1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 85



Only Krnovel

Episode 85

“It’s definitely slower than Seoul.”

The city visited was Chongjin, a port city in North Hamgyong Province.

It was a city with a high-speed railway and a population of over 800,000, but it certainly felt like a city that was far behind in development compared to cities like Pyongyang.

Even though the first place I visited was in the city center, it still felt like Seoul in the early 80s.

“Because the weather is so cold, relatively fewer people are coming, and investment and development speeds are bound to be slow.”

The appointed governor, who is due to step down in a month, answers.

After that, we explored various places in the city.

However, there was a place I wanted to visit other than this downtown area.

“I think I’ve seen most of this area. Would you like to see places like factories?”

The appointed governor is a little flustered, but soon comes to his senses and answers.

“Oh, yes. I’ll check to see if there’s a factory nearby that I can visit right away.”

This course was not originally planned.

When I usually go out, I often go outside of the set plan like this, so it’s always a struggle for the secretaries and the field.

‘I’m sorry in many ways.’

But if you only go to planned places, it’s not easy to hear people’s voices properly.

That is why this sudden visit was even more necessary.

* * *

“Okay, everyone, pay attention!!”

The CEO, who usually doesn’t show up on the line, suddenly enters the line and shouts, making the employees concentrate.

“What is it? What’s going on? What’s going on with a guy who usually stays in the president’s office?”

Everyone stops what they are doing and looks at the boss.

The president swallows hard and speaks to his employees with a solemn expression.

“Don’t be surprised and listen… … . President Kim Jong-guk is coming to our factory in thirty minutes!”

Everyone is shocked by the ridiculous story that the president is coming.

I knew the president would come to Hamgyeong Province, but I never thought he would come all the way to this small food factory.

“First of all, let’s all start cleaning up and tidying up our surroundings. We don’t have much time, but shouldn’t we at least prepare to welcome the President…?”

Then the boss stops talking, glares at the foreman and says,

“And you, class president! Don’t ever say anything useless to the president! Do you understand?”

The class president ignores and pretends not to hear the boss’s scolding.

“What am I supposed to do… Well, I… … .”

“You’re a die-hard fan of the Gongmin Party! Stop talking nonsense to the President!”

The boss said this because he knew how much the team leader had fallen for the Gongmyeong Party recently.

“What do I do… I understand.”

The class president has no choice but to nod and say he understands as the boss continues to scold him.

Only then does the president feel a little relieved and looks at his employees again and speaks.

“Well then, let’s stop working now and clean up quickly!! Let’s get started quickly!”

* * *

A food factory with about 100 production workers near Cheongjin City.

Since this was the closest factory nearby, I decided to visit here.

As soon as I arrived, I bowed my head to the manager and apologized.

“I apologize for visiting you so suddenly and without notice.”

The boss answers me in a very nervous voice.

“Oh, no. Mr. President, thank you so much for visiting our small factory!”

He seemed quite nervous at the news that the President was coming.

I look around and talk. Outside the factory, there are piles of various food ingredients.

“It looks like a food factory. What do they mainly make here?”

The boss answers me in a still very nervous voice.

“Yes. We produce mainly frozen foods, starting with dumplings, but we also produce various other foods!”

As you enter the factory, you can see some fairly clean-looking lines inside the door.

“Can I come into the line for a moment?”

“Yes, of course! Just come this way.”

I put on the clothes the manager gave me and went into the line.

I walk around the line while listening to the president’s story.

But the reason I came here was not to see how this factory works.

Because I wanted to know why the people of Hamgyeong Province were so enthusiastic about candidate Yeo Dong-guk.

I stopped a person who was working silently, not caring whether I came or not, and asked him.

“Hello. What are you working on now?”

The person wearing a name tag that said “class president” answered me with a cold expression.

“Can’t you see… … . I’m making dumplings?”

“I see. Judging from your name tag, you seem to be a team leader. Do you have any inconveniences living in this company or this city?”

The class president hesitates for a moment, then begins to speak as if he has made up his mind.

“How could it not be uncomfortable, Mr. President? Work is one thing, but everything here in Hamgyeong Province is a mess. From transportation to cultural facilities, shopping facilities, there is nothing that is proper.”

The class president speaks at a rapid-fire pace.

“Foreman! What are you doing now!!”

And the boss, who was watching this, was very embarrassed and tried to stop the foreman, but the foreman paid no attention.

“That’s right. To be honest, only our Hamgyeong-do is being discriminated against. I went to Seoul about two years ago, and even though Seoul and Hamgyeong-do are in the same country, they are really two different worlds.”

The boss keeps bowing his head and apologizing to me, then tries to drag the foreman out.

“I’m sorry, Mr. President. I, that person is such a fan of the Gongmin Party… What should I do! Someone, please help me!!”

At the boss’s scolding, several more employees stand up and try to drag the team leader out with the boss.

I spoke to the team leader and tried to stop the boss.

“No. Just leave it alone, Captain. Is your hometown here in Hamgyeong Province?”

The foreman nods in response to my question.

“yes.”

“I see. Then I guess you have a lot of affection for Hamgyeong-do.”

“Of course. Where is there a person who doesn’t have affection for his hometown?”

I took a chair out next to the class president and sat down and asked him.

“Boss, I heard there is a big difference between Seoul and Cheongjin. How big is the difference?”

“Well, it’s ridiculous. Even in Seoul, there are many high-rise buildings, department stores, and marts, but here, in the entire Hamgyeong Province, there’s only one really small department store in Hamheung, and there are almost no high-rise buildings.”

I nod and answer.

“That’s not wrong. I also felt this way when I came to Hamgyeong Province today and looked around. In fact, if you look at the population alone, North Hamgyeong Province and South Hamgyeong Province combined are quite large, but development is really slow.”

The class president nods to my story and continues speaking.

“Do you think that’s the only problem? There are only small factories like ours, and big companies don’t want to come in. Even if it’s just for our sons and daughters, they have to go down to Pyongyang at least to get good jobs.”

The class president confessed to me everything that had been on his mind.

“I understand. If I were the team leader, I wouldn’t have been much different.”

Then I paused for a moment and asked the class president.

“… But, what do you think would happen if this city of Cheongjin and the city of Hamgyeong-do were to develop to the level of Seoul, or if not to the level of Seoul, then to a level close to it?”

The class president was slightly taken aback by my words, but quickly answered.

“Then of course it would be good… … . I don’t want to live so far away from my children. Even if I split up, it would be nice to live nearby and see each other once in a while. And of course it would be great if my hometown were to develop like that.”

“Isn’t that so?”

I smiled brightly, turned my head, and said while looking at the camera filming from behind.

“Well, this is something I was going to announce later at the wiretapping, but I think it would be better to announce it now.”

When the reporters who were filming said that I was going to announce something, they suddenly became focused and turned on the flash.

“Citizens, our government plans to create large metropolitan areas such as Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, or the metropolitan area, focusing on regional cities in the future. And our government has decided to call this the Republic of Korea Megacity Project.”

A reporter asks me,

“I don’t quite understand what you mean by megacity. Could you explain it to me in detail?”

“A megacity is a metropolitan area with a population of more than ten million people who can live in a daily life zone centered around a large city.”

The reporter asks back with a slightly surprised expression.

“Then, would it be okay to say that this is a project to create multiple metropolitan areas like the metropolitan area?”

I nodded and answered the reporter.

“Yes, that’s right. And the places we are planning now are Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, Pyongyang, Chongjin, and Sinuiju.”

And the class president, who was watching this, asked me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Mr. President, I don’t quite understand, but are you saying that you will make Cheongjin like Seoul?”

The class president asks again, his eyes widening.

“Hmm… I wouldn’t say it’s like Seoul.”

When I tell him that I’m not like Seoul, the class president looks at me with a look of disbelief.

“The completed megacity will probably be very different from Seoul. What’s the point of making a city that’s all the same? It’s currently being planned, but each megacity has a different concept.”

I stood up and started talking specifically.

“To give you just one example, large-scale factories, mainly from large corporations, will be built in this city of Cheongjin. And they will be on a scale that is much larger than you can imagine. I think it will probably become the largest industrial city in our country.”

A media outlet that is said to be part of the opposition party asked me a question that was somewhat malicious.

“Could this plan have been hastily put together for the upcoming local elections?”

I shook my head and said without getting involved.

“No. This plan itself has been discussed consistently since the beginning of the administration. However, since this megacity project is not something that can be done overnight, it was stopped until the South Korean economy developed to a certain extent. In a country with no money, building multiple megacities is close to suicide.

The megacity centered around Cheongjin, which our government is planning, is a large area that extends from the coastal area to Hamheung. We plan to create a city with a large number of quality jobs that people really want to come to.”

But despite my answer, the opposition media continued to ask malicious questions.

“But if that’s the case, isn’t Cheongjin Megacity too focused on jobs? Don’t you have any plans for things like culture and education?”

“With quality jobs and money flowing in, how could other things fall short? Wherever money flows in, culture and education always develop together.”

The reporter remains silent and says nothing more.

Then the class president behind me asks me.

“Mr. President, when does it start… … .”

“We only have a rough outline of the plan as of now. However, construction and other things for all megacities are expected to begin by 1998 at the latest.”

I looked at the camera for the last time and said.

“Citizens, it is a dream to think that all cities will develop equally. But I will show you cities that are within a day’s drive from where you live and are as developed as Seoul.”

* * *

When the story of the megacity came out, the whole country was in an uproar.

Especially in areas outside of Seoul, people were very excited about the idea that their local areas could finally be developed sufficiently.

Naturally, chaos broke out in Hamgyeong Province, including Cheongjin.

Up until now, only small businesses had come in, so it was natural to be surprised when a large corporation announced that it would build the largest factory in the history of the Republic of Korea.

And the conglomerate was exposed by some reporters.

[Exclusive / Large companies that decided to build factories in Cheongjin are Hyundai and Samjeong]

[Samjeong Semiconductor plant to be built in Hamgyeongbuk-do on the largest scale ever. Hyundai Heavy Industries also plans to build the largest automobile plant in South Korea.]

Hamgyeong Province naturally became chaotic, and other regions also confirmed that the president’s words were not false.

Naturally, public opinion was bound to lean to one side.

Gongmyeongdang leader Yeo Dong-guk tried his best to turn the situation around, but it wasn’t enough.

“Everyone! The president’s talk about megacities is nothing more than a dreamlike illusion! The Komeito Party must be elected in this local election… … .”

The foreman and employees of a food factory came out to the city to play on a holiday.

One of the employees sees Yeo Dong-guk, who is campaigning, and speaks to the squad leader.

“Class president, that’s the Yeodongguk you were talking about. Why don’t you go?”

The class president shrugs his shoulders and says he has no idea.

“Yeodongguk? Who is that, you guys? And you know what? We are definitely for President Kim Jung-guk and the Korean Party. Why are you voting for a party with no foundation like that?”

The employees who came out to the city to play together with the class leader burst into laughter after hearing their class leader’s words.

“Unnie was singing the Yeodongguk Yeodongguk song like that until recently, ahahaha.”

“Oh, sis. That person will be sad if he hears this.”

The Gongmin Party went wild, claiming that the president had interfered in the election at the end, but that did not change the outcome.

“The first nationwide simultaneous local elections. The Korean Party is predicted to win in all 29 of the 29 metropolitan areas!”