I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 24



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He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (24)

“Commander, here is the information you requested.”

“Okay, let’s see how much it is.”

This is Japan,

Commander-in-Chief MacArthur received the report from below.

What kind of life did the Joseon royal family live after Joseon was annexed by Japan?

At least it is a well-known fact that they did not live in poverty.

During the Japanese colonial period, he received about 1.5 million yen every year as a means of maintaining face, which was a huge amount that would have made even the Japanese aristocracy at the time open their mouths.

Considering that the annual budget of the Government-General of Korea was 15 million yen, can you get an idea of ​​the level of treatment enjoyed by the royal family of Joseon?

What is surprising is that Japan continued to pay this amount to the Joseon royal family until its defeat, but that is not all.

The Joseon royal family inherited almost all of the royal wealth of the Korean Empire. So how much would that be?

Immediately after the fall of Japan, all of the property was managed by the US military government, and the size is estimated to be around 50 billion won, and this year, the South Korean government budget is around 190 billion won.

So what should I do about this?

MacArthur recently heard some disturbing rumors.

“Is it really true that the royal property is being sold for such a low price?”

“Yes, I confirmed that the property of the second son of Prince Ui was sold at 1/10 of the price. Didn’t Gyeongbokgung Palace recently become the property of the Korean government? The royal family must have felt a sense of crisis.”

MacArthur nodded.

The Gyeongbokgung incident is just the beginning.

The South Korean government plans to confiscate the Joseon royal family’s assets and use them for the national budget.

When it was revealed that the Joseon royal family had lived in wealth and honor under Japanese rule, the Korean people were furious.

Now is the time to confiscate the royal property.

Does that mean that the royal family will be kicked out in their underwear? First, MacArthur called in Prince Ui separately and began negotiations.

“Is it true that you sold your second son’s property for a very low price?”

“I don’t know. I think another relative sold the land.”

“Your son’s property was sold and you didn’t know about it? Does that make sense?”

“Commander, I have lived under Japanese surveillance. How could I know that?”

Prince Ui stated that he had nothing to do with this incident.

If you think that all the Joseon royal family collaborated with Japan, you are mistaken.

Prince Ui had constant contact with independence movement forces, and was even caught by the Japanese police while trying to go into exile in Shanghai and spent time in a prison that wasn’t really a prison.

Meanwhile, the one who represented the Joseon royal family was his half-brother Prince Yeongchin.

Prince Yeongchin married into the Japanese imperial family, graduated from the Japanese Military Academy, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general.

The real pro-Japanese collaborators were Prince Yeongchin and Prince Ui, who maintained their position that they had nothing to do with this incident.

“Commander, I have no desires. I wish to return to my country as a commoner, not as the king of Joseon.”

“Do you wish to return home?”

“Yes, where will this old man go now? I want to go back to my hometown where I was born and raised, not to Japan.”

MacArthur looked displeased.

There is already someone in Korea who can replace the Joseon royal family. So what is the point of bringing the Joseon royal family back now?

MacArthur persuaded Prince Ui.

“Public opinion of the royal family in Korea is very bad these days. It has become known that the royal family lived well while the people were exploited by the Japanese. Angry people are even committing terrorism at Gyeongbuk Palace.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes, so you can live quietly in America. I’ll give you about 1 billion won to save face. Just give up the rest.”

Prince Ui bowed his head to MacArthur’s advice.

Since he has been stripped of his royal status, he is no longer Japanese.

Even if I’m not Korean, can I become an American if I go to America?

If the plan to defect to the Shanghai Provisional Government had been successful that day, I would have been able to enter the country as a proud member of the Republic of Korea.

But this was only a century after the dead child’s death.

What’s even more tragic is that the second son had already died in a US air raid, and the public’s anger was sparked by the sale of the second son’s property at a low price.

In Joseon, the perception of Prince Ui is that of human garbage and nothing less.

“What a crazy guy!! Did he even think about embezzling his child’s assets in the meantime?!!”

“Anyway, I can’t forgive these guys!! Is that theirs?!! They sucked the blood of our people and got it!!”

“All of the royal family’s assets must be confiscated!! Make them penniless!!”

A heartless father who sold his child’s property for a very low price for fear that it would be confiscated by the Korean government after his child died. What the hell is this?

There is no image to recover,

Prince Ui accepted General MacArthur’s offer to go to America with his family.

Next is Prince Yeongchin’s turn.

Prince Yeongchin is viewed in a worse light in Korea than Prince Ui because he married into the Japanese imperial family.

“Come kill yourself now!! You are not worth living!!”

“If you have a conscience, die!!”

The Korean people were so desperate that they forced Prince Yeongchin to commit suicide.

Prince Yeongchin was shocked and collapsed due to this incident.

It is no exaggeration to say that the resentment of the people who had been oppressed under Japanese rule for 36 years was directed at this one person.

What excuses can he make when he is the representative of the royal family who ate up 1/10th of the annual budget of the Government-General?

Prince Ui could be given some leniency, but Prince Yeong was a traitor to the nation who could not be excluded, and MacArthur was well aware of that position.

“How about you go to America too?”

“Can’t you return to your country?”

“You can never return to Korea. This is not a threat, it is for your safety.”

“I have no intention of going to America. Joseon has become independent, so why should I go to America? Please help me. I don’t need royal status.”

Prince Yeongchin desperately clung to him.

He repeated that he wanted to go back to Korea no matter what and asked what he wanted to do in the United States, and MacArthur presented an alternative.

“Then, first of all, let’s obtain Japanese citizenship.”

“Citizenship?”

“Yes, how about living as a Japanese for a while and then pushing for a return when public opinion dies down?”

Prince Yeongchin nodded.

I think that’s the best,

Can’t you change your nationality at will?

But this choice ended up pouring oil on the fire.

***

“Your Majesty, please approve it.”

“yes.”

The same routine that repeats itself today,

I handled business at Geunjeongjeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace.

The most urgent matter now is the disposal of the Joseon royal family’s assets. In the blink of an eye, assets worth 2.8 billion won have disappeared without a sound.

Even without looking at whose pockets it ended up in, the video urgently requested cooperation from the US military government to seize the Joseon royal family’s assets.

The scale is approximately 46.9 billion won.

This amount is more than a quarter of South Korea’s annual budget.

Later, a highway had to be built and a lot of money was needed, but I felt like I had discovered oil in the ground and I finished the payment feeling good.

“Your Majesty, I have something else to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“The US military government requested that about 1 billion be handed over to the royal family to save face.”

“Haven’t we already sold 2.8 billion? And now you want another 1 billion?”

I drew the line and said there would be no further concessions.

I would like to chase them to the ends of hell and confiscate that 2.8 billion, but isn’t the US military government protecting the royal family?

Since we recovered 46.9 billion, I think we can turn a blind eye to that.

But the royal family’s demands were persistent.

The excuse that the 2.8 billion was not disposed of by us but by some relatives who disposed of it arbitrarily, who would believe that?

They claimed ownership of the seedbed and some property, but all were ignored.

“If you are poor, return to your country, obtain Korean citizenship, and receive a pension. There is nothing you can own.”

I promised the royal family an annual pension of 1.2 million won.

The current price of rice is around 2,700 won for a sack of rice. Wouldn’t you be able to live comfortably with 1.2 million won?

In Japan, it would cost 1.5 million yen to hire servants and maids, but now such a luxurious lifestyle is out of the question for the royal family of Joseon.

They are just ordinary citizens,

Asking for the return of private property still shows that they are deluded into thinking they are royalty.

1 billion is not the name of a dog, it is an amount that cannot be compromised.

I have always maintained a completely humble attitude toward the US military government, but this time I stood my ground.

“I give up everything. So please send me to Korea.”

An unexpected character appeared here.

Prince Ui, who was planning to immigrate to the United States under the direction of the US military government, appears and begs to be allowed to set foot on Korean soil, saying that he does not need anything else.

Prince Ui is a person who deserves leniency, so I allowed him to return to Korea and gave permission for his family to live in Korea.

‘I’m sorry, but you need to think about it.’

However, Prince Yeongchin’s return to the country was never permitted.

Is it possible to be given leniency since he was taken to Japan by Ito Hirobumi at a young age?

If you look at it that way, what is Prince Ui’s family?

Prince Ui himself constantly contacted independence activists, and his second son also rejected a Japanese princess and married a Korean.

Even though the Japanese imperial family made a fuss to break off the engagement, he maintained a minimal amount of pride as a Korean, whereas Prince Yeongchin had too strong of a Japanese identity.

I’m worried about how to package this, but since they’re an unfortunate royal family, I guess the Korean government should protect them.

While he was pounding the abacus like that, the incident eventually broke out.

“Let’s drive out the American colonial government and build a unified nation!!”

“Let’s make Prince Yeongchin the king!!”

A voice that erupted from Jeju Island,

Jeju Island residents also refused to vote in the last general election, opposing the establishment of a separate government from South Korea.

The US military government caused a commotion, saying that it was the work of communists, and even tried to send in warships to surround and attack Jeju Island.

A thrilling moment when the Jeju 4.3 Incident almost happened again, but knowing the future, I deployed police forces to Jeju Island and quickly controlled the residents.

The situation in Jeju Island is still unstable, even though it has somehow been resolved.

But who would have thought that at this time, a movement to restore the imperial throne led by Prince Yeongchin would break out? First, the leaders were arrested and the US military government was requested to verify the facts.

“Are you aware that a movement to restore the imperial rule took place in Jeju Island?”

[Let me check. We are also in a difficult situation right now.]

The US military government was equally embarrassed.

What kind of restoration movement is this now?

The bigger problem is that during this process, the media exposed to public opinion the fact that Prince Yeongchin had acquired Japanese citizenship.

It’s surprising that he was accused of sedition, but who would have thought he would even obtain Japanese citizenship?

The anger of the Korean people pierced the heavens.

“That’s why I told you to kill yourself?!!”

“If you can’t die, we’ll kill you. I’ve never liked you from the start.”

Several young men organized Uiyoldan to assassinate Prince Yeongchin.

And the Jeju Island residents were branded as traitors who supported Prince Yeongchin and tried to overthrow the Korean government.

I thought things would work out well, but then all of a sudden, the thread got tangled up. First, I disbanded Uiyoldan.

If Prince Yeongchin is murdered here and the Jeju people are branded traitors, the tower that has been built up so hard will collapse all at once.

If I don’t resolve this situation, I will be branded as an incompetent person by the US government.

I chose a slightly drastic measure.