarOS AD4.
The autonomous electric car drove quietly down the road. Sitting in the driver's seat, I browsed a portal site via the dashboard display.
Along with a Lost Fantasy ad, Min Ha-young's webtoon was featured on the main page. It seemed to be quite popular.
Another related issue was Chairman Im Jin-yong visiting the Seosung SB employee he met in the game.
This incident quickly spread through rumors, even becoming news articles, and gaming sites were in an uproar.
- Woah! The low-level noob in the game was the Chairman!
- LOL This is a true real-life PK! [Player Kill]
- This is the most absurd thing I've read in the news this year ㅡㅡ;
- Heard this was reported on CNN too, haha
- So, did that guy get fired?
- He's not some thug, why would he fire an employee over something like that? Heard they just had a nice meal and parted ways.
- Heard Im Jin-yong asked all sorts of questions about the game during the meal. Also heard Im Jin-yong paid.
- Im Jin-yong is cool. The more I see, the more genuine he seems. Wish my boss was like this ㅜㅜ
Nah, this is all a ploy. Let's not be fooled by Seosung Group's media manipulation.
- They say the reality is he's super fake and sees the public as suckers.
- Hear, hear! Arrest Im Jin-yong!
Whether it was intentional or not, the overall reaction was generally favorable. Thanks to this, Seosung Electronics jumping into VR console development got some publicity.
Anyway, I didn't feel it much when I was actually driving, but not having to drive is certainly convenient. There's nothing to get annoyed about even if the road is congested, and you can even recline the seat.
When I went to the automotive page, it was full of test drive reviews for the Raven.
Unlike brands with a premium image like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Lexus, etc., Eunsung Motors' image is that of good value for money.
While technology can be caught up with, image is hard to catch up to easily. Even if cheaper cars emerge, demand for Mercedes or Lexus doesn't easily decrease, but demand for Eunsung cars drops immediately.
Already struggling against Chinese cars in price competitiveness and Japanese/German cars in performance, when the PAS airbag recall crisis hit, Eunsung Motors' sales plummeted by over 50 percent.
With the sales collapse compounded by the damaged image, forecasts even emerged that recovery would be difficult. However, after releasing the autonomous electric car Raven, a turning point was created.
Like the saying "mouthwash invented bad breath," new technology creates the perception of inconvenience (before its solution). Therefore, once technology advances, it never retreats.
Someone who has used a cell phone cannot go back to a pager, and someone who has used a smartphone cannot go back to a feature phone. Similarly, once you experience an autonomous electric car, other cars feel inconvenient.
After customer deliveries of the Raven began, word-of-mouth spread from those who drove it, causing reservations to surge even more. Even though the Gunsan Electric Vehicle Industrial Complex is running its factories at full capacity 24 hours a day, the backlog of orders kept growing.
The future direction of cars has two main aspects: hardware-wise, electric vehicles; software-wise, autonomous vehicles.
Between these, the latter naturally has a greater impact. Electric cars merely change the refueling method, but autonomous cars change the way of life.
With autonomous driving, the driver doesn't need to focus on driving, so they can do other things during that time. Therefore, a war surrounding vehicle displays is also well underway.
Previously, they mainly showed driving-related information like navigation or rearview cameras, but now, like computers or smartphones, they can provide various content through the dashboard display.
There's no way global corporations would miss out on this huge market.
Gooble and Npple, which already dominate the smartphone OS market, have approached [CarOS] offering various favorable conditions. The proposal is to link their OS with the vehicle, share user data, and distribute profits.
The stability of both companies' OSs is already proven, and their stores have a vast number of registered applications. Simply accepting the proposal would allow immediate utilization of that content.
In reality, several car companies like Volvo and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance accepted such proposals. However, Daryl's stance was firm.
As a software developer himself, he understood the importance of the platform better than anyone. He also knew that once you become dependent, it's irreversible.
CarOS already holds a unique position in the autonomous driving market. Is there really a need to share a market with limitless potential with IT giants?
CarOS operated its own OS and worked to attract various third parties. Although there's an entry barrier of having to create separate applications, numerous companies already hoped to partner.
In the past, once a car was built and sold, that was the end of it. But now, much like smartphones, the operating system and system can be periodically updated, and new features can be added.
They enabled video calls using the vehicle display and built-in camera by linking with Seosung Electronics smartphones, and also added features to recommend or reserve restaurants, charging stations, and tourist spots.
FaceIt developed an algorithm that tracks user movements to recommend content they might like.
Among the various types of content, educational content is receiving the most attention.
Commuting involves a set amount of travel time, and the enclosed space of a car is an optimal environment for studying. Furthermore, electric cars have almost no noise or vibration. Experts also predicted that adult educational content would grow explosively in conjunction with the spread of autonomous vehicles.
CarOS is going further, even developing unmanned vehicles completely lacking steering wheels, accelerators, and brakes. The absence of a steering wheel means the vehicle interior can be designed in various ways. You could even lie down completely, or passengers could face each other while riding.
However, technological progress doesn't always lead only to good outcomes.
As car-sharing and ride-sharing services grew explosively, global car sales already began to decline starting last year.
Additionally, with the increase in electric vehicle production eliminating engines and transmissions – which were the largest share of traditional car parts – production workforce numbers significantly decreased.
A strong wave of downsizing swept through the auto industry.
Following the closure of its Gunsan plant, GM closed six plants in the US and decided to cut 20,000 jobs. Volkswagen cited management efficiency as it initiated 10,000 job cuts, and Toyota also reviewed plant closures and workforce reductions.
It's not just auto company employees losing jobs. Those working in the transportation industry in the US have already started looking for other jobs.
For now, CarOS is leading, but there are already five companies expected to release similar-level autonomous cars within the next three years, increasing to ten if the timeframe extends to five years.
Experts predict that the replacement rate by autonomous vehicles will exceed 50 percent within the next 10 years. If this happens, traffic accidents will decrease to less than one-tenth of current levels, and jobs will be threatened for police and insurance company employees who handle accidents, repair shops that fix damaged cars, and even doctors and nurses who treat traffic accident victims.
Unemployment is devastating for individuals and also causes instability for society as a whole. Events like Brexit in the UK and the Yellow Vest protests in France also erupted from public discontent caused by unemployment and job shortages.
For our country to avoid that fate, politicians need to cooperate with schools, corporations, and others to prepare countermeasures in advance... but as always, the National Assembly is fiercely divided between the ruling and opposition parties, and the government is sitting on its hands.
***
I entered the Business Administration department head's office.
Professor Kim Myoung-jun smiled as soon as he saw me and said,
"It's such a relief the Lost Fantasy concert went well."
"It was a great opportunity for us too."
"The head of the Instrumental Music department is absolutely beaming. Thanks to that, my home life has become peaceful."
"Hearing that makes me happy too."
Gahwa-mansaseong (Family harmony brings success in everything). What in the world is more important than peace at home?
Cultural projects play a significant role not just in generating profit or enjoyment, but also in enhancing image. That's why large corporations offer various kinds of support. They build and operate their own performance halls, and sponsor exhibitions, operas, musicals, etc. One chairman loved traditional Korean music so much that he reportedly forced employees and dealership owners to attend gugak events, earning criticism.
People might not know it well, but we are also diligently supporting the cultural industry. For one, we invest in various dramas and movies through Edm Entertainment, and the Vice President is passionately working to promote subculture.
As a result, our image among otakus is improving significantly. Is this why we're called the 'Otaku Company'?
Professor Kim Myoung-jun said while drinking coffee,
"Professor Park Pil-hyun asked me to tell you thank you."
"It was nothing."
Professor Park Pil-hyun is a professor in Hankuk University's Automotive Engineering department. I owed him one from the PAS airbag incident.
As a token of gratitude for his help back then, I donated ten AD3s, ten AD4s, and ten Ravens to Hankuk University. Some will be used by the Automotive Engineering department for educational purposes like disassembly and assembly, and the rest will be used for car-sharing for Hankuk University students.
"I met with the Automotive Engineering professors recently, and they were all lamenting. They said they've taught the same things for decades but can't keep up with the changes now. They've revised the curriculum across the board starting this semester. Teaching about motors and batteries instead of engines and transmissions. Automotive Engineering is facing the most immediate pressure, but professors in other departments are also worried. Probably within a few years, some departments will disappear."
As industries change, the type of talent needed also changes. Jobs that were promising yesterday could vanish overnight.
To avoid falling behind the times, education must also keep pace.
"But the Business Administration department should be fine, right?"
Professor Kim Myoung-jun nodded.
"Of course. In times like these, the importance of management only grows. No matter how much technology advances, it's ultimately humans who manage it, isn't it? You know your story is appearing in recent economics and business textbooks, right?"
"Excuse me?"
"Why so surprised? Go to a bookstore, and you'll see tons of books cashing in on the Kang Jin-hoo name." ('Invest Like Kang Jin-hoo,' 'Read This Book and You Too Can Be Kang Jin-hoo,' 'Kang Jin-hoo's Investments: A Perfect Analysis,' 'Mindlessly Copying Kang Jin-hoo,' etc.)
"But textbooks are different. Students learning about my case studies…"
What on earth is there to learn from me?
Just as the professor said, the economics and business sections of bookstores are lined with books featuring my name. Out of boredom, I skimmed one, and it was truly just plausible-sounding nonsense.
The truly amazing fact is that even though reading just one book supposedly allows you to invest like me, the authors themselves are writing and selling books instead of doing it!
Professor Kim Myoung-jun said proudly,
"As you know, Hankuk University's ranking in global university competitiveness has risen tremendously lately. And among its departments, our Business Administration is exceptional. Transfer students are lining up too. Ah! Have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"Princess Anneke is apparently coming to our university."
"I see. Anneke... Huh?"
Nodding along, I was suddenly startled.
"The Princess of Norway is coming to our school? Why?"
Professor Kim Myoung-jun asked me back,
"Surely you didn't know? I thought you would, since you've met her before. She originally planned to study abroad at MIT but apparently changed to Hankuk University. She applied to transfer to the College of Engineering, and the procedures are all finished."
"Transferring, not as an exchange student?"
"Yes. Transferring."
Exchange students study for a certain period and return to their home university, but transferring means getting a degree from this university entirely.
In the case of the College of Engineering, most classes are conducted in English, so attending lectures shouldn't be a major issue.
It's common for royalty to study abroad. However, they usually go to developed countries in the US or Europe; choosing Korea is rare.
"Why choose Hankuk University over MIT?"
"Hmm, perhaps because Korea is rapidly growing in future industries like automobiles, semiconductors, batteries, and games?"
"That's true, but…"
Regardless of whether the government's economic policies are good or bad, Korean conglomerates are jumping into new industries and competing fiercely.
In memory semiconductors, Seosung Electronics widened the gap with competitors using its 'super gap' strategy, while CL Chemical, Seosung SB, and SSK Innovation established OTK Battery production systems. Eunsung Motors became the second company after CarOS to mass-produce autonomous electric vehicles, and game companies successively joined OTK Games' VRMMORPG development project.
Previously, there was much criticism about the Korean economy's over-reliance on semiconductors, but now it's showing prominence in various fields.
Batteries, in particular, are receiving so much attention they're being called the 'second semiconductor'. There's no need to even mention what a tremendous achievement Professor Kim Ho-min accomplished.
"Wouldn't building connections also be a goal? You, Professor Kim Ho-min – you're all Hankuk University alumni. Besides, Hankuk University students are doing incredibly well finding jobs overseas these days. Many are going to places like Gooble, Npple, or FaceNote."
I recalled the image of Princess Anneke, her eyes sparkling as she chattered about games.
Surely... this isn't related to Oh Taekgyu, is it?