I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 72
Only Krnovel
He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (72)
“Your Majesty, we have a request from Taiwan.”
“What’s going on?”
“I would like you to establish an economic development plan.”
“Huh~ Well… What should I do with this… .”
This is America, and President MacArthur is troubled by the future of Taiwan.
Why did the US provide material support and even technology transfer to its allies?
The free world economy cannot function without American support, but even the United States has its limits and is slowly withdrawing.
The problem is that the allies have to find a way to survive. If the US just gets out, Western Europe will collapse just like the Soviet Union took over Eastern Europe.
Do you think people who have no way to make a living would follow the logic of capitalism?
So the US transferred technology to its allies, told them to export it and survive on their own.
Korea is also a country that has grown like that.
What on earth does Korea have?
Japan has established an industrial zone on the Korean Peninsula, but its foundation is entirely in North Korea, and all the resources necessary for heavy chemical industries, such as copper, zinc, anthracite coal, gold, and copper, are concentrated in North Korea.
Korea, a beggar country with virtually nothing
This is why the United States could not ignore Korea’s pleas.
“Brothers in America, we have nothing. What are we going to eat and live from now on?”
“That’s… that’s true. We can’t provide aid forever… .”
“Then please let us eat at the heavy chemical industry complex in Japan. We will export and make a living on our own.”
“Really? If you want to be independent without relying on us, there’s no reason to stop you.”
Why did the US allow Korea to acquire large Japanese companies?
If Korea had just sat still and reached out to the US, it would have been hated, but Korea struggled to survive somehow.
That’s what made Korea what it is today.
From the US perspective, Korea is now like an independent son.
Isn’t it amazing that a country with nothing imports resources from outside, builds a heavy chemical industry, and even reinvests the money in the financial sector?
The problem is that not all countries are like Korea.
“Please help us develop our economy.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You raised Korea. Why can’t we?”
Taiwan’s attitude is absurd from the US perspective.
Korea plans out what to do and puts it into action, but Taiwan doesn’t do that.
They ask us to develop the economy, but what do they want us to do?
Besides, the United States has no time to worry about things like Taiwan.
We won the war against the Chinese army and took over the Wuhan and Nanjing areas, but is it really all about eating?
If the United States wants to maintain effective control over the region in the future, it must open up a way for the Chinese to make a living.
If they can’t do that, the poor will rise up and the Soviets will bring communism here, and that’s what America fears most.
We don’t have enough money to invest in China, so how can we develop Taiwan’s economy?
After much deliberation, President MacArthur decided to hand over control of Taiwan to South Korea.
“Tell President Park Sang-geun to take care of it.”
“Your Majesty, isn’t that handing Taiwan over to Korea? Taiwan now has an autonomous government… .”
“Who doesn’t know that? Isn’t it because we don’t have the luxury of it that Korea is supposed to take care of it? What we need to worry about now is mainland China.”
In this way, the right to rule Taiwan effectively passed to Korea.
The US position is that it doesn’t care what happens in Taiwan, and that is how the fate of a country is decided.
***
“What should we do?”
“Well, let’s think about it.”
The same routine that repeats itself today,
I came face to face with President Wang Chien-ung, who came from Taiwan.
The economic development task that the United States has left to Taiwan, how will Taiwan survive in the future? First, let’s look at how Japan ruled Taiwan.
[Taiwan’s development cannot be compared to that of North Korea.]
Japan highly regarded Taiwan’s economic development.
Koreans are difficult to deal with and rebellious, so they do not cooperate with economic development, but Taiwanese people are obedient and know how to comply with Japanese rule.
So is that true? The reality is a bit different.
“Japan, get out!! This is our land!!”
“Die!! Die!! You die too!!”
“Kill anyone who resists Japan!!”
Japan colonized Taiwan before annexing Korea.
The problem is that Japan has no experience in ruling a colony, so they killed anyone who resisted.
In the eight years following the forced annexation, more than 30,000 Taiwanese were murdered.
This is why Taiwan submitted to Japanese rule. It’s not that Taiwan submitted to Japan, it’s just that all the people who rebelled were killed.
So, Japan was able to spread the Japanese language to Taiwan, and when this experiment was successful, Japan gained confidence that it could make Korea like Taiwan.
However, while the Japanese language penetration rate in Taiwan was 62% (as of 1943), the Japanese language penetration rate in Korea was only 22% (as of 1943).
Considering that Taiwan became a Japanese colony 15 years earlier than Korea, this is no laughing matter.
“Japan, get out!! We won’t speak Japanese!!”
“Wow~ What are these kids? Taiwan wasn’t like this?”
“Hey, this won’t work. Press the Joseon bastards!! Press them harder!!”
The Korean people resisted so fiercely,
This is why Japan has a negative view of Korea.
The Taiwanese listened well, but Korea did not, so how should Korea deal with Taiwan in the future?
Taiwanese people are a people who listen when you suppress them, so you can just treat them violently? If you think about the history of Japan ruling Taiwan, you can see that it doesn’t matter.
But Taiwan is a country with an unfortunate past of being massacred by both Japan and China, isn’t it too cruel for Korea to treat it that way?
So they stopped ruling by force.
Taiwan is not a colony of Korea, but a sovereign country, but Korea has been deeply involved in its economy.
“What is Taiwan’s sugarcane production?”
“That’s just it. We don’t produce because it’s not profitable.”
“Of course. That’s what Japan did.”
Japan forced Taiwanese farmers to produce sugarcane.
If Taiwan produces sugarcane at a low price, Japan imports it, and sugar companies make huge profits.
Then the incident happened.
The price of sugarcane suddenly rose, and Japan pressured the governor of Taiwan to implement a sugarcane monopoly.
By controlling prices, they created a production structure that was advantageous to Japan.
If Japan really wanted Taiwan to develop, it would have let the sugarcane farmers profit.
But the situation was so bad that when the Japanese and Taiwanese colonial governments monopolized the sugarcane, farmers had no reason to further expand their sugarcane farms.
However, Taiwan’s sugarcane production capacity could not be ignored, and Japan even laid a railroad in Taiwan to exploit the sugarcane.
If they were to lay a railroad on that small piece of land, can you get a rough idea of how serious the Japanese were about this project?
This logic was valid even during the Republic of China period.
Chiang Kai-shek nationalized Taiwan’s sugarcane industry and instituted a monopoly.
But now it’s a useless business, these are not the times when you can make a living off sugarcane.
Fortunately, the railways built by the Japanese still remain.
This railroad enabled Korea to intervene quickly when Chiang Kai-shek plundered Taiwan.
Taiwan and Korea have decent transportation infrastructure, so if they use their technological prowess to build roads and connect them to railways, something great might come out of it.
In addition, the US is planning to invest heavily in China, and Korea holds the key to that.
It is possible since Korea has taken over Shanghai and Taiwan.
Something flashed in my head.
“Let’s start with the roads. Right now, Taiwan only has railways, so there is not enough infrastructure to connect each region.”
“There is nothing in Taiwan right now, can I lay it down from the road?”
“If we build roads, won’t we receive support from Korea? And Taiwan is geographically very important. If we build roads, we will definitely see the light.”
From Taiwan, Seoul is within a radius of 1,400 km, Tokyo is within a radius of 2,000 km, Manila is within a radius of 1,150 km, Hong Kong is within a radius of 800 km, and Shanghai is within a radius of 670 km.
In particular, Shanghai is a region where Korea is focusing its investment.
If there is a problem here, Taiwan should serve as a second line of defense.
The Chinese Communist Party is currently focusing on economic development, but it is questionable whether it will set its sights on Shanghai again when it gains more power.
Taiwan is a strategic location that can respond when Shanghai is threatened.
That alone makes it worth the investment.
‘Korea – Produces goods in Japan and supplies them through Taiwan.’
President MacArthur soon planned to take care of North Vietnam, which was still under communist control.
Where will we get supplies when we attack there?
No matter how much I think about it, there is no other choice but Taiwan.
In fact, when Japan attacked Southeast Asia, it used Taiwan as a supply route.
If the United States wants to exert influence in Southeast Asia in the future, it will need to receive supplies produced in Korea and Japan.
The business plan is a perfect fit, and Taiwan still has the industrial base left behind by the Japanese.
Taiwan showed signs of growth with just a little push, and that’s how investment began.
The problem was that the Soviet Union was sensitive to this, and once the infrastructure was established in Taiwan, the Vietnamese Communist Party would be completely surrounded by the American military’s material offensive.
In addition, America’s influence in Southeast Asia would expand, and the Soviet Union’s reaction was as expected.
***
“Is it true that Korean capital was invested in Taiwan?!!”
“Yes, if this continues, not only southern China, but also Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Southeast Asia will be in danger.”
“Is our Soviet Union under siege? And it’s because of Korea?!!”
This is Moscow,
Khryushov was nervous about the rapidly changing world situation.
The fact that Korea has grown a lot was confirmed during the last Shanghai War.
But that was because the Soviet Union underestimated Korea, and now the United States has delegated the route to Southeast Asia to Korea.
“Korea, please take care of the rest.”
“Don’t worry. We in Korea will pave the way for the US military.”
“As expected, Korea is trustworthy. Good job!!”
As Korea paved the way, the United States expanded its influence without hesitation.
If this happens, the Soviet Union will literally be X.
Expansion into Western Europe was blocked, the route to Asia was blocked, and even the Middle East was under the control of the US-UK-ROK allied forces, so there was no land left for communism to infiltrate.
Should the Soviet Union just watch as Korea does whatever it wants?
We need to do something by mobilizing North Korea, but now North Korea’s national power cannot do anything to South Korea.
“What are you guys doing now? You dare fire cannons into the West Sea?”
“Ah… no, it was just military training?”
“Listen carefully, our Korean military strength is 650 tanks, 1,420 anti-tank guns, and 860 aircraft. The standing army is 120,000, and including the reserves, it is 300,000. Including the US military, it is 374,000, and now we have a navy. Do you want to fight?”
South Korea turns its guns on North Korea when it farts once.
If South Korea advances north now, North Korea will perish.
Could the Soviet Union, which was busy keeping US forces in check all over the world, have the capacity to support North Korea?
If the South Korean president really makes up his mind and rushes in, North Korea may disappear.
Kim Il-sung is also anxious because of that, and it is not the time to be happy about having ousted Pak Hon-yong and taken power.
If we make a mistake, war on the Korean Peninsula could break out at any moment.
This is why even the Soviet Union does not dare to provoke Korea.
The US and the Soviet Union, which divided the world, were trembling because of Korea. When Korea began to check the Soviet Union, the US was able to expand its influence into Southeast Asia without worry.
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