Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 114



Only Krnovel

#114. I’m really sick of it

February 1, 1949, 6 p.m.

“Call sign HLKA, this is KBS, Seoul, South Korea.”

While war clouds hung in the air, TV broadcasting began in earnest.

After pilot broadcasting in the metropolitan area since the second half of last year, official broadcasting began on February 1.

Some argued that the opening should be postponed due to the fact that war was imminent, but the general consensus, including Lee Kang-cheol and Political Affairs Minister Kim Ho-jin, was to broadcast as scheduled, so it proceeded as scheduled.

“In times like these, the role of TV is more important. TV is on a different level from radio. In fact, it is an important means of communicating the war situation to the people and uniting them, so why delay this? If you pull, it pulls… .”

It was Minister Kim Ho-jin’s argument, and everyone agreed.

Moreover, so far, the public has not been informed that a war with the Soviet Union is imminent.

This is because there was no need to create unnecessary anxiety before war actually broke out.

No one in modern times thought that the Soviet Union or anything else would lose the war, but most people did not.

It’s the Soviet Union.

It would be strange if the general public were not anxious.

It was a time when there was no internet or anything.

Newspapers were the only communication channel for decades, but it wasn’t long before radio became popular.

When we moved from newspapers to the radio era, the effects on national unity, publicity, and education were enormous, and now TV has come out that you can watch.

From now on, a completely different world has opened up.

Anyway, the first broadcast began, and President Lee Kang-cheol and Mr. Kim Gu appeared and gave congratulatory remarks.

Of course, it was recorded in advance.

Originally, all TV broadcasts during this time were live broadcasts.

Everything, whether it was a drama or not, was broadcast live, and even the commercials were broadcast live.

The reason is that there was no proper means of recording in this era, and even after recording methods were developed later, many creative works and records disappeared due to the practical reason that expensive tapes had to be recycled.

So, there were no old materials left from the 1950s, 1960s, or even 70s.

But that didn’t happen now.

A lot of the core broadcasting equipment was imported from modern times, but the storage methods were all based on modern technology.

And this could not be helped until the magnetic tape currently under development was mass-produced, so the broadcasting station’s core technicians were all made up of modern people, and access to key equipment was completely blocked.

The technicians complained that it was cumbersome, but they couldn’t show something like SDD in the 1940s.

Anyway, all the members of the State Council gathered together to watch the first opening broadcast.

“Oh oh! “The picture quality is better than I thought?”

“It really is. “Wow, I never thought you could see color TV broadcasts in the 1940s.”

“Hiya? “The cathode ray tube isn’t as convex as I thought, is it?”

Everyone said something, and the response was okay.

The picture quality was unexpectedly good.

“Minister of Culture, what is the current status of TV distribution?”

“Yes, Mr. President. 100,000 24-inch units were purchased and installed not only on the Korean Peninsula but also throughout the special administrative region. “Focus on places where people can gather, such as schools, government offices, train and bus stops, intersections, squares, military bases, community halls, markets, etc.”

“haha! Well done! TV has infinite value for public interest, such as publicity for government affairs and national unity. Continue to supply more. “And what about individual purchases?”

“It is still expensive, equivalent to 10 bags of rice for a 24-inch screen, so it has not been sold in large numbers. It has been on the market since the second half of last year and is said to have sold about 30,000 units to date. However, now that broadcasting has begun in earnest, sales will gradually increase and prices will go down as production quantity increases.”

“That’s not that bad.”

It’s definitely not a bad price.

Originally, when the first TV broadcast began in 1956, one 24-inch TV could be purchased for as much as 26 bags of rice.

Moreover, considering that the price of rice during this period was much cheaper due to the Agricultural Revolution, the gap widened further.

“What are the channels and broadcast times?”

“Until this year, there is only one channel, KBS1, but starting next year, we plan to establish KBS2 and EBS, an educational broadcasting station. In that case, KBS1 will be in charge of reporting and cultural affairs, and KBS2 will be in charge of other entertainment, dramas, and movies. Of course, EBS is in charge of education.”

“haha! “Is that the same as Hyundai?”

“ha ha ha! you’re right. And the broadcast time will be 6 hours from 6 PM to midnight from now until the end of June, and an additional 4 hours from 6 AM to 10 AM starting in the second half of the year.”

“What about weekends?”

“Currently, it is impossible to broadcast full-day due to lack of content. So, starting in the second half of the year, we plan to move to an all-day broadcasting system on Saturdays and Sundays.”

“It’s okay for now.”

Considering the times, it’s not a good thing.

As soon as the opening ceremony was over, the opening commemorative show began, and the biggest stars of the time came out and performed.

Lee Aeri-soo, who retired due to opposition from her husband’s family, came back and sang Hwangseong Old Site, and Kim Jeong-gu received applause through the tear-soaked Duman River.

Next, Park Hyang-rim sang Punggakjaengi with her older brother, Baeknyeonseol sang The Sorrow of a Traveler and A Inn Without a Bedroom, and Nam In-su sang Soyagok of Sorrow.

And Hyeon-in, one of the best singers since liberation, sang Silla’s Moonlight Night and the new song Lucky Seoul, making the concert hall a melting pot of enthusiasm.

However, the State Council members, including Lee Kang-cheol, were in awe.

First of all, it seems like it was planned to watch the opening commemorative show together, but it was too low-level for the State Council members to watch.

Excluding the Minister of Political Affairs, the current members of the State Council are in their 40s and 50s and are not at all the generation that can be heard.

Therefore, there is no way that the old Hwangseong site could be seen in the eyes and ears of modern people who sing Lee Moon-se, Yoon Do-hyun, and IU’s songs passionately in karaoke rooms.

So, I have no choice but to be bored and crazy.

Except for only one person, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of this era, Woosa Kim Gyu-sik.

“Hahaha!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Well done!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

In the end, Lee Kang-cheol strapped his gun.

“Hum hum, over there, Minister of Culture.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Did you leave the TV at Teacher Woosa’s house?”

“Of course. After consulting with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, I gave it to all senators and people of the same rank. “We plan to sequentially supply free products to other independence fighters as soon as they are produced.”

“You did very well. Then, let’s stop today’s event, right? Aren’t you all busy? “Did you guys go home and take a look?”

“great!”

“Oh my, work has piled up… … .”

“… … .”

It seemed that modern people would not be watching TV, at least for the time being.

Except for the news.

* * *

February 11, 1949.

Yongsan Ministry of National Defense Building underground bunker.

“The President is coming.”

When Lee Kang-cheol entered the bunker, everyone stood up.

“Everyone sit down. And from now on, at least during times of war, don’t show unnecessary courtesy.”

“All right. By the way, are you wearing a military uniform?”

After Lee Kang-cheol took office as president, he did not wear military uniform as much as possible.

This is because I did not want to give off the smell of military rule.

“Well, I plan to only wear military uniforms until the war with the Soviet Union ends. “This is also convenient.”

“haha! “It seems like you really don’t like suits.”

“You know well, right? I don’t really like wearing uniforms? “Anyway, let’s begin.”

“all right.”

“Who will be briefing?”

“Hong Jin-taek will do it.”

“oh! General Hong!”

“Fuhaha!”

“ha ha ha!”

Hong Jin-taek had recently become a brigadier general by wearing a star, and today, for the first time, he came out with a star on his uniform, which made Lee Kang-cheol subtly tease him.

This may be because Hong Jin-taek is young, but Hong Jin-taek is now in his early 40s and is actually a lieutenant colonel in modern times.

“Ha, this is Brigadier General Hong Jin-taek of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Let the briefing begin.”

“haha! Okay, let’s start.”

“Hmm!”

Hong Jin-taek seemed to quickly change the mood, displayed a map on the large screen and opened his mouth.

“Currently, it has been confirmed that the Soviet Army has completed the movement and deployment of troops and materials from the West to the Far East. According to Albatross video information, wiretapping, and wiretapping, the ground forces consisted of four armies: the 1st Far Eastern Front, the 2nd Far Eastern Front, the 3rd Far Eastern Front, and the Zabaikal Front, with a total of 2.1 million troops. no see.”

“… … .”

“And the Navy has a total of 130,000 troops from the Pacific Fleet and Amur Squadron deployed to combat. Therefore, the total number of troops mobilized by the Soviet Army in this war, including ground forces and navy, is 2.23 million. Air forces were included in the ground forces.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

No matter how many times you listen to it, you will get tired of it.

It’s more than 2 million, it’s 2.23 million.

“The troop deployment is as follows. Look at the screen. As you can see, the Soviet Union’s military deployment was along the borders of the Ussuri River in the east and the Amur River in the north. The 1st Far Eastern Front was concentrated in the Primorsky Krai centered on Vladivostok, and the 2nd Far Eastern Front was concentrated north of Heihe from Khabarovsk. And the Javaikal Front Army was deployed in Outer Mongolia, that is, in the northern part of the Outer Mongolian People’s Republic.”

“What about the 4th Far Eastern Front?”

“The 4th Far Eastern Front is behind the Zabaikal Front. Judging from the deployment area, it is judged to have a strong reserve force nature.”

“Right.”

“Then, let me tell you in detail about the strength of the Soviet army. First, the 1st Far Eastern Front Army in the Primorsky Krai. The commander is Marshal Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov. Born in 1897, he served as commander of the Volkhov Front during the Spanish Civil War and the Finnish War. The strength of the 1st Far Eastern Front is as follows.”

“… … .”

“We have four combined arms armies: the 5th Army, the 1st Red Flag Army, the 35th Army, and the 25th Army, as well as the 10th Mechanized Corps, the Guchuevsk Operational Group, the 9th Air Army, and other reserve units. The number of divisions is 31 rifle divisions, 1 cavalry division, 12 tank brigades, and 2 mechanized brigades, with a total strength of more than 580,000 men.”

“Well, is that the 1st Far Eastern Front Army?”

“31 rifle divisions alone?”

“You’re crazy.”

“So the 1st Far Eastern Front is the strongest?”

“no. The strongest of the four invading armies is the Zabaikal Front. The total number of troops here is over 650,000. ah! “You missed one.”

“huh? “What are you missing from there?”

“It doesn’t mean much, but the Zabaikal Front Army also includes the Army of the Outer Mongolian People’s Republic of Cheoyi. “The number of troops is approximately 100,000.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“I’m really sick of it… … .”

Like someone said, I’m really sick of it.