Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 111



Only Krnovel

#111. Zhukov’s harsh words remained the same.

The world record for triple jump is 15.68m, set by Kim Won-kwon in 1940.

Even the year before, in 1939, an unofficial but unbelievable record at the time of 16.25m was set.

But that was in my youth.

Kim Won-kwon is currently 30 years old.

As an athlete, especially an athlete at this time, he was already a veteran.

Moreover, I was unable to exercise properly during the war.

If the 1940 Summer Olympics had been held in Tokyo, Japan as scheduled, I would have been confident of winning with my eyes closed, but not now.

Still, I had to be strong.

Fortunately, I had been working out under a systematic program at the Taereung Athletes’ Village for the past year, so I seemed to be at more than 90% of my peak level.

Gritting his teeth, Kim Won-kwon ran.

And then one step, two steps, three steps.

“Eurachacha!”

flew.

It raced through the air as if defying gravity.

Pow!

The landing was okay.

And it didn’t feel bad.

The referee quickly took a tape measure and measured the distance he had glided.

Soon his distance was posted on the manual scoreboard.

-15.55m.

Australia’s George Gordon Arbery, who had been competing for the lead so far, stood at 15.365m.

Sweden’s Arne Åhman is 15.4m.

Won! It’s a gold medal!

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!”

He clenched his fists and announced to the world that he was the king of the triple jump.

Following Kim Won-kwon, an unexpected gold medal was achieved in track and field.

Choi Yun-chil, who was called a ‘long-distance prodigy’, achieved success in the men’s 5,000m race.

“hook! hook!”

I felt like my lungs were going to explode.

But you still have to run.

The 5,000m medal time is 14 minutes and 10 seconds.

It’s literally like you have to sprint for 14 minutes.

When the 4,000m mark was passed, the lead gradually formed.

The five players in total are Sweden’s Erik Alden, the Netherlands’ Willem Slakehuis, Belgium’s Gaston Etienne, and the Czech Republic’s Emil Zatopek and Choi Yun-chil, strange players who play with arrogance as if they are carrying all the suffering of the world.

From the time they passed 4,500m, the Swedish and Dutch athletes fell behind little by little.

Now the leading group was formed by three people, who did not want to lag behind each other at all.

Now there are 200m left.

Still, the three players did not fall an inch.

Now it’s all about sprinting.

“hook! hook!”

“Ugh!”

“nice! Pfft!”

In a long-distance race, a truly spectacular scene was created, as if watching a 100m race.

“Aaaah!”

When Choi Yun-chil squeezed out his last strength, he crossed the finish line.

3rd place, Emil Zatopek 14 minutes 17.80 seconds.

2nd place, Gaston Etienne, 14 minutes 17.60 seconds.

1st place, Choi Yun-chil 14 minutes 17.40 seconds.

A head-to-head battle with a difference of 0.2 seconds from 1st to 3rd place!

The winner of this duel was Choi Yun-chil.

“Yoonchil!”

“I won!”

“Hahaha!”

“It’s a gold medal!”

Coaches such as Son Ki-jeong and Nam Seung-ryong and fellow players including Seo Yun-bok rushed to hug Choi Yun-chil.

It’s truly an amazing day.

August 7, 1948.

It’s finally the day of the marathon.

“How is everyone?”

“Good, Director.”

“Somehow I think I ate better in London.”

“I feel a little less tired, but it’s worth it.”

Seo Yun-bok and Hong Jong-ho seem to be at their best, but Choi Yun-chil, who ran 5,000m, seems to have not fully recovered from his fatigue yet.

“Yoonchil, you did your part, so if you’re having a hard time, withdraw halfway through.”

“Can you do that? “It seems a little loose, but it has a lot of power.”

“ha ha ha! Okay, let’s all do our best!”

“Yes, director!”

bang!

The players rushed out all at once, but the check on Seo Yun-bok was not very severe.

This was because I knew that Seo Yun-bok won the Boston Marathon last year, setting a new world record.

So, as planned, Choi Yun-chil and Hong Jong-ho surrounded Seo Yun-bok as if they were guarding him, and after passing the 10km mark, all three were able to settle into the leading group.

And from the 20km mark, the leading group was narrowed down again to about 15 people. Fortunately, all three Korean athletes were still in the leading group.

“hook! hook!”

“hook! hook!”

30km point.

Hong Jong-ho fell back little by little, and only about 10 people ran alone.

There are two Korean players, Seo Yun-bok and Choi Yun-chil, three Argentine players, two South African players, and one each from England, Belgium, and Sweden.

35km point.

Seo Yun-bok winked at Choi Yun-chil.

It was a signal to attack and go.

Since there were only about 7km left, it was time to accelerate in spurts.

“hook! hook!”

Seo Yun-bok took a scary hit, followed by Choi Yun-chil.

Then, Argentina’s Delfo Cabrera, England’s Thomas John Henry Richard, and South Africa’s Johannes Coleman chased after him tenaciously.

At the 40km mark, Seo Yun-bok and Choi Yun-chil, the leaders, were separated by about 200 meters from the three group members behind.

“hook! hook! Yoonchil! I can see the stadium! “It’s the last time!”

“omg! omg! Run! older brother!”

Soon, Wembley Stadium.

While the audience was waiting for the No. 1 player to enter, Seo Yun-bok finally appeared on the field as No. 1.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!”

“The Korean player is first place!”

“That player! “I’m the world record holder who took first place in Boston last year!”

And then the second-place player ran into the stadium about 70 meters away.

“Wow wow wow!”

“That player is also a Korean player!”

“This is the athlete who won the 5,000m a few days ago!”

Korean players were coming in first and second place.

Son Ki-jeong and Nam Seung-ryong’s eyes became blurred as they looked at that scene.

“Ki, Ki-jeong! Can you see it?”

“I can see it, I can see it very well! “The Taegeukgi on my chest can be seen so clearly!”

Two people of the same age hugged each other and jumped up and down.

Soon, Seo Yun-bok crossed the finish line in first place, and 10 seconds later, Choi Yun-chil passed.

1st place, Seo Yun-bok, 2 hours 32 minutes 31 seconds.

2nd place, Yunchil Choi, 2 hours 32 minutes 47 seconds.

3rd place, Argentina Delpo Cabrera 2 hours 34 minutes 51 seconds.

The awards ceremony was held shortly afterwards.

Delpo Cabrera, who came in third place, was called up to the podium, followed by Choi Yun-chil and Seo Yun-bok who won silver and gold medals, respectively.

Then, the national anthem rang out and the two Korean flags slowly rose into the sky.

“Keuheuk!”

“Huh!”

Son Ki-jeong and Nam Seung-ryong’s eyes widened.

How much did they try to cover up?

On the podium, Son Ki-jeong held up the flower pot he received as an injury to cover up the Japanese flag, while Nam Seung-ryong did not receive the flower pot, so instead he pulled up his pants up to his solar plexus and tried to cover it up a little.

However, the Taegeukgi instead of the Japanese flag was clearly drawn on the juniors’ hearts, and that relieved the resentment of the two.

Now I had no time to die even if I died.

* * *

August 19, 1948.

Gimpo International Airport.

Today is the return day for the Korean athletes who participated in the London Olympics.

From early morning, the airport was crowded with welcome guests.

Oooooh!

Finally, a C-54 transport plane arrived on the runway, and when the door opened, athletes with medals around their necks, led by Seo Yun-bok, came down the trap.

“Wow wow wow!”

“Great! “The son of Korea!”

“Korea horray!”

Although it is natural in this era, shouts that sound a bit hoarse to modern people were rampant.

After a brief welcoming ceremony at the airport, a car parade was held straight to the General Government Complex.

“Wow wow wow!”

On this day, it seemed like all the citizens of Seoul ran out.

“That’s amazing.”

“Nothing brings people together better than sports.”

As Lee Kang-cheol, who was watching from the government building, expressed his admiration, Minister for Political Affairs Kim Ho-jin spoke next to him.

“This is a bit embarrassing by our standards, but I think we need to pay more attention to sports development for the sake of integration.”

“Hehehe! “It’s natural in these times.”

“Then shall we go out and have a look?”

“That’s right.”

South Korea went crazy with the Olympics all August.

* * *

September 7, 1948.

Far East Command, Khabarovsk, USSR.

“Welcome, Comrade Zhukov. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Alexandr, it’s been a while.”

A short man sitting arrogantly in front of Alexander Vasilevsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Army.

This man is Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, considered the greatest general in Soviet history.

Originally, he would have led the Battle of Berlin, obtained the surrender from Germany, and been demoted after showing all sorts of arrogance, but this time, only the result was similar and the process was a bit different.

Although the process of recapturing Ukraine through the Battle of Kursk was the same as before, Operation Bakration, a full-fledged advance into Europe, failed.

Germany’s Eastern Front Army unwaveringly stopped the Soviet offensive under the command of Marshal Walter Model, a genius in defensive warfare, but the Soviet Army was completely cut off from support from the United States.

Although the Soviet Union’s industrial power was restored, even Zhukov was unable to break through Germany’s defenses on his own, and the war ended with the loss of western Ukraine and most of Belarus.

And the responsibility fell entirely on Zhukov, whose reputation as a general for national salvation was so high that even Stalin could not touch him.

But things changed when Beria decided to touch him.

His personality was so damned and arrogant that he already had many enemies, but after the Battle of Kursk he went around talking as if he had overtaken Stalin and fought this war on his own, which Beria perceived as a weakness.

In the meantime, when even Operation Bakration failed, Beria decided to put him on the chopping block, so even Zhukov of the world had no way to hold on, and was demoted and languished as commander of the rear military district, before returning again as Minister of Defense.

“Okay, just report the situation.”

“We are continuing to move troops and supplies from the west here. The current number of troops is 1.2 million, and we plan to reach 1.5 million before the Manchurian strategic offensive operation in March next year.”

“Hmm, will it be 1.5 million?”

“yes?”

“You told me that before. “They say we will need at least 1.5 million to defeat the Japanese Kwantung Army and conquer Manchuria.”

“Yes, I told you clearly. So, this operation was also planned based on those thoughts.”

“The guys who broke up the Kwantung Army are Korean guys, but are they still thinking of the same strategy?”

“That’s not the case. The operation I was thinking of at the time was based on the time when the Kwantung Army was at its peak, but by the time Korea defeated the Kwantung Army, the Kwantung Army was already a shell. Because all troops and weapons were taken away by the South. Korea is basically a new country. No matter how much support they receive from the United States, it is difficult to compare it to the heyday of the Kwantung Army.”

“So what do you think is that Korea today is worse than it was during the heyday of the Kwantung Army?”

“I basically think of them as equal.”

“Hmm… … .”

Zhukov thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“What is the basis for that?”

“yes?”

“That’s the basis for the Korean military’s strength.”

“Because it is a country so shrouded in mystery, there is no special information. Barry, he didn’t seem to know anything, so he sent spies and scouted in his own way, but it was all in vain. “There is absolutely no space.”

“I heard that too. Anyway, in such a situation, on what basis did you think Korea was on the same level as the Kwantung Army at its peak?”

“In our own way, we analyzed all the data from the time when Korea was under Japanese rule. The population is at best around 30 million, and Manchuria, which was obtained by destroying the Kwantung Army, has not yet been properly integrated. “There is a limit to the power that can be extracted from such a level of national power.”

“Do you really think so?”

“All of our General Headquarters operational staff feel the same way.”

“Huh! “Hey, look at this, Alexandre.”

“Yes, Comrade Zhukov.”

“You are a very good soldier.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“He’s smart and good at planning. To be honest, most of the operations I commanded came from your head. But the thing is, your perspective is too narrow.”

“yes?”

“That’s also why you can’t be number one and always remain number two.”

“… … .”

Zhukov’s harsh words remained the same.