Who is the Carousel For? (2)
Today's schedule was to check out the carousel.
I came not with Choi Hyena, but with Lee Yunjung. Choi Hyena was currently extremely busy with work.
Besides, since Hyena-nim and I saw the carousel issue from similar perspectives, I didn't think we'd get any new ideas approaching it together.
There was another reason I came with Lee Yunjung. She was closest to the customer group we were targeting.
We walked toward the carousel in the far west corner. To get to the carousel, we had to pass through an area filled with children's rides.
A boy, maybe around five years old, got on a ride where the seats moved up and down.
"Scared... Waaah!"
He started crying.
Then the kids next to him started crying, too.
"Children, just a little more courage! Look at your moms and dads in front of you."
The ride operator, looking as though he was used to this sea of tears, consoled the kids.
Some parents watched their children with anxious eyes, while others did so with a playful gaze.
Lee Yunjung's eyes sparkled.
"So... so cute. I want to squish those chubby baby cheeks."
The boy grabbed his mother's skirt and reached toward the ice cream stand.
A little girl, excited after being given a balloon, ran around and fell.
When she let go and her balloon floated up to the sky, she looked about to cry—but when her father handed the balloon back, she smiled as if she owned the world.
"Division director, you know what the best in-house benefit at Next Planet is for me? It's that I get to see lots and lots of cute kids like this."
"I wasn't aware such a benefit existed..."
Personally, I didn't really think of this as an in-house benefit. But I found myself wishing scenes like this would become more common in the future.
We sat on a bench near the carousel at the western edge.
There was an open space like a plaza around the carousel.
Several visitors, seemingly in their early twenties, showed up and started taking photos.
Among them, the guy in the center had a closely shaved head.
"Again, again. Let's take it again."
I observed their photo-taking patterns.
They changed the location slightly each time and probably took about ten photos in total—even taking some while riding the carousel.
There weren't too many people today, so it wasn't a problem, but...
"Hyena-nim's opinion is correct. There will definitely be more frequent clashes between those people and family unit customers."
"Are you planning to redesign the carousel as a photospot?"
"Yes, based on the data, that seems to be the most advantageous approach."
Lee Yunjung pointed with her finger.
Two female students waved at a child who was about to ride the carousel.
"Oh my gosh. That baby is so cute."
They weren't even related, but their eyes sparkled as they watched.
"Division director, I want to see sights like that here."
"So, should I take it that you want to see early-twenties visitors and family customers coexisting at the carousel?"
She nodded vigorously.
"I might be young and maybe I don't know much, but... our goal is to make a theme park everyone can enjoy happily. In that case..."
"Feel free to share your thoughts confidently. Yunjung-nim is on my team too."
"Right? We're a team, aren't we?"
She grinned brightly.
"Efficiency is important, but... shouldn't we avoid abandoning our core ideals? Of course... it'll be tough for you, division director, but you're like a wizard, so I hope you'll figure something out somehow... is what I think?"
"A wizard is a bit of an exaggeration."
Lee Yunjung's opinion was pretty reasonable.
It matched my ideals as well.
Yes, early-twenties visitors shouldn't be in conflict with family unit customers. I needed to find a way for them to look at each other warmly.
I'd always had this thought about theme parks.
"If I were given full authority and resources to overhaul the theme park, there's something I'd like to try."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to create a so-called Romantic Zone."
"Wow! A sweet space for couples."
"I plan to build it in a tucked-away corner of the theme park, like where this carousel is located."
"Exactly! It needs to be secluded. Love always blossoms in hidden places, you know."
What was she even thinking, saying something like that? I couldn't go along with it.
"To get to the Romantic Zone, I'd have it set up so you have to pass through areas with lots of children. Also, I won't make a separate exit. To go to any other area, you'll have to go back the way you came."
Usually, even the most remote corners of a theme park are open in at least two directions, to maintain continuous flow. If not, visitors will get lost and exhausted.
Lee Yunjung looked at me, her face brimming with curiosity.
"Huh? That's strange. The division director I know isn't one to pursue inefficiency. Would you explain?"
She acted like a reporter thrusting an imaginary mic at me.
"It's embarrassing to say—it's more like a personal wish..."
"I really want to hear it!"
"They say we live in an age of conflict these days. Gender conflict, generational conflict, all kinds. And people won't put up with even the slightest inconvenience."
"That's so true. It's gotten really bad."
"I want people in love to see those heartwarming moments of parents and children being happy together."
"Ooh..."
"Couples, after experiencing that warmth at the theme park, might take those feelings back into real life. It's a pretty idealistic thought, but..."
She stared intently at my face for a moment.
"Division director... I am absolutely, absolutely, absolutely in favor of that idea. That's right. The world is ruled by cuteness. If couples see adorable babies smiling, I bet the warmth they feel will spread to others."
Lee Yunjung's eyes turned into those of a child craving ice cream.
Seeing how much she loved this made me think my idealistic direction wasn't wrong.
I got up from my seat.
The sentimental portion of the visit was over. I'd seen everything I needed. Time to solve the real problem.
"According to your suggestion, Yunjung-nim, I'll implement a system so both early-twenties customers and family unit customers can coexist."
"What kind of system?"
"First, data shows that the hours when the most photos are taken at the carousel are 9 to 10 a.m. and around sunset. I plan to designate those hours as photospot time."
Of course, those times would be adjusted seasonally, since photo-taking depends on sunlight.
"So for the rest of the time, group photo shoots would be prohibited?"
"Yes, that's right. That way, it won't disrupt families."
Lee Yunjung tilted her head.
Perhaps because this method wasn't just about time separation.
I pointed to the open space nearby.
"I'm thinking of building a small stage here."
"Huh? Why a stage?"
"There will probably be some family visitors who come during the photospot hours without knowing. Then, they'd have to wait a long time or go back."
"That's so unfortunate."
"During those hours, we'll have a small puppet show or something children love on this stage. So the kids can watch the show as they wait."
"Oh! And if the early-twenties guests see the kids immersed in the puppet show, they'll be like, 'how cute!'
I love just imagining it."
"During the other hours, the stage will be run as an event photospot. I'm thinking of creating a unique mascot character only found here. It'll be sort of a hidden photospot—if you take a picture with the mascot, you could earn a special tour pass, for example."
"That way, the early-twenties visitors will naturally come here too, see the adorable kids, and so on. Division director, I really like this idea."
I walked back to the office with her.
A little boy ran and collided with a man who looked to be in his twenties. The boy spilled his ice cream on the man's pants.
The parents apologized profusely.
The man said it was fine and even comforted the crying boy who had lost his ice cream.
Yes, I wanted to see more scenes like that at Next Planet.
I'd have to work even harder.
***
"Phew..."
I let out a sigh from the headache.
If brainstorming carousel ideas with Lee Yunjung was a beautiful moment picturing the ideal theme park, then reviewing documents on the Event & Performance Team leader's corruption was a battle for survival.
Since this matter had to remain confidential, it was just Choi Hyena and me handling it.
It was now 11 at night.
Choi Hyena started humming to herself.
Why? Had she gone mad from exhaustion?
"Aren't you tired?"
"I am tired, but I'm fine. I'm actually really excited right now. My dopamine's firing off like crazy."
Excited? How? And what's there to get a dopamine rush from right now?
"Kekekekekeke."
Choi Hyena laughed villainously, as if plotting some evil scheme.
"I've always wanted to sink the other camp by targeting their weaknesses in a power struggle."
"We're not exactly doing that right now..."
"Plus, our opponent is someone who already committed some sleazy corruption. I don't feel guilty about chopping their head off."
"Don't assume the person's guilty yet—we're just conducting an investigation."
"And if we manage to take over the Event & Performance Team, our 'territories' will double."
She rambled on about her dark ambitions as she scanned through the paperwork.
Normally, you're supposed to cheer on other people's dreams. But I was starting to doubt if that was the case here.
The alleged corruption items involving Event & Performance Team leader Kim Cheol-jin were as follows.
First, irregularities in hiring and evaluation.
When hiring new team members, Team Leader Kim Cheol-jin insisted on recruiting certain candidates even when their scores were below the cutoff.
There were dozens of such cases.
Choi Hyena pouted her lips.
"They're all foreign female performers."
"According to Deputy Kang Dae-hyun, Team Leader Kim overhired foreign women beyond what fits the balance of festivals and performances."
"Hm... But how did Deputy Kang Dae-hyun know this, even if he's with the HR team?"
"Every time Event & Performance Team's Park Seok-min deputy complained about his own team, Kang Dae-hyun investigated all the related cases and kept records."
"Wow... That's some serious friendly loyalty."
Deputy Kang Dae-hyun... He's really something else.
I reviewed the materials Kang Dae-hyun sent over. It looked like quite a few people had missed out on hiring slots unfairly.
But—
"This isn't quite enough to make a clear accusation. The team leader could just insist that charm matters more than credentials for festivals or performances, making it hard to counter."
"And although there's a disproportionate number of foreign female performers, if they worked external gigs, there's nothing to say about it."
External gigs.
Because Next Planet didn't have enough visitors, performances on-site were rare.
So the Event & Performance Team accepted requests from outside organizations, to increase income.
"They say that for some events, the actual number of performers didn't match the paperwork. What do you think?"
A member of the Event & Performance Team tipped off Deputy Park Seok-min, who hesitated to report straight to the audit team and asked Kang Dae-hyun from the HR team to check on the paperwork.
Deputy Park Seok-min said he didn't get involved with external gigs.
"If the team leader inflated the numbers on paper and pocketed the surplus pay, that could be a problem."
"There's another suspicion: that he padded the parade and performance budgets excessively."
"That's a classic form of corruption, and usually involves kickbacks from partner companies."
Back at Next Global, I'd seen these sorts of corruption cases too.
When someone overspent on outsourcing illustrations or sound, they'd give the job to a certain company or person, doubling the price from one hundred million won to two, then keep fifty million themselves.
I'd seen quite a few people get fired or even sued over things like this.
The problem is, even simple corruption is hard to prove.
Gathering evidence is the hard part.
You need the partner company to cooperate quickly, but if they have something to hide, they'll just stall or even doctor documents.
If our own accounting or related teams conclude there's no problem, there's nothing we can do.
Eventually, we'd have to mobilize the audit team—but they wouldn't move on just a suspicion.
"We need to collect even minor evidence first. The staff discrepancy issue—we can start by looking for group photos."
"Why group photos?"
"People usually take group photos as proof after a performance. You know, everyone in front of a banner and so on."
"Aha! Got it. I'll look for those."
No problems showed up in the group photos submitted to the company.
Typically, there were ten performers, plus Team Leader Kim Cheol-jin—so in most photos, there were eleven people.
Should we check elsewhere...?
"Huh?"
"Hyena-nim, what is it?"
"I think I found something."
"What is it?"
She showed me photos of performers taking their final bow after a show.
These photos were gathered from general audience reviews or from the websites of venues where Next Planet held performances.
"Usually only eight people are there. Team Leader Kim Cheol-jin might not be present, but there should be ten. There aren't any photos with ten people."
I quickly double-checked the photos myself.
"Rebecca and Anna. These two are always missing from the post-performance group shots."
"What should we do now?"
"Check the hiring paperwork for these two, and their HR evaluations as well."
"Their document scores are both fails. And every interviewer gave them fail marks too... Team Leader Kim insisted on hiring them. Their performance reviews were always S or A."
There was definitely something there.
Corruption usually doesn't stop at just one thing. If you dig around, it tends to connect to other issues as well.
"Please find a list of vendors that the Event & Performance Team used for purchasing costumes and equipment. Not just the company name—get the CEO's name, too."
"Um... The costume company is usually Shine Costumes... The CEO is Victoria Popova."
"Popova. Anna Popova!"
"Oh? The same Popova."
"If we start digging from here, we're bound to find something."