I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 143



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He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (143)

“Shin Min-hee?”

“yes?”

“Come to my office for a moment.”

This is Gyeongseong,

Shin Min-hee, a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo, received a call from the president.

Korea has developed greatly, but there are still pre-modern ideas in society, so women are secretly looked down on. I wonder if they will punish us for such trivial reasons this time too.

This time, I entered the enemy territory with the mindset that if I made a fuss again, I would get hit hard.

“What’s going on?”

“Go to Changgyeonggung Palace.”

“Changgyeonggung Palace?”

“Yeah, I heard the chief is meeting with reporters to celebrate the New Year… He also asked us to have 10 female reporters. That’s why I’m sending you, so don’t go and ask any weird questions.”

“Is that a strange question?”

“I told you not to ask strange questions just to stand out.”

Reporter Shin Min-hee snorted inwardly.

Is it because I’m a woman that I can’t stand it?

Besides, don’t do anything that stands out. If you’re going to do that, then why go on an interview?

I didn’t like it for a long time, but this time I got hooked on it.

“If you’re not going to ask the enemy questions, why are you going to do reporting? Do you want your reporters to be so timid that they can’t even ask the enemy questions?”

“What… what is it?”

“Isn’t that true? Is it true that a man can’t even ask for the number of a woman he likes because he’s afraid of being treated like a stalker? Is it true that he’s a journalist if he’s afraid of asking questions to powerful people? You have to make sense.”

The face of the president who had been hit hard turned bright red.

I wanted to yell at him to resign right away, but I held back because I had to send a female reporter to Changgyeonggung Palace right away.

Anyway, reporter Shin Min-hee obtained an invitation to Changgyeonggung Palace.

I faced the most powerful man in South Korea with a badge on my chest.

***

“Happy New Year, everyone.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The same routine that repeats itself today,

I invited about 50 reporters and had a conversation.

At one time, the press was suppressed and the number of reporters allowed to visit the presidential office was limited to 20, but shouldn’t they loosen things up a bit now?

In an attempt to improve the image, this time the number of reporters was significantly increased to 57.

This is a very important task for journalists, and depending on the questions they ask here, they can attract public attention and become star journalists.

Should we call it a civil service examination for journalists during the Joseon Dynasty?

The conversation continued after a sufficient amount of time.

“Your Majesty, may I ask you a question first?”

“yes.”

“There are journalists in the United States who criticize you for being a dictator who still rules over Korea even after you left office. What do you think about this?”

A question that comes in spicy from the beginning,

But since it was an expected question, I accepted it without hesitation.

“Let’s look back at the era of President Franklin Roosevelt. At that time, President Roosevelt pushed for the New Deal policy despite opposition from the Republican Party. The conservative camp evaluated this as a dictatorship that infringed on individual freedom. In fact, reporters also fiercely attacked Roosevelt, calling him a dictator, a socialist, a spy for the Soviet Communist Party, and a fascist.”

It’s hard to imagine now, but at the time, Roosevelt was an enemy of the United States.

He was elected to revive the economy, but he is a great dictator who pushes forward legislation as he pleases and even touches the Supreme Court.

Why did Roosevelt want to increase the number of Supreme Court justices?

At that time, there were 12 justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, and all of them were Republicans, so they were very displeased with the socialist bills that Roosevelt was pushing.

So, Roosevelt tried to select Supreme Court justices who could push his policies, and although the plan to increase the number of Supreme Court justices was ultimately blocked by Congress, Roosevelt pushed through the New Deal policies.

So does today’s America evaluate the Roosevelt era as a dictatorship?

Even the Republican Party, which had been bent on killing Roosevelt, responded by saying that it had been dealt a blow by Roosevelt.

Whether he was a dictator or not, Roosevelt improved the lives of the people through reforms, and in the process, he always went through the process of ‘popular choice.’

“Some people criticize the New Deal as a policy to win elections. They say that the social welfare policies I advocate are unfeasible and are just for the election to win your votes. However, I believe that these policies realize the public interest and the principles of democracy.”

If the New Deal had really been an election promise, Roosevelt would have been evaluated as a great dictator and monster who deceived the people in order to become president.

But what is the result?

Roosevelt really implemented social welfare policies and saved America.

This is why the Republican Party was shocked, and even the Democratic Party, which was on the same side as Roosevelt, could not help but be astonished.

The difference between dictatorship and democracy is this,

It is true that Roosevelt pursued reforms in a somewhat radical manner, but in the end, their essence was to save the country and its people.

That is why the reforms he promoted could be packaged as a ‘bold decision’ to change the country, rather than the tyranny of a dictator.

Me too.

It is true that I have been a dictator until now, and at times I have been aggressive in overhauling the system and even shedding blood when necessary.

So what’s the result?

Did my people starve to death and suffer great social unrest under my rule?

That is why the people rejected the presidential election and defended the dictatorship, saying that in the future, only one president of Korea will be Park Sang-geun.

Isn’t this the essence?

I have put the American journalists who were invited to this event into a state of self-contradiction.

“The United States is no exception when it comes to politicians making abusive promises to get elected. That’s why politicians are not trusted by the people. What’s important to the people is not democracy vs. dictatorship. It’s a question of which politician implements policies for the people. I am a dictator, but I have never lied to the people. I said let’s live well together, let’s work together to build the country, and in the end, I achieved it together with the people. I think this clarifies the question.”

The reporters nodded.

Why should I be evaluated as a dictator when Roosevelt, who tried to do whatever he wanted even to the Supreme Court justices, is praised as the president who saved America?

At this point, even the United States has nothing to say.

Is this what Americans want in a democracy where politicians are swarming with election promises?

If you ask Americans, it will be even more certain. Don’t they have the courage to conduct such a poll? Other reporters also did not point out the issue of dictatorship.

Anyway, the next question is,

A woman raised her hand.

“Hello, sir. I am Shin Min-hee, a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“Yes, then I will ask you a question. It is true that Korea has achieved great growth under the rule of the Marshal. However, the consciousness of Koreans is still stuck at a pre-modern level. In particular, women like me are secretly discriminated against in society.”

“What kind of discrimination are you experiencing?”

“There are some people who secretly look down on women. That’s why I had a fight with my boss a while ago.”

“Hahaha~.”

Here, I burst out laughing without realizing it.

I didn’t mean to laugh, but I guess you’re being too presumptuous.

But this is a problem that needs to be taken seriously. Just because Korea has developed significantly does not mean that the perceptions of its members have changed.

There are frequent reports of successful men who raise two families but rule as tyrants at home, and I also admit that women are still in a weaker position in society.

The problem is that if I turn this into a conflict between men and women, I will become a bad leader who divides the people.

After much thought, I opened my mouth.

“Do you like baseball, Shin Min-hee?”

“Baseball?”

“Yes, I heard that the late Marilyn Monroe said something like, ‘I realized that guy had no right to hit me.’”

The man we’re talking about here is Joe DiMaggio,

A famous American sports player who earned $100,000 a year when the average American worker earned $2,844 a year.

The problem is that this man beat his wife.

He was now retired and had nothing much to offer, but his wife was still an American superstar in her prime.

Perhaps it was a blow to his pride, but Joe DiMaggio was very unhappy with his wife filming provocative scenes or leaving the house.

Then he ended up beating his wife with a baseball bat. So is this a common phenomenon in American society?

I didn’t see that as the case.

“There was a baseball player named Lou Gehrig. He was a man who lived in a pre-modern era, just like Joe DiMaggio. However, he never ignored or beat his wife. Rather, he devoted his entire life to her. Here is the answer. Men ignore women? This is not a trend of the times. Men who ignore women simply ignore women.”

Is it the times and society that ignore women?

Of course, I don’t completely deny that.

Because historically, there were times when Korea ignored women’s rights, but other than those times, most countries respected women’s rights.

Even without a long explanation, you can check it by looking through history books.

Isn’t it because those who ignore women are in power that the country is like this, just as men who abuse women continue to abuse them?

But I have never publicly disrespected women while I was in power.

My niece is a girl, but she works at a company and receives a monthly salary of 30,000 won. And today, they invited female reporters separately and showed consideration.

Of course, I know there’s still a long way to go, but that doesn’t mean I’ve made this issue a public issue.

“I know that there is still a lack of space for women in Korean society. However, I think that our society is in the process of changing. We just need to change slowly. I don’t think there is any need to say that Korean society is still patriarchal.”

Reporter Shin Min-hee nodded.

I think that should be enough of an explanation, honestly I didn’t want to mention it any further.

***

“Hello, ma’am. I am Shin Min-hee, a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo.”

“Yes… What’s going on?”

“If you don’t mind, can I interview you for a moment?”

This is Gyeongseong, and Mrs. Kim Ho-nam is slightly flustered by the appearance of an uninvited guest.

What does this person have to do with me?

Embarrassing words poured out of his mouth.

“I know very well that Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui had an extramarital affair and that you embraced the child with a broad heart.”

“No… why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

“I respect your intentions, madam, but I also feel it is unfortunate that the sacrificial image of pre-modern women is overemphasized. So….”

“If that’s what you’re going to say, then go away. Are you here to cause trouble in someone else’s home?”

Mrs. Kim Ho-nam showed a cold reaction.

Are you saying that turning a blind eye to my husband’s infidelity and raising an illegitimate child is the passive, pre-modern attitude of a woman?

Even to a woman like me, this reporter’s attitude was so disgusting.

“Don’t come here again. Do you think your enemy will leave you alone if he finds out? You made a big mistake just now. I’ll let it go this time, so go quickly.”

“Ha… but… .”

“I told you to go. Do you think you’ll come to your senses only when the enemy raises his sword? I’ll spare your life, so run away quickly.”

After getting rid of the intruder, Mrs. Kim Ho-nam sprinkled a ladleful of salt on the front gate.

How can you say something like that to someone who has worked hard to take care of her mother-in-law and protect her family all her life?

Isn’t that woman just stuffing her head with knowledge and pushing the concepts out?

I wanted to tell the master, but I just kept it to myself.

If a government official gets caught up in such a trivial matter and suppresses a female reporter, what will happen to his image?

For the sake of the master’s image, this incident was never mentioned.