Money Games

Chapter 6The Ambassador

Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is situated slightly south of the dividing line between North and South Korea in the middle of the Korean Peninsula and at about the same latitude as Tokyo, Athens, and Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. May is probably the most pleasant month of the year in the South Korean capital. April is still somewhat chilly, and by June the city starts to bake in the still heat of summer. It rarely rains. All the trees are fully dressed in new green leaves that seem to be polished with wax and glitter in the sunlight.

The Newbridge team had made Seoul's Shilla Hotel home. It was there that we stayed each time we visited Seoul. The Shilla was perched at the top of a long driveway right up against one of the many hills surrounding central Seoul, this one called Namsan, or South Mountain. Its main building was a slab of reddish-brown brick, about 20 stories tall. The hotel itself was rather old, and its age was starting to show. In the back of the hotel were the remains of Seoul's old city wall. It was connected to a historic guesthouse, an old government building in the Chinese style, where generations of Korean leaders had entertained foreign dignitaries. Over the main door hung a plaque with three big Chinese characters: “Welcome Guest House.” In between this building and the hotel was a large lawn that I could see from my room. There was a wedding on the lawn almost every weekend in May.

Being able to read Chinese gave ...