Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 109



Only Krnovel

#109. seedless watermelon

February 28, 1948, the first full moon of the year.

Rural Development Administration.

Daldaldaldaldal! Rumble!

“oh! The engine started! ha ha ha!”

The first domestically produced cultivator has finally been released.

However, when starting the engine, instead of turning the key, you inserted the lever and turned the flywheel vigorously by hand.

“Can’t this be easily started with the key?”

“It is possible to make an electric starter, but in this day and age, we decided that it would be better to start the car by turning it by hand, so we made it in the old-fashioned way. “Because it is a diesel engine that does not use electricity, it is less likely to break down and is more reliable.”

“ah! okay.”

“And it appears that you are not from a rural area, but even in modern times, it was not until the 1990s that cultivators that can be started with a key became common. “Before that, it was an option.”

“is it so? “I didn’t know that because I’m from Seoul.”

“ha ha ha! I thought so. This ‘good harvest No. 1’… … .”

“Good Harvest No. 1?”

“Yes, what is the name of this cultivator?”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol was speechless at the time-honored naming sense, but that wasn’t the important thing.

“The name is kind of… … . Anyway, keep going.”

“Is your name strange? Then, to ‘Daepung No. 1’… … .”

“Okay, that’s enough. “Just do it.”

“Yes, this Bountiful No. 1, even if it looks like this, has the performance of the late 1970s to early 1980s.”

“oh! is it so?”

“That’s right. “With the current cultivator, I would dare say it is the best in the world.”

“I guess exports will do well too?”

“Of course, right? “Unless it’s a huge corporate farm like in the U.S., I’m confident it will sell like hot cakes.”

“ha ha ha! It was really hard. What is the performance like?”

“It is equipped with a 600cc domestic single-cylinder diesel engine and has 1st, 2nd, and reverse gears. The maximum speed is 23 km/h and it comes with a set of basic trailers.”

“oh!”

“It can also be used to power generators or water pumps, and belts can be used to run other machines such as threshers. Plus, I use it as a means of transportation.”

“Wow! “It’s all-powerful!”

“ha ha ha! This is basically what a cultivator does. In short, a major revolution is taking place in rural areas.”

This was the first time Lee Kang-cheol knew that a cultivator was such a versatile machine.

Isn’t there really nothing you can’t do?

“What is the price?”

“It is still quite expensive, but as a policy policy, the government has decided to subsidize 50% and provide the remaining 50% in long-term, low-interest installments, so most farmers will be able to purchase it.”

“Well done. What are your plans for mass production?”

“It has already gone into mass production. “Currently, we are in low-rate production, and about 5,000 units will be distributed in the first half of this year, and when we enter mass production in earnest from the second half of the year, we plan to launch them nationwide.”

“Exports can be done a little slowly. Be sure to supply it to our farms first.”

“All right.”

There were many places for money to come from.

So, in these matters, our farms come first.

Although there has been quite a bit of agricultural machinery provided by the United States, American agricultural machinery was basically made for use on vast tracts of land, so it was very inconvenient for our farmers to use it.

Of course, they were incredibly useful, but now that our tillers had been developed, there would truly be a revolution in the countryside.

What was most encouraging was that the number of workers in rural areas was decreasing day by day due to rapid industrialization, and if this cultivator was distributed, much of the labor shortage could be overcome.

Lee Kang-cheol looked so pretty that his tiller looked like a Porsche.

“The rice variety we brought… … . “What was it?”

“This is Shin Dong-jin.”

“Ah, Shin Dong-jin. “What is the supply status of that?”

“When we moved over in 1943, we put a lot of effort into distributing seeds. Thanks to this, it has now been distributed to most of the Korean Peninsula. So, the rice harvest has increased explosively since last year.”

“Is it that much different from the breeds of this era?”

“ha ha ha! Mr. President, you really don’t know much about agriculture.”

“I’m from Seoul?”

“Compared to contemporary varieties, the yield is at least 50% higher.”

“Hoo?”

“In addition, it is resistant to pests and cold damage. It tastes good too. “It’s because people aren’t interested, but modern agricultural development is tremendous.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. “Then when will the supply be delivered to the Manchurian region?”

“We are currently conducting trial cultivation, but since the climate is different from the Korean Peninsula, we plan to make some improvements.”

“Do you think rice grows even in cold areas?”

“sure. In particular, rice farming in the Manchurian region was almost entirely cultivated by our compatriots. “More than 90% of the rice production in the Manchurian region was produced by Koreans.”

“Oh oh!”

“We succeeded in harvesting even in the Amur River basin, which is the northern border with the Soviet Union. Anyway, the people of our country need to know, right?”

“ha ha ha!”

Lee Kang-cheol was in a really good mood today.

This is because food, the most basic element of human life, is being solved in this way.

At that time, the Rural Development Administration director who was explaining grabbed Lee Kang-cheol’s sleeve.

“Hey, President,”

“Yes, Commissioner.”

“I have someone to introduce.”

“yes? “Who is it?”

“Please come this way.”

“hmm?”

When the Director of the Promotion Agency led Lee Kang-cheol to a room in the building, he saw a middle-aged man jump up.

“This is Dr. Jangchun Woo.”

“ah! Dr. Woo Jang-chun!”

In some ways, he is amazing, and in other ways, he is a great person.

My father is Woo Beom-seon.

A pro-Japanese traitor who cooperated in the assassination of Empress Myeongseong.

However, the son resisted Japan’s attempts to prevent him from returning to the country and returned. He enlisted in the army during the Korean War and was discharged as a major in the Navy.

Although his academic achievements were remarkable, he was also a truly remarkable person.

Last fall, I received a report that, contrary to the original history, he returned to the country with his Japanese wife and children, and I have only just seen it.

“Dr. Wu, you are the President. “Say hello.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

“ha ha ha! I am rather honored. But it’s a little… … .”

“Oh, I’m still not good at Korean. “That friend will interpret.”

His father died young, he was raised by a Japanese mother, and he married a Japanese person.

If we spoke well, it would be even stranger.

The conversation continued through an interpreter.

“The environment must have changed a lot, are you okay with your stay?”

“The government gave us a nice house, and we have no financial shortcomings. The whole family is satisfied. The situation in Japan is not very good. “Everything burned down.”

“Thank goodness.”

Lee Kang-cheol was somehow heartbroken by the answer that everything had burned down.

This is all because of underestimating the madness of LeMay.

“On the contrary, I feel burdened because I feel like I am not doing my role properly. “I could never have imagined that agriculture in my country would have developed so much.”

“Oh, don’t stress too much. “You just have to take it slow.”

“I’m embarrassed. “When I came here, I thought I could contribute to the development of agricultural science in my country.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol could guess why Woo Jang-chun was so depressed.

Of course, you may have thought that Korea would be far behind Japan, but the current agricultural community in Korea was armed with agricultural knowledge that was decades ahead of its time by modern agricultural scientists.

So, Dr. Woo Jang-chun would not have had much of a role to play, and it would have been an embarrassing situation, even if you didn’t watch the video.

“Dr. Woo Jang-chun.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“No matter what anyone says, I believe in Dr. Woo’s potential. Don’t rush too much, take your time and take your time. There will be good results.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I patted Woo Jang-chun on the shoulder and came out, and the commissioner followed him out.

“It looks like Dr. Woo is having a hard time.”

“You know very well, right? That’s how things work. So, Mr. President.”

“Yes, Commissioner.”

“Could you please increase Dr. Jangchun Woo’s authority?”

“You’re raising your authority?”

“Since we are from modern times, Dr. Woo Jang-chun knows most of what we know now. No, it’s more than that. “Agronomy has developed tremendously over the past 70 years.”

“I understand what you mean, but are you asking me to increase your authority? Are you talking about access to modern knowledge?”

“That’s right. I have been watching Dr. Wu for the past few months, and he is truly an amazing scholar. It would be such a shame for a scholar like that to be buried like this, frustrated by the knowledge and technology we have brought with us in modern times. That’s why I’m telling you this, if Dr. Woo’s qualifications and capabilities as a scholar come together with modern knowledge, I think the explosive power will be great.”

“Hmm, that’s difficult. How are you trying to explain this? And wouldn’t it be a big deal if it were to leak out?”

“I’m not saying we’re going to tell you everything, but we’re just going to give you access to some of the modern research-related knowledge and experimental equipment. From my experience, I have found that he is an extremely honest and single-minded person. If we explain it well, we won’t be the ones to pry unnecessarily, and we won’t be the ones to leak confidential information to the outside world. “I will guarantee that.”

“Huh… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol was a bit embarrassed.

What happens when scholars who were originally prominent in history encounter modern knowledge?

Of course you will be frustrated.

This is knowledge that has developed over 70 years, and may even contain your own achievements.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no prominent scholars among Koreans at the time, so there was no need to experience such a ‘conflict’, and Woo Jang-chun, a renowned horticultural breeder, became the first such case.

Lee Kang-cheol thought for a while and came to a conclusion.

I felt uneasy and regretful that someone who was so outstanding as a scholar that the head of the Rural Development Administration even offered to provide a guarantee for him would be left alone like that.

“Only the parts necessary for research are permitted. Get a firm promise to keep confidentiality. And the commissioner must take responsibility for this.”

“thank you! President!”

“He says all kinds of things. If you make seedless watermelons later, please send me some watermelons then. ha ha ha!”

“yes? “Seedless watermelon?”

“Yes, seedless watermelon. When you talk about Dr. Woo Jang-chun, of course you mean seedless watermelon, right? Who created the world’s first seedless watermelon?”

“excuse me… … .”

“Why do you look so bad? Hey, what can I do with watermelon… … .”

“That’s not it, Mr. President, Dr. Wu wasn’t the first to create seedless watermelons.”

“yes? What do you mean… … ?”

“Oh, by the way, it is correct to say that Dr. Woo was not the first to create seedless watermelon, but he was the first to introduce it to Korea. I want to promote agricultural technology to the public. “The first person to make it was Hitoshi Kihara, a Japanese person.”

“Is that so?”

“Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. “It was incorrectly said that Dr. Woo Jang-chun created it, but in the 2000s, various media outlets said that this was not the case, so I thought you would know.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol suddenly became a person without common sense.

Anyway, on his way back, Lee Kang-cheol ordered the National Intelligence Service to place Dr. Woo Jang-chun on the surveillance list.

Because his position was too heavy to just trust what people said.