I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 11



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (11)

“The property left behind by the Japanese should belong to the government that comes into power in the future.”

“That is not your concern.”

This is the US military government headquarters,

Kim Seong-ju negotiated with the US military government on behalf of the Korean Democratic Party.

The Korean Democratic Party argued that all of the wealth left behind by the Japanese should be invested in Korea’s economic development, but the US military government drew a line.

The first thing the United States did when it occupied Japan was to dismantle the zaibatsu.

Although Japan was a country that successfully modernized, it was a latecomer compared to other European powers, and naturally, the powers did not pay much attention to Japan.

“Spit it out, it’s not for you to eat.”

“Ah… Okay… .”

In reality, Japan has been meekly submitting to the control of the great powers for a long time.

Even when Japan, victorious in the Russo-Japanese War, demanded a huge amount of reparations and lease rights from Russia, the United States intervened to control Japan, and a few years later, it even suppressed Japan’s naval power in accordance with the arms reduction treaty.

Japan, which complied obediently every time,

But behind the scenes, the sword was being sharpened and the country was nurturing the conglomerates.

As a result, Japan’s manufacturing industry grew to a level that was among the best in the world, and of course, the United States was completely unaware of this background.

How can a country like Japan survive for several years against the British-American allies?

Now that we have found the answer, it is natural that we should dismantle the conglomerates.

Japan’s manufacturing industry has fallen to an irreversible level.

But now, Joseon is investing close to 3 billion yen in manufacturing development? Joseon still has manufacturing facilities and industrial bases left behind by Japan.

The idea that Joseon is inheriting that and promoting industrialization is not something that the United States is particularly pleased with.

The US military government maintained the principle that the US military would manage the property left behind by the Japanese.

The United States did not want North Korea to develop and wanted it to be placed under the control of a powerful country, but that did not happen as planned.

The harder you press, the stronger the backlash becomes.

Not long ago, there was an uproar when the Communist Party was touched.

Park Hwon-young visited the US military government in Korea to protest that the Communist Party of Korea was inciting social unrest by printing counterfeit money, but the US military government found the Communist Party members guilty and shut down the Haebang Ilbo, which was under the Communist Party’s control.

The result was a general strike,

The general strike that began on September 23 led to student strikes and protests.

3,000 members of the Seoul Railway Union – 8,000 members of the Busan Railway Union also join,

The so-called September General Strike (1946) occurred.

“The communists are disturbing the peace!!”

“All those who participated in the strike will be arrested!!”

This time, the US military government chose a hard-line policy again.

In a special address, Military Governor Arthur Lerch declared that all strikers would be arrested and union officials and striking workers were arrested.

However, the workers resisted fiercely, even wielding spears, and as the situation became more serious than expected, the US military government decided to borrow the power of right-wing groups.

If the foreign power, the US military, suppresses the Korean people, the resistance will only become stronger.

So, what they are saying is that they will mobilize the right wing and use the Lee Jae-yong strategy.

But will the Korean Democratic Party cooperate with the US military government without any conditions?

Kim Seong-ju repeatedly conveyed the position of the Democratic Party of Korea.

“North Korea needs to eat and live right now. And that money is absolutely necessary for economic development. If you promise to hand it over to the Korean Democratic Party, we will help suppress the communists.”

“… I’ll think about it.”

Secretary Arthur Ritchie never gave a definitive answer.

Did they try to exploit people without giving them a single penny? When the US military government came out like this, the Korean Democratic Party did not intervene in the suppression of the communists.

***

“Then what if I ask for some of it?”

“portion?”

“Yes, I guess the US military government won’t like it if you ask for everything at once.”

The same routine that repeats itself today,

I attended the Hanmin Party meeting as a representative of the Korean Youth Association.

Japan left behind assets worth close to 3 billion yen. No matter what anyone says, this is start-up capital for the new start of the Republic of Korea.

The problem is that the Lee Soon-man regime – the US military government later sold this to capitalists at a low price.

Considering why Park Jeong-ui went to Japan and received a loan with regret, the Democratic Party of Korea should take that money unconditionally.

The problem is that the US military government is taking too high-handed a stance, but I understand its position.

It is true that Japan has promoted manufacturing growth at a national level. If Korea succeeds in modernizing under government leadership, how will the United States react?

This is something that was fully expected.

But I can’t just back out here, so I came up with an idea.

“The reason why there are riots everywhere now is because supplies are not being supplied to each region. Do you think the people would rise up for communism? They are doing this because they are having a hard time making ends meet. They are being incited because they are having a hard time making ends meet.”

The most important thing for the people, past or present, is eating and living.

Joseon is in a situation where that is not possible right now.

Japan printed 3 billion yen worth of counterfeit currency just before its defeat, and of course, there was no merchant willing to sell goods on the market in exchange for that garbage money.

The flow of materials is blocked,

To make matters worse, the collapse of Japanese wealthy people here has led to a complete blockage of goods.

If we compare it to a person, it would be like a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a blocked blood vessel. In the end, if only the supplies could be distributed properly, the general strike would be resolved on its own.

The incompetent US military government only controlled supplies by requisitioning them and so on, and in the end, it was the US military government that provided the groundwork for the communists to run wild.

So what can the Democratic Party of Korea do?

The answer was decided from the beginning.

“We must take control of logistics. We must abolish the system of requisition and create a market where civilians can freely exchange goods. The currency currently circulating in the market is trash, so there is no other solution than bartering. If we do this, the general strike will naturally end. The Communist Party will also lose power.”

The Hanmin Party officials nodded.

The problem is whether the US military government will accept this, and Kim Seong-ju, who is working as an advisor to the US military government, took up the mantle.

“I’ll try to convince you again.”

“What will we do if negotiations fail?”

“that….”

Mr. Kim Seong-ju was unable to continue speaking.

If negotiations fail, should the Korean Democratic Party just follow behind the US military in its fight against communism? Or should it mobilize its youth association to follow behind?

If that happens, I plan to fight to the death.

Wasn’t that guy Park Hwon-young the mastermind behind the Korean War?

Even in the worst of circumstances, I had to make the best choice.

“You just wait for now, and we’ll discuss the rest later.”

“All right.”

After that, I focused on increasing the number of youth group members.

Christians who fled to the south to escape Soviet oppression – they recruited a large number of landowners, and there were enough of them to overflow with people who held grudges against the Communist Party.

That number alone is about 3,000,

Now, if we cooperate with the US military government, it is not a problem to suppress the general strike.

But that is by no means the worst choice,

I hoped that Advisor Kim Seong-ju would bring good news.

***

“Abolish the conscription system?”

“Yes, and give us control of logistics. The people are not acting as the Communist Party’s lackeys right now. They are just being incited because they are having a hard time making a living. If the US military government freely releases supplies, the strike will end on its own.”

This is the US military government headquarters,

Kim Seong-ju, an advisor to the US military government, negotiated with Arthur Leach, the military governor of Korea.

If they still don’t understand even after being explained in this way, doesn’t that mean the US military is ignorant? Unfortunately, the US military was much more ignorant than expected.

“If the conscription system is abolished, Joseon’s economy will fall into further chaos.”

“That’s a wrong idea. Prices can only be controlled when goods circulate, but controlling goods will only make prices rise further.”

“Are you trying to teach me now? I am the military governor here. You are just an advisor, so you just have to do whatever I say.”

Kim Seong-ju bit his lips tightly.

Are these guys really trying to beat up Koreans with Korean hands?

I shuddered at the wickedness and incompetence, but there was no other way now.

The meetings continued like that,

Military Governor Arthur Leach gave additional instructions to the Korean Democratic Party.

“We want to exclude left-wing hardliners and include moderate leftists who cooperate with the US military in left-right cooperation.”

In a word, it is to carry out ‘precision suppression’.

There are moderates and hardliners within the left wing, so you’re saying we should only hit the hardliners, but does that make sense?

Kim Seong-ju drew the line, saying it was an unreasonable demand.

“There is a Korean proverb that says, ‘If you try to catch a flea, you will end up burning down the house.’ If you are telling us to suppress the communists, you are telling us not to touch the moderates… Does that make sense? The young people who have joined the Korean Democratic Party now are people who came down here to escape the oppression of the Soviet Union. If the suppression of the communists begins, they will be beaten regardless of whether they are moderate or hardliners. Do you think that will work?”

“No, that’s….”

“If you want to suppress the Communist Party, just beat them all up. If you only make such unreasonable demands, we will leave this matter.”

“No, just wait a minute.”

Arthur Leach, the military governor, arrested Kim Seong-ju.

The US military is clearly feeling the burden of having to completely crush the Communists, so isn’t it trying to attract moderate leftists by talking about left-right cooperation?

Eventually, the US military government ceded some of its control over logistics to the Korean Democratic Party.

A small but modest victory,

The Democratic Party of Korea absorbed Japanese logistics companies under the tacit knowledge of the US military government.

And the Korea Youth Party, which is under the Democratic Party of Korea, was also mobilized for this project to supply materials to the Busan and Daegu areas where a general strike occurred.

***

“How many carts did you bring today?”

“It’s about 40,000 kilns.”

“We still have a long way to go, so we need to request more military transport trucks.”

“All right.”

Today, too, the daily life goes by breathlessly,

When I came back to my hometown, I dropped out of school and got a job at a logistics company.

The strike died down somewhat as the people began to breathe easier. As expected, what the people wanted was not communism, but food to eat today.

If it was so easy, why did the US military government pour oil on the fire by massacring 60,000 communists in Greece?

As the fires grew, the United States injected emergency funds into Greece, and there was no other way to quell the Greeks’ protests.

Compared to that, Korea just quietly passed by.

When the Korean Democratic Party successfully resolved the confusion, the US military government recognized its ability.

The status of Korean advisors participating in the military government also rose rapidly, and thanks to that, I was able to raise my voice in the Korean Democratic Party.

I heard that they are planning to set up a branch in Gyeongbuk. Who knows, maybe I will be the person in charge?

The problem is that he is only 18 years old. What would the world say if a child were to become responsible?

So, I recommended my father first.

Now, all I had to do was wait for orders from above, and while I was having a busy day at the company, a military vehicle pulled up in front of the company.

“Sanggeun!! I brought rice!!”

I asked who it was, uncle.

He didn’t have a very welcoming face and showed a dull reaction.

“How did you get here, Uncle?”

“How did you come? You said you wanted more military vehicles? That’s why I came myself.”

“I would have been happier if someone else had come.”

“What? Hey, you’re really… .”

“Anyway, come in. I have something to talk to your uncle about.”

I led my uncle into the company.

Although the security in this area has stabilized, it is still true that there are still concerns, especially with the number of bandits interfering with the transportation of food.

I have a rough idea of ​​who it is, and I asked my uncle to take charge of the subjugation.

“Uncle, I think that bastard Park Hwon-young is acting up again.”

“creation?”

“Oh, what he wants is social chaos. That way, the people can be agitated and the Communist Party can expand its power, but that’s not possible now.”

“Ah, so that’s why you asked me to send you a military vehicle?”

“Oh, if a military vehicle were to come and go here, even Park Hwon-young would flinch.”

“Then it was a good thing I came? To be honest, are you glad I came?”

Uncle trying to get me to bow down,

Although he is stingy with praise, this time he expressed his gratitude to his uncle who had come a long way.