I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 339



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (339)

[Why Russia cannot become Europe? We can see this by looking at Korea today. Korea’s history is very similar to the growth of the Russian Empire.]

This is America, and an interesting topic has caught public attention.

Recently, Japan has abandoned its isolationism and recognized that it is part of Asia.

Japan had been an island nation for a long time and pursued an isolationist policy, but after the Kurofune Incident, it was forced to open its doors by the United States.

After that, Japan remodeled the country in a Western style based on the theory of de-Ara, so didn’t Japan become Westernized?

But not many people would think of Japan as part of the West.

This also applies to Russian history.

Russia, which had barely gained independence from the influence of the Mongol Empire, was in such a state of disarray that its leaders were replaced by those of neighboring countries.

“Okay, I’ll admit it, Russia is weak, so we have to learn from the West.”

The person who turned this around was Peter I,

While Western powers are growing rapidly based on their powerful manufacturing industries, how long will Russia remain a country in the backwaters?

Peter I acknowledged that Russia’s national power was weak and actively accepted Western civilization to develop the country into a powerful nation.

This was possible because the European powers at the time were at odds with the Ottoman Turks, Russia was just a small country on the periphery, and it was not strange for Britain to plan to develop Russia to check the Ottoman Turks.

The problem was that Russia had grown too large for Britain to anticipate, and Russia, which had been expected to provide a check from the rear, was now waging war on its own against the Ottoman Turks and exerting direct influence in the Balkans.

So the question here is, is Russia part of Europe?

Such a formula cannot be established.

Russia’s choice to Westernize was not to become a part of Europe, but to achieve the goal of ‘national development’.

Does Russia recognize itself as part of Europe?

This question applies directly to Korean history.

Korea, free from Japanese influence, was in a position where it had to somehow rebuild the country.

In addition, at the time, the United States promised large-scale support to European and Asian countries under the pretext of blocking the expansion of communism.

A similar situation occurred when Britain provided technical assistance to Russia to suppress the growth of the Ottoman Empire, and Korea took advantage of this.

“If Korea grows, the Soviet Union and China won’t be able to act rashly, right?”

“Yes, if we fight directly, the damage will be too great, so let’s help Korea grow a bit more.”

This was the thinking of the American political world at the time.

The South Korean leader took advantage of this to secure support from the United States and even received permission to serve as president for the next 30 years.

The literal descent of Peter I,

Thanks to the strong driving force and active external expansion policy of the Korean leader, Korea acquired the national power to check both China and the Soviet Union.

So from this point on, did the US start to keep Korea in check?

From America’s perspective, that didn’t work.

The policy of excessive external expansion led to a waste of national power and the sacrifice of countless young people, and from the perspective of the United States, which is rooted in a democratic society, further expansion was difficult.

“I trust you guys, you can do it, right?”

“Then just trust us.”

From this point on, the United States virtually delegated Northeast Asian politics to Korea.

If the balance had continued as intended, the United States would have maintained its influence in Northeast Asia by manipulating Korea and Japan, even though Korea had grown larger and was unable to deal with both China and the Soviet Union at the same time.

But, lo and behold, the United States destroyed its own balance.

They were convinced that if they pushed out the Soviet Union, no country would be able to block America’s path, but South Korea exploited that weakness.

“The collapse of the Soviet Union does not mean that Russia will come under American influence.”

“It’s the same with China, now that the balance has been further broken, there’s nothing left to worry about.”

If China and Russia were still alive, Korea would have been attacked from both sides, but since the United States destroyed them, Korea has become an unbridled tiger.

Now that the Soviet Union has collapsed, will its successor, Russia, fall under the influence of the United States?

China is the same, and has strengthened economic cooperation with its neighboring country, South Korea.

As a result, Korea’s influence only expanded, just like Britain faced a huge enemy called Russia after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

From the US perspective, it was literally a bolt from the blue.

I thought that the collapse of the Soviet Union would usher in the American world, but South Korea, which had taken over Northeast Asia, emerged as the final boss.

This is the funny thing,

When the Ottoman Empire was exerting its influence across the Mediterranean, how many would have predicted that Russia would become Britain’s ultimate boss?

Even in this day and age, no one would have thought that Korea would become America’s greatest enemy.

From the US perspective, this is an astonishing development, and now saying this to Korea won’t work.

“Hey, we raised you, Korea. You haven’t forgotten that favor, have you? You’re part of America, so you should cooperate with America.”

“Since when have we been part of the United States? We are allies. We have been for the past 46 years.”

Can Korea become a part of the United States by reforming its country following the example of the United States?

It’s like the Russian Empire insisting that it’s a part of Europe. Russia is just a third power that grew by absorbing European culture and technology, and it can never become Europe itself.

The same goes for Korea,

Korea has absorbed American technology and capital, but it is not a part of the United States.

That’s why the United States hit the ground and regretted it, saying that instead of making Korea independent, it should have made it the 51st state of the United States.

[At that time, Korea was in a very unstable state diplomatically and politically, and the Korean leader was thinking of making Korea the 51st colony of the United States. If the United States had directly ruled Korea at that time, it could have also had Japan in its grasp.]

That’s actually the case.

Who proposed a 30-year trusteeship to the United States?

If this had been completed, would Japan have been able to become independent?

When Korea insisted on a 30-year trusteeship, Japanese politicians despaired.

Korea, which had just become independent, became the 51st colony of the United States. Could Japan be safe? In fact, a bill was even proposed to permanently transfer ruling rights to the US military government. Hundreds of people across the country committed suicide out of pessimism about this.

However, the United States chose indirect rule instead of direct rule, and as a result, it ended up raising a tiger cub called Korea.

Did the US underestimate Korea too much, or did the US not have the capacity to do so at the time?

In fact, the United States wasted a lot of manpower and national power while fighting the Pacific War for a long time, and because of this, citizens demanded that the war budget be reduced.

How can the United States directly rule Korea and Japan under these circumstances?

If the United States had been a country that waged war while ignoring the sacrifices of its own citizens, it might have been possible, but it was held back by the voices of democracy and society calling for a reduction in military spending.

On the other hand, Korea, thanks to the absolute monarch who was the head of the Korean army, achieved 46 years of upward mobility without any major changes in the system, and eventually built an Asian empire.

Literally the Peter the Great of our time and the Emperor of Asia,

Now, there is no need to be part of the Western powers, and Asia has risen to a position where it can move the world within the system called Asia.

So, what is the extent of the power of the Korean leader?

Does it really have the power to move all of Asia?

An incident occurred that made me realize that power.

***

“Your Majesty, we have received a call from Russia.”

“But what is the problem?”

“We are proposing to redefine the borders of Central Asia.”

This is Geumneung, I received Russia’s position through the Prime Minister’s Office.

South Korea and Russia have been de facto allies since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and recently Russia gave up on becoming part of Europe and joined the EAEC Union.

So there will be no problems between the two countries in the future?

Unfortunately, the problem of Central Asia remains.

The controversy stems from the Urumqi incident that occurred 20 years ago, when an Islamic militant group based in Urumqi carried out a terrorist attack on Jinling.

The armed group was originally supported by the Soviet Union to check China, but was abandoned when it became useless and launched a surprise attack on South Korea to raise funds for its activities.

But the result was a miserable failure,

South Korea sent troops to Umumuchi and took a million of its residents hostage.

Of these, 600,000 are handed over to the Soviet Union, and the remaining 400,000 are disposed of by Korea. Then, what happens to the borders of Urumqi and the surrounding areas?

From the perspective of both countries, it was a wasteland of little use, and neither side claimed to have it first, so it was literally left to chance.

So are you going to leave it like that in the future?

Urumqi has no merit in itself, but it can exert influence as a passage connecting Central Asia and even Europe.

It was a useless land just 20 years ago, but now that globalism is expanding, it’s a different story.

So Korea is also watching the situation, and if Korea exercises its sovereignty, Russia will also try to get in on the action.

This is why the two countries have been locked in a war of wits over Urumqi so far, with Russia insisting on dividing the land equally in half.

It’s impossible to have everything, so we found a compromise.

But Russian nationalists would not tolerate this.

“That land was originally our land!!”

“Even if it’s Korea, this isn’t right!!”

In fact, Russia has exerted influence in Central Asia since the 18th century.

As a result, five Central Asian countries still use Russian, but Korea is taking over some of that channel?

This is a very sensitive issue for Russia.

“Why don’t you speak Russian?”

“When was that? We are not part of Russia.”

Recently, the five Central Asian countries have been shedding their Russian colors.

Until the mid-20th century, it was under the influence of the Soviet Union, but that is not the case anymore.

It would be more economically advantageous to become closer to Korea.

This is proven by statistics.

⁕ According to statistics, less than 15% of Kyrgyz people over the age of 18 speak Russian as their native language. Compared to the 75% of my father’s generation who spoke Russian, Russia’s prestige is rapidly declining.

Even in my father’s generation, speaking Russian was the norm, but how could things turn around like this in just one generation?

Russia also knows this, so it wants to maintain its influence in Central Asia.

If things were left as they were, it would only be a matter of time before Central Asia would fall to Korea, so they tried to resolve the Urumqi issue quickly.

South Korea also took a step back and divided the Urumqi area in half, but Russian nationalists were not happy about that either.

Even though Korea is an ally, it cannot give up the Urumqi area, but the agreement has already been concluded, so what can we do?

Ultimately, the issue caused confusion within Russia.

“Rebuild Great Russia!!”

“Russia today is too weak!!”

Would a Slavic people with such a long history, who once founded the great nation known as the Soviet Union, be satisfied with being part of an Asian federation?

The Korean government did not sit idly by and watch this issue either.