1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 72
Only Krnovel
Episode 72
“… An intern? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Clinton pretended not to know, but there was clearly a gap in his response, unlike his previous confident and straightforward demeanor.
What this means is that there is something stinging in what I said a little while ago.
‘We’ve been dating since then… … .’
There was no need to lay out everything from the beginning, so we just skipped over it for now and refreshed the mood.
“Haha. No, I heard that a Korean-American’s son recently got a job as an intern at the White House. So I asked just in case.”
“Oh, is that so… … . If you tell me later, I’ll pay attention.”
Clinton looks relieved, but his attitude changes to a slightly more polite one than before.
“I apologize for digressing. In any case, it is impossible to place American weapons in places that have become new Korean territory. President Clinton does not want to reopen the Cold War that he barely managed to end, does he?”
“Oh, that’s right. I was definitely a little short-sighted. Let’s talk about this in more depth later.”
As expected, his attitude is very different from before, as if he is wary of something.
‘From this moment on… … . I’m sure.’
My suspicions were confirmed.
The scandal had 100 percent already begun at this point.
‘What are you doing with a great wife? Are being truly competent and having a private life separate issues?’
“First of all, let’s hold a Korea-US summit and meet again soon. We have many things to discuss, such as the rice market opening negotiations.”
“Yes, that’s good. How about coming to Korea this time? Wouldn’t it be meaningful to meet in a place like Sakhalin Island, which has become a new Korean territory?”
“Sakhalin Island… That would be great too. I’ll make an appointment soon. And… President Kim, I apologize for being a little rude at first.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
His attitude was the complete opposite of the first time we talked on the phone.
Bill Clinton.
He was a competent man, but his human nature was not very good.
In some ways, he was the complete opposite of his father, Bush.
The greatest economic boom in American history, the largest budget surplus ever.
Not only was the timing right, but he was also a very capable president in many ways, especially economically.
It was his overwhelming economic performance that allowed him to be re-elected despite numerous personal scandals.
However, apart from that, the relationship with Korea was the worst in history.
In particular, during the IMF financial crisis, the US-led IMF demanded excessive structural adjustments from Korea, and the image of Clinton held by Koreans at the time was the worst.
He was an unduly harsh president on Korea.
‘I’ll use it properly this time.’
It seemed to me that he knew how he had used his lower body in the past, and he was going to use it to his advantage this time.
* * *
The territorial transfer negotiations were concluded and work progressed rapidly.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian nationals living in the area were strongly opposed to the emigration.
Rather, the majority of people wanted to naturalize and live in Korea.
The fact that the majority of people want to renounce their citizenship and become naturalized citizens of another country is a testament to how messed up the Russian economy is.
However, the Russian government maintained its position that it would sell territory but never people, and began forcibly relocating all Russians except for some ethnic Koreans living on Sakhalin Island.
It was a country that had only been independent from the Soviet Union for two years.
Because it was still a country where the government’s power was excessively strong, some opposition was easily suppressed with violence and people were forcibly relocated.
And 6 months.
In just six months, the relocation of all Russians was completed.
As a result, Primorsky, Khabarovsk, and Primorsky Krai became virtually empty territories, except for the Korean immigrants.
“Whew… It really is a land of nothing special.”
November 1993, a rather cold winter.
Among them, Primorsky Krai, or rather, this land that should now be called Primorsky Krai, was especially cold.
“Please come inside. You are in bad shape.”
The chief secretary hurriedly advised them to enter the prepared building.
“Haha. Don’t worry. I’m not that old yet.”
“Then you will catch a cold, Mr. President… … .”
Even though it was so cold, the chief secretary didn’t show even a hint of being cold and was only concerned about my health.
‘He is a loyal person… … .’
I took out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, and looked out at the endless land.
After a while, the chief secretary comes over, takes out a lighter, and lights it.
“Thank you. Phew… … .”
Tobacco smoke spreads thickly across the endless territory.
“It’s really wide. It really stretches out endlessly.”
The chief secretary is also amazed at the endlessly spreading territory.
“Yes. No one would have thought that Korea’s territory would become this large.”
At that time, the chief secretary asked me something as if he was curious about something.
“Mr. President, but will Russia really use the money we gave them properly?”
I answered, blowing out the last of the cigarette smoke.
“Haha. Well, if used well, it is certainly a large sum of money that could help Russia overcome its current economic crisis. What do you think, sir?”
If that happens, at least Yeltsin will go down in history as a corrupt but competent president who overcame Russia’s economic crisis, rather than an incompetent and corrupt president.
But the chief of staff seemed not to trust Yeltsin.
“Just my humble opinion, but I don’t think they will be able to revive the economy with that money.”
“Why do you think so?”
Youngho speaks his mind.
“I don’t think any country can succeed with its best manager being bought for a mere half a million dollars.”
Youngho’s thoughts and mine weren’t that different.
“Haha. Well, my thoughts aren’t that different.”
They probably won’t be able to use the astronomical amount of money we gave them properly. They’ll probably try to revive the economy somehow, but most of that money will end up going to high-ranking Russian officials.
And Yeltsin will later be remembered as an incompetent, corrupt, and, on top of that, a traitorous president who sold his country’s territory to other countries.
‘There is no better president in Korea than him, so from our perspective, we should call him a saint… … .’
A president who is popular in his own country is relatively unpopular in other countries, and a president who is popular in other countries is relatively unpopular in his own country.
I prayed once again that he would become unpopular in his own country and be called a traitor.
I smiled and jokingly suggested to my chief of staff that he run for Congress.
“Hahaha. You’ve become a politician now. Why don’t you run for the next general election?”
The chief secretary waves his hand and refuses.
“It’s impossible. If I leave, the members of the party will feel uneasy. It will give the impression that I was sent by the government to manage the party. And I am the type of person who is suited to a supporting role like a secretary. If I get fired as the chief of staff, I plan to go back to Ulleungdo and spend the rest of my life fishing.”
I smiled and comforted him.
“Hahaha. I won’t cut it. Don’t worry. I’m joking. Just joking. If the Chief Secretary leaves, who will take his place?”
If Youngho quits in the current situation, it will be difficult in many ways.
It is not an ordinary thing for a chief secretary who has worked with you for 10 years to resign and look for a new position.
Before I knew it, I had finished smoking my cigarette, and it was starting to get dark.
The chief secretary asks.
“Are you ready to go back?”
“Yes. Let’s do that. Now that we’re in Korea, we can come here whenever we want, so there’s no need to stay too long.”
* * *
Sakhalin Island.
Areas where Koreans reside.
There were quite a few Koreans living on Sakhalin Island.
Most of these people were people and their children who were forcibly relocated by Japan during the Japanese colonial period.
Although second-generation Korean immigrants did not miss Korea as much, the first-generation immigrants born on the Korean Peninsula always missed Korea.
As Korea has grown to an absurd level in recent years and the Russian economy has fallen to rock bottom, and the economic gap between the two countries has widened, the longing for one’s home country, Korea, has only grown.
Second-generation Korean immigrants were a bit taken aback by the fact that they had suddenly become part of a developed country, but considering the current state of the Russian economy, they could not help but be happy.
“Are we really becoming Koreans now?”
“That’s right. Have you been living a life of deception? Now you can go to Seoul and live there without a passport or anything.”
“No, I’m a little embarrassed… … .”
“Do you want to remain Russian?”
Kim Chang-soo, a second-generation immigrant, asks his friend in slightly awkward Korean.
His friend was also a second-generation Korean-Russian immigrant like him.
“What are you talking about? Are you crazy? If we go to mainland Russia and live there now, we won’t be able to eat a single meal properly!”
His friend shakes his head angrily.
“Yes, Inma. This is truly a stroke of luck. We won’t have to starve anymore. I should hurry up and study Korean more.”
“He leaves for the library in a hurry to study Korean.”
“Hey, let’s go together!!”
There were quite a few Koreans on Sakhalin Island, and they were given the option of not only naturalizing in Korea, but also emigrating to mainland Russia.
However, among all those Koreans, only three chose to immigrate to Russia.
And those three were the so-called third generation immigrants, people whose identity as Russians was so strong that they gave up on naturalization.
In fact, except for this very small number of people, all immigrant Koreans have chosen to naturalize.
Especially the feelings of the first generation of immigrants, especially those who longed for their hometown, were indescribable.
“… Now, can I really go back to my hometown and live… … .”
Lee Chun-soo, now an eighty-year-old man.
He takes out a photo he took in his hometown of Sinuiju and reminisces.
I am overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of being able to return to my hometown, a place I had long forgotten about.
His wife, Yoo Jeong-ae, comes over and sits next to him as she talks.
“That’s right, sir. The Korean government also provides financial support for people like us who were forcibly relocated from Korea so that we can return to our hometown.”
“I wonder how much of it will remain the same as before… … .”
Tears well up in Lee Chun-soo’s eyes.
“That’s right… … . They say that after unification, Sinuiju developed much more than expected… … . Will that tree still be there then?”
Lee Chun-soo and Yu Jeong-ae were both people who were forcibly moved from Sinuiju to Sakhalin Island by the Japanese in their late teens.
After liberation from Japanese colonial rule, they wanted to return to their hometown, but they had neither the time nor the money to do so.
Ultimately, they have lived for decades as a virtual stateless people, ignored by the surrounding Russian population as a minority.
I worked hard and earned enough to put food on the table, but I couldn’t save enough to go back to my hometown.
But I couldn’t help but shed tears at the thought of being able to go to my hometown that I had longed for so much.
“This is not the time to be doing this, let’s pack quickly.”
Lee Chun-soo wipes away his tears and hurriedly packs his bags.
His wife, Jeong-ae, also gets up from her seat and helps him pack his bags.
“Inspiration, let’s take this too.”
They looked as if they had returned to their childhood innocence.
* * *
A military official related to the missile asks in a worried voice.
“Mr. President, are you really deploying missiles?”
“Yes. There’s no reason to use it, but if we deploy missiles in the Maritime Province, it will probably put pressure on neighboring countries in many ways. Just make sure that it’s not the US that’s deploying them, it’s Korea that’s deploying them. Now, China and Japan’s attitude toward Korea will change a lot.”
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