1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 169



Only Krnovel

Episode 169

Donald Trump.

The reason he, who should have been elected president in 2016 according to the original history, was elected president so quickly was because the U.S. economy has changed more than expected from the original history.

The biggest problem for the U.S. economy was, of course, the collapse of manufacturing, particularly in the Rust Belt in the northern United States.

Until the 1960s, the Rust Belt was a representative region symbolizing the manufacturing powerhouse that is the United States.

However, starting in the 70s and 80s, it began to decline slowly as it was hit by both Japan and Germany, and after that, with the overwhelming growth of Korea, products with ridiculous prices and quality competitiveness came in, and by the early 2000s, it was practically in ruins.

As a result, the self-esteem of white workers working in the Rust Belt and the so-called rednecks working in coal mines and rural areas in the American South fell to rock bottom.

If things had gone as planned, the economy that started in the Rust Belt should have been filled by the new IT industries in the US, but even that did not turn out as well as it should have, as Korea took over a significant portion of the IT industries that were originally supposed to go to the US.

As these things continued, Americans, especially white Americans, continued to feel a sense of defeat.

And the one who scratched these people’s itch was Trump.

“America today is so neglecting the people of this Rust Belt region that made America what it is today!”

A clear attack on the so-called white population in the United States, including the Rust Belt.

And now a definitive attack on America’s rivals.

“Korea is taking a lot of wealth from America! America is now so poor because of unfair trade with Korea! If I become president, this unfair trade will disappear in the future, and I will make America overwhelmingly strong once again!”

“How long will we have to watch Korean products being sold in the United States without any sanctions? Korea is no longer our ally! It is the country that poses the greatest threat to us!”

And the bold and rough rhetoric that was different from the existing political circles spread quickly through smartphones and SNS, which were just beginning to become widespread in 2004, and he advanced to the general election by showing an unprecedented feat of defeating the incumbent president in the primary, and was elected president by defeating Democratic Party’s John Kerry, whom he met in the general election.

However, even when he was first elected, he was not that hostile towards Korea.

Although he made such remarks during the presidential election, after being elected, he showed a friendly stance, saying that Korea is an important diplomatic partner.

In fact, there was trade renegotiation, but nothing much changed, and it was just a matter of adjusting the details.

This was because he knew all too well that the trade relationship between Korea and the United States was not a problem that could be easily resolved.

But his attitude changed as his approval ratings began to decline.

September 2006.

With the economy failing to recover, his repeated foul language, and a host of social problems, his approval ratings have fallen to the low 30% range.

And he started hitting Korea to recover his fallen approval rating.

Around the time that health care reform was completed, Trump started spewing out statements like this:

“South Korea should pay more for the stationing of US troops in Korea. Why should the US protect South Korea, a powerful country?”

“The United States is being cheated in its trade with Korea. The United States is suffering enormous trade losses by holding crude oil and other items hostage in its trade with Korea. This is all the fault of the former Bush administration.”

“It’s not just Korea. Japan, all the countries in the AEU, including Buyeo, are now potential enemies of the United States. It’s all because of them that the United States is in such economic slump right now.”

I put down the newspaper I was reading and looked at Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoo Sung-kook, who was having lunch with me, and said.

“Really, it’s just going away.”

He bows his head and apologizes while eating.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know about other people, but this guy Trump is a person who is impossible to predict where he’ll go. Usually, before making such remarks, he would at least negotiate with the country or give them a heads up, but he doesn’t do any of that. It’s so different from the Washington rhetoric we know.”

I put down my spoon and asked him.

“Do you think Trump is being sincere in what he’s saying now, or is it just part of a political show to boost his own approval ratings?”

Minister Yoo thinks for a moment and then answers me.

“Some of it is planned political show, but some of it seems really sincere.”

That’s when the coffee comes out.

I asked him again while drinking the coffee I had just received.

“Is the planned political show, as expected, about the US military in Korea?”

He nods.

“Yes, that’s right. President Trump is not stupid, and he must know that the current US military presence in Korea is a simple symbol of US friendship that has no significant meaning.”

“Yes, that’s right. Virtually all the countries that could be a threat to the surrounding area have already disappeared.”

Unification was achieved quickly, and China was divided into five countries.

Even among the divided China, Buyeo, which bordered Korea, was the most friendly country toward Korea in the world.

And Russia, above China, recently decided to give up its nuclear weapons as a result of negotiations with South Korea.

To begin with, the current Russia was not a country that could wage war against Korea using conventional weapons.

Even though Japan was there, Japan’s economic situation was not as affluent as it had been in history, so it could not invest as much in defense spending as it had in history, and was not a worthy opponent for the Korean military.

There, Korea was a country with strong influence in Asia, even deploying military bases in Kuwait and Indonesia.

In a word, Korea was currently a hegemonic country dominating Asia.

In those countries, it didn’t really matter whether there were American troops or not.

The current US military, unlike its original history, remains a mere symbol of the friendly relations between Korea and the US in the past.

I continued talking while finishing my coffee.

“Trump is a much smarter person than you might think. Even if it seems like he speaks without thinking, most of what he says is actually planned.”

Minister Yoo Sung-guk agrees with my story.

“That’s right. Although it’s not typical of Washington’s rhetoric, he has a natural talent for raising his own approval ratings.”

His approval ratings are down because of the state of the American economy and so-called urban Republicans withdrawing their support due to his rhetoric, not because his main support base, the rednecks, are withdrawing their support.

“Can I have a cigarette?”

I took out a cigarette and asked him.

Minister Yoo is a smoker, but since the atmosphere these days is less and less about smoking indoors, he asks this question and smokes.

“Oh, that’s okay. But, Mr. President, wouldn’t it be better for you to quit smoking for the sake of your health?”

Now, as most people know that smoking is harmful, just like in 2023 when I was living in the past, most people would advise me to quit smoking when they see me smoking like this.

Today is the third time I’ve been told to quit smoking.

“Hahaha. That’s enough. I’m over eighty now. How much longer do I have left to live? After smoking for decades, it’s really hard to quit. I promise everything else, but I can’t promise to quit smoking.”

I answered with a slight smile, then returned to the main topic and asked him again.

“So, is it true that among what Trump talked about, it was about trade, just like Bush did in the past?”

“Yes, that’s right. It seems that they think that in order to resolve the US trade deficit, they need to impose strong tariffs on trade with Korea.”

I lit a cigarette and sighed.

“I’m sure he knows what the consequences of the trade war were.”

There was already a case of a trade war between Korea and the United States during the Bush administration.

At that time, the United States, relying on shale gas, attempted to raise tariffs on Korean products by up to five times.

As soon as the United States raised tariffs, Korea immediately responded by suspending crude oil exports.

However, the United States believed that it would be able to sufficiently consume domestic energy without the need for Korean crude oil if only shale gas was produced.

However, shale gas was less profitable than expected, and with Korean drilling technology companies not cooperating with shale gas production in the United States, shale gas production in the United States ended in failure.

As a result, the economy in the United States was in shambles, domestic prices began to rise to absurd levels, and the Bush administration’s approval ratings began to plummet.

Of course, after renegotiations with Korea, prices were stabilized to some extent and approval ratings recovered, but in the end, this trade war between the US and Korea resulted in the unprecedented loss of the incumbent president in the primary.

‘Do you have any plans…?’

While I was smoking a cigarette and thinking, Minister Yoo Seong-guk spoke to me carefully.

“Perhaps, with shale gas becoming more profitable recently, they think we can now survive without having to export crude oil like before.”

“Hmm… I see. But even so, I still find it hard to understand. Are they really trying to start another trade war?”

It was a war that had once failed.

Korea’s economic power had grown much larger than at that time.

Even if there was another trade war, it was clear that they would win again.

Minister Yoo Seong-guk says something to me in a small voice.

“Perhaps this time, they are not simply aiming for a trade war between the US and South Korea, but rather a trade war between the US, the EU, and the AEU.”

I was surprised by Minister Yoo’s remarks, threw my cigarette in the ashtray, and asked.

“Is that true? Are you trying to escalate the trade war by dragging in the EU?”

“Yes. Trump is likely to treat Korea as a public enemy of the Western world.”

‘This is difficult… … .’

This was the position China had originally taken in history.

But the situation in Korea was very different from that in China at that time.

First of all, unlike the so-called original China in history, it was not a country that exported goods made by the so-called low-wage labor force pushed by population, but a country that supplied the world’s highest quality goods at low prices.

And unlike China, Korea is originally a democratic country that holds elections, and unlike China, which had the worst relations with its neighbors, Korea currently has relatively good relations with its neighbors.

“Whew… It’s not easy. For now, we’re not doing anything. Let’s just wait and see how things go.”

“Yes, I understand. Shall we proceed with the Korea-US summit scheduled for next month?”

I nodded.

“Let’s do that. It would be better to meet up and talk directly to negotiate.”