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Solongus is a full-length business novel, focused on the on-going automotive industry in the world. Thus, it is not a period novel on the ‘Turf Fight for Power.’ But it is an epitome of warlike competition on a global product that is a horseless carriage - automobile.
Now, global automakers are fiercely competing for the market share in the world. To get the popularity from the earthlings, they are now playing tag by using versatile strategies and skilled tactics under the shiny commercial slogans, of course with their own chariots.
Here, the global auto giants are personified as historic warlords in the past. Then they are fighting with each other for survival and building up their own empire. In this point, their pithy struggles are portrayed as art of war through mixing motor industry with music, dancing, painting and moving pictures, art and history, science, political and military, and other fields. Nowadays, their stage is not limited in a national border but a borderless battlefield. The total vocabularies of the economic novel amount to 380,000. And the volumes of the novel are composed of Solongus I, II and III.
This Story is a available in a series Korea IT Times online as well as in the printed magazine….ed
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hwang, Kyu-ho (황규호 黃奎浩),author of ASIAN DREAM & BLUE, RED, SAFFRON which were written and published in English, has worked for the Korean Government as an official for more than thirty years.While traveling abroad, especially the North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe, he has felt how huge the world is.
Then he has savored the depth of life, human mindset, and modern civilization in this mortal life –that is; East & West, Ideal & reality, War & peace, Truth & fake, Love & hatred, the Sweet & the Sour, Success & failure, Past& future, Virtue & vice, Rise & fall, Fortune and misfortune, Belief & betrayal, Dream & illusion, Nationalism & cosmopolitanism, and their nexus.
Also he has learned of the greatest creatures by the God in heaven. They are Kangxi of China, Caesar of Rome, Carthaginian Hannibal, Carlos Ghosn of France, Cecil Rhodes and Winston Churchill from the British, Beethoven of Germany, Henry Ford, Douglas MacArthur, George C. Marshall of USA, Lee Soon-shin of Korea, Honda Soichiro of Japan, Indian Tata, Zhukov & Dmitri Shostakovich of Russia, a Dutch, André Rieu and so on. Still the author is confident that such human beings are ‘nest eggs’ as the crown of God’s creation.
Together with the nest eggs he has sought to combine the motor industry with music and dance, painting and moving pictures, art and history, science, political and military, and other fields. Then, he has badly wanted to picture the on-going automotive industry into a novelistic form through using the kaleidoscope set by his imagination. At the present, he lives in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, with his family.
Prologue
The Wedding in Monaco
On 1 July 2011 a big event took place in Monaco. It was a luxurious wedding between Prince of Monaco, Albert II, son of the duchess Grace Kelly, and an Olympic swimmer, Carlene Wittstock, from South Africa. For the new weds, the dukedom bought a 600L Lexus.
After the bridal the couple was to march on the street with the convertible open chariot. So the royal household hummed in preparation for the wedding. The kingdom, also, prepared a mass of drooly carriages named BMW-7 seriesfor numerous European, Asian and African royal families. So, the Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi was to attend the wedding, with wearing Noor-ol-Ain Tiara.
There were other big pots including Count Jacques Rogge of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Jean Todt of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), Sir Roger Moore, a former James Bond 007, an Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, an English model, Naomi Campbell, and so on. All of them were invited for the binge. Thus, the binge became a fabulous festival as if it had been the centennial contest of nobility and celebrity, jewel, fashion, sports, design, and luxury in the world. As for the nicely prepared wedding proceedings, the spokesman of Monaco, like a wag, grinned with a ludicrous smile.
Then he told the curious foreign correspondents in a humorous tone:
“The image of luxury is the very important product (VIP) from Monaco. In this context, we have bought a Lexus, meaning luxury, this time. You might know very well of it. Actually, there was a big event here in the past. It was the fabulous wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Now we are to hold another big and luxurious marriage for their son. Thus, like in the past, the precious image kindles richest and big-headed tycoons to see the marvelous marriage. So they come from all over the world and splurge their bundles of cash here. In fact, the bewitching event is part of the national strategy focused upon the very point like the marriage of Grace Kelly in 1956. It is the mortal lock.”
Plus the newlyweds and the spokesman, there were two figures who were deeply delighted at the fairytale wedding. They laughed heartily. Then they thought inside and aloud:
“It was successful to the effect. Finally, we’ve won the classic beauty and luxury. The wedding ceremony of Monaco was really a blockbuster. It is a bigger grosser than any other exciting movie.”
They were Toyota and BMW. Indeed, they knew what the high road to success was. By exploiting the exciting historic event the two big men came to the top. (Below was the wedding car, 600L Lexus.)
Then they could have outmatched the longtime prestige of American overlords and other presumptuous Europeans.
On the contrary, it was quite shocking news. So-called top-notch warlords by name Cadillac, Lincoln Continental, Chrysler, Benz, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Ferrari, Bugatti, Maybach, Maserati, Acura and other attendants were nettled by their whispering campaign. They were surprised and discouraged even if they were proud of their shiny and luxurious chariots.
Shortly before the turn of the 21stcentury, Toyota unveiled Lexusas his secret weapon under the Olive Tree. It was a most efficient, downsized but luxurious chariot for him. At the time, American vaudevillians, Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio and/or Meryl Streep, attended the show. Then the famous actors posted its advent in the world stage. So the world people got together to see the actors and his chariot. There he said to the people proudly that:
“I have poured out every effort to create the neat chariot for many years under my lifelong motto, the Pursuit of Perfection. It was meticulously designed, powerful, smooth and quiet. Also I have devised other chariots such as Prius, Camry, and Corolla series for ‘Smile for Tomorrow’ with my eco-friendly craftsmanship.”
It was the revolutionary proclamation to the world citizens. And it was the beginning of globalization.
Here, there was an insightful American who was watching over the event. He was a most popular economic columnist named Thomas L. Friedman. After glancing at the event, he threw significant comments in his book, the Lexus & the Olive Tree:
“The Globalization world would tend to turn all friends and foes into competitors, unlike the Cold War structure, a world of friends and foes.”
By using the insight into the world eco-climate, the columnist pointed out that:
“The world has rapidly changed. The globalized world has become more uncertain, complicated, and colorful than ever before.”
Like his saying, the earthly world theater has been already filled with lots of dangerous life-risks and misfortunes. For the very reason, Friedmanmight have notified the people that:
“Yesterday's foe may be today's friend,
and
Today's friend may be tomorrow's foe.”
But, there was a man before him in the East. He was a wise Sage, so-called Buddha from India. He had already recognized and noticed that:
“All of it was connected with the time, that is, past, present and future.”
And he felt that:
“All of it is changeable, waxing & waning. As a result, it is malevolent and then harmful to the people.”
Then he suggested the people with simple truisms. With the truisms he warned the people as follow:
“Do not dwell in the past,
Do not dream of the future,
Concentrate the mind on the present.
Destiny appointed it so.”
It was the Buddhahood.
“Usurpers”
After his warning and teaching, 25 hundreds of years have passed by. Another seer appeared in the American wilderness. Like the Indian prince, he also took the big picture of the Earth and posted the advent of World Powers. The time was December 1997. And the man was a political journalist named Robert D. Kaplan. Looking at the on-going situation Kaplan predicted the globalization as the following:
“Please take a closer look at the present posture of the world situation.(Now international or multinational) corporations like Toyota or GM are in the forefront of real globalization as if they were vanguards of a new politics. Presently, they are to replace incumbent nations and/or the UN (Unites Nations) as the world powers. (In another sight,) they are like feudal domains. Historically the feudal warlords have evolved into nations or states. Already, the global corporations have appeared in the earthly stage and acted as newly organized Super Powers.”
Then he warned the people through his book, Was Democracy Just a Moment? as below:
“Soon, they will create the New Order of the world as a new 'World Government.' Surely, the day will come. Then Democracy will be gone.”
In this point, his warning is in the same line with Buddha’s teaching and Friedman's prophecy. Like the sayings, multinational corporations act now as real and/or potential usurpers. And they are to undermine the current World and build up a new Order in the world. Already they have changed the world into the globalization at a gulp. Then they have wielded their big sticks over the world as if they had been big-time operators.
As a result, the entire world has become a new frontier for real and/or potential world powers to play acts. Either self-seeker or success-seeker, they will meet together in this huge World Plaza. Then, they will fight against each other. Some will survive and others will perish in this fiercely brutalized warfront.
In this relation, there are penetrating passages in China as below:
“There is a trend in the world. The world revolves at its two axes, which are unification and division. Unification will be divided. Division will be unified. Unification and division replace each other. And they repeat themselves like the circle of day and night. It’s the rule in the world. There is no exception.” (天下大勢 合久必分 分久必合)
The passages have passed over into the present from thousands of years ago. Now the world is severed into lots of blocks in the name of world powers. In origin, the world was only one.
Over time, the severed world powers will be the ‘One’ with the shape memory. They have already begun competitions and struggles fiercely and bloodily to circle back. So, unlike the incumbent UN, a new integrated world Power will appear as the real "World Government" with the almighty power as if he is the very Super Star in the globalized world.
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