I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 44



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (44)

“Director of Political Affairs, your mother is here.”

“Your mother?”

This is the headquarters of the Korean People’s Party.

Park Jeong-ui, who was handling state affairs on behalf of the president, hurried his steps.

How did someone this old come all the way from his hometown to here?

An unwelcome face was next to my mother, but I tried to ignore it.

“Mother, how did you get here?”

“It’s Sang-geun’s birthday soon, isn’t it? Your wife made some rice cakes here.”

Park Jeong-ui frowned at the package in his wife’s hand.

If it weren’t for my mother and older brother, we would have divorced already, but now I’m offering rice cakes to His Excellency the President.

I returned the cake even though it wasn’t even my birthday cake.

“Mother, Sang-geun… no, His Majesty, you shouldn’t eat things like this anymore. Haven’t you seen the news? In America, there’s someone eating steak and drinking cola and seeing things like this… .”

“If you’re Korean, you should eat Korean food.”

“That’s right. My lord really likes sirutteok.”

Park Jeong-ui broke out in a cold sweat when his wife also joined the attack.

In the end, I was in a position where I couldn’t return it, so I ended up holding the sirutteok my wife had made.

“Why did you make so many?”

“On birthdays, we share rice cakes with people. You should eat some too.”

“No, I’m fine… .”

“This guy is really!! If you keep doing that, I’ll tell Sanggeun!!”

When the mother’s scolding came down, the powerful retreated into their holes again.

Even if he was the most powerful person next to the president, he couldn’t do anything in front of his mother. So he sent the guest away and opened the bundle at his seat.

‘Wow, this was really hard to see… .’

Park Jeong-ui was caught up in memories.

How many times did you have the opportunity to taste sirutteok made from glutinous rice during the Japanese colonial period when it was difficult to even eat rice?

I’ve had rice cakes made from non-glutinous rice a few times, and maybe it’s because of nostalgia, but I remember them being really delicious.

It was literally a memory and a longing for food. It was a bit weird that it had my wife’s cooking, but I couldn’t help but reach for it.

‘Huh? This is….’

A faint smile spread across his face after taking a bite.

The chewy texture and the pleasant aroma of red bean that stimulates the olfactory sense. I have eaten luxurious food while acting as a powerful person in Gyeongseong, but it has been a long time since I have had food that enriches the soul like this.

One day, my mother’s words that Koreans should eat Korean food hit me in the back of the head, and I reached for the next rice cake.

‘Wait a minute, is this okay for me?’

There is nothing else to embezzle. Why should I steal the president’s birthday cake?

But rice cakes are best eaten right away, so I shared them with the people around me on behalf of the president who may or may not come.

***

“Your Majesty, happy birthday.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a birthday cake.”

The same routine that repeats itself today,

As soon as I arrived at the airport, I was welcomed by Prime Minister Lee Beom-sung.

He suddenly offered me rice cakes, but I still didn’t fully understand the situation, so I just looked around.

“What is all this?”

“I told you it was a birthday cake.”

“No… So why are you giving this here?”

“We committed theft. We came here to turn ourselves in and find light.”

I learned the details through my uncle.

My grandmother and sister-in-law made me a birthday rice cake because they thought of me, but rice cakes aren’t something that can be stored for a long time, right?

They had no choice but to eat the birthday rice cakes themselves and bring rice cakes from another mill. I was a little annoyed, but I stuffed some rice cakes into my mouth anyway.

“Uncle, did you really eat all that?”

“Ah… no, that’s… .”

“Next time I’m going to steal my uncle’s birthday rice cake. You know what I mean.”

“Hahahaha~.”

Prime Minister Lee Beom-seong, who was oblivious, was laughing beside him, and my uncle also turned his head away, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed.

It was just a joke to make everyone laugh, and they walked along discussing state affairs.

“Nothing special has happened so far?”

“Yes, nothing much happened. But….”

“But? What is it?”

“A national envoy has arrived from Japan. Shouldn’t Korea-Japan relations be restored as soon as possible?”

I found myself snorting at Prime Minister Lee Beom-seong’s explanation.

Well, every day in Japan is like a bed of thorns.

The speech I gave in the United States received worldwide attention, and in return, Japan was branded a “traitor” and “mass murderer” for breaking America’s trust.

The best card Japan can play now is improving diplomacy with Korea, but I have no intention of being manipulated by Japan’s intentions.

Who would benefit from improving diplomatic relations with Japan?

The U.S. Republican Party is also looking at Japan, where anti-American protests have recently occurred, with a negative view, and the Japanese government is bowing its head, but that will not solve the problem.

There will never be diplomatic progress unless the Japanese government or the Japanese imperial family formally apologizes for their wrongdoings.

Obtaining national consensus is also a big task.

If the Korean government accepts the apology, is that the end? What about the resentment of the victims and their families who were sacrificed under Japanese rule? Even if Korea restores diplomatic relations with Japan, Japan will not be granted a free pass.

As for whether it will take 10 or 30 years – the restoration of Japan-Korea relations,

Korea was in no rush, so it took things slowly.

“What happened to the relief for victims of forced labor?”

“First, we paid out $500,000 sequentially.”

“How much money do I have to pay in the future?”

“I think we’ll need up to $2 million.”

“Then let’s finish it within five years. There’s no benefit to putting this off.”

“All right.”

Separately from this, I focused on the issue of relief for victims of forced labor.

If you ask why Korea provides relief to victims of forced labor, the reason is simple.

Because Korea acquired Japanese companies, during the Japanese colonial period, Japan controlled 80% of Korea’s capital.

But now it’s the exact opposite,

Korean and American businessmen control 70% of the Japanese economy.

The remaining 30% are small and medium-sized enterprises with capital of 150,000 yen or less. In this situation, will the Japanese government provide relief to the victims of forced conscription?

It’s nonsense, so the Korean government needs to solve this problem.

The US also wants that; its strategy is to economically revive Korea and Japan and solidify its dominance over Asia.

However, Korea and Japan have a lot of historical issues to resolve, so shouldn’t Korea put in more effort?

The United States also hopes that South Korea will make significant contributions to the restoration of Korea-Japan diplomacy.

I don’t like it, but if that’s America’s strategy, then we have no choice but to follow it, and since Korea also holds the Japanese economy, it has nothing to lose.

If Japan develops, the one who benefits the most is Korea; the game is already set that way.

However, the most important thing is to obtain national consensus, so we plan to gradually resolve the issue of forced conscription.

And if a sincere apology from Japan follows, the situation will end, and we plan to see a maximum of 10 years.

***

“So are you going to apologize or not?”

“No, that’s… Don’t we have our own position as well? The Emperor reflecting is a bit…”

“This doesn’t make sense. Take this away now!!”

This is the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea,

Speaker of the National Assembly Ji Chang-cheon treated the envoy from Japan with contempt.

Does Japan have any intention of apologizing to Korea?

I have the heart, but I don’t want to lose face.

What Speaker of the National Assembly Ji Chang-cheon took issue with was the content of the apology; Japan did not include the word “reflection” when signing the San Francisco Treaty.

The moment you use the word reflection, aren’t you acknowledging that Japan started the war and caused enormous damage to neighboring countries?

So, the words ‘war’, ‘defeat’, and ‘reflection’ were all removed from the treaty.

Even when the country was ruined and they had to beg for their lives in the US, they tried to save face for themselves. Do you think Japan would have used the word ‘reflection’ to Korea?

The content of the apology received by National Assembly Speaker Ji Chang-cheon was roughly as follows.

[It is truly regrettable that there was an unfortunate past between our two countries in this century, and it should never be repeated. We, Japan, wish for reconciliation with your country.]

What on earth does this mean?

An unfortunate past. Which side is that unfortunate?

Korea’s misfortune? Japan’s misfortune? They are trying to slyly brush it aside, but National Assembly Speaker Ji Chang-cheon is furious, saying that this kind of thing is not even an apology.

What makes Korea even angrier is Japan’s beggar mentality.

Not long ago, there was even a request to return large corporations that Korea had acquired.

“Give it back. Yes? Give it back. I won’t go back until you give it back.”

“Is that the attitude you call apology?!!”

Korea has taken away all the large corporations, and what is left are only small and medium-sized enterprises with capital of less than 150,000 yen.

Japan is making a fuss to get the big company back.

This is proof that they still haven’t come to their senses. Korea didn’t take over the company by force, but acquired it through legal procedures, so why should it be returned to Japan?

The Korean government has drawn the line, saying that it will never return large corporations, as it has done everything according to its own will.

How can there be any progress when the situation is like this? The U.S. government is also pressuring Japan, but Japan has no intention of bending its pride.

Japan’s position is that the words ‘defeat’, ‘responsibility’, and ‘reflection’ should be removed unconditionally.

However, the Korean government is providing compensation for forced labor.

What are you doing now?

Some victims even refused to accept compensation paid by the South Korean government.

“I want an apology from Japan!! I don’t want compensation from Korea!!”

“That’s right!! Japan must reflect on the war and apologize!!”

“We can’t get along with the Japanese!!”

Korean public opinion was fiercely incensed.

There was an atmosphere of confusion as to why Korea should reconcile with Japan, and some citizens burned Japanese flags in the streets and destroyed Japanese-style buildings.

But this is only a preliminary battle,

There was even a public announcement that the Japanese emperor should take responsibility and commit suicide.

“All wars were conducted with the approval of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, His Majesty the Emperor was not a puppet but the real monarch of Japan.”

In fact, Japanese war criminals made such remarks at international trials.

There was specific testimony that the Emperor was not a puppet set up by the military but was the commander in chief in command of the war, but the US military government ignored this.

Because they thought that it would be easier to rule Japan if they kept the emperor alive.

The U.S. government also accepted that opinion and did not bring the Japanese emperor and his family to trial for war crimes.

It was something that everyone kept quiet about, but there are no secrets in this world, and when specific documents were made public, public opinion in Joseon was inflamed.

This means that even if Japan apologizes, if the Emperor does not die, Korea and Japan cannot reconcile. Of course, this is something that Japan cannot accept.

It’s been dragging on like that for three years now.

As time passed, Japan’s antipathy toward Korea also deepened.

[The average Korean person’s deposit is dozens of times more than that of a Japanese person.]

[Korea is now tearing apart Japan’s spine.]

Japanese public opinion has exposed that Koreans are making too much money in Japan.

In fact, the amount of deposits held by Koreans in Japanese banks is estimated at around 15 million yen, while the amount held by Japanese people in Japanese banks is less than 60 million yen.

At first glance, it seems like Japanese people have a lot of savings.

The problem is that there are 70 million Japanese people in mainland Japan, and less than 50,000 Koreans.

How can only 0.0007% of the entire Japanese population have that much money? That’s why there’s talk that Koreans are exploiting Japan, but this is distorted information.

“We are businessmen, so that’s natural, right?”

“It would be a mistake to think that you are the same as the common people.”

Most Koreans in Japan are businessmen,

Of course, because they handle a lot of money, they record high numbers on average.

Frankly, compared to the US, Korea is just a drop in the bucket. It has been calculated that American businessmen have over 50 million yen in deposits in Japanese banks.

Since you can’t shout loudly in America, aren’t you just taking your anger out on Koreans?

But this explanation would not have made sense to the Japanese.