Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 144



Only Krnovel

#144 Disappearing like bubbles in an instant

July 5, 1949, 2 p.m.

Cabinet meeting at the General Government Complex.

It’s Tuesday.

The entire Republic of Korea was in a party mood all weekend due to the victory ceremony, but the atmosphere at the Cabinet meeting was surprisingly calm.

In fact, I felt the joy of victory as much as I felt when the Soviet Union surrendered.

On the contrary, rather than being happy, they seemed tired now from having to keep up with the work piled up in the aftermath of the victory and the foreign guests attending the commemorative ceremony.

“Everyone is having a hard time.”

Lee Kang-cheol also opened his mouth with a tired look.

Honestly, the one who suffered the most was Lee Kang-cheol.

This is because he had no choice but to meet foreign representatives who came as congratulatory envoys, starting with MacArthur.

In the end, Lee Kang-cheol had to entertain them every minute until yesterday, so his fatigue piled up.

“haha! “The one suffering the most is the President.”

“Yes, Secretary General. “I feel like I’m going to die like this.”

“Hey, I think you exaggerated that a bit. President, you are still young, aren’t you?”

“I’m turning 60 soon, right?”

“I’m over seventy, right?”

“… … .”

It was an error to bring up one’s age in front of Minister Kim Ho-jin.

“Anyway, the reason we held a cabinet meeting today despite our busy schedule is because there is an urgent agenda to discuss. First, there was a request from General MacArthur… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol explained in detail MacArthur’s request to improve Korea-Japan relations.

“So, for now, I euphemistically rejected it, but since the person making the request is General MacArthur, it’s uncomfortable to just ignore it completely.”

“It’s not possible. “Even if Grandpa MacArthur, not MacArthur, asks for it, it is premature to establish diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.”

“you’re right! In original history, what happened when Korea and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1965? We must not forget the June 3 Uprising of 1964!”

“Let’s just say that at the time, we had to make 100 concessions and receive compensation! But do we need money now? “What are we regretting that we are already establishing diplomatic ties?”

“I received a proper apology from Emperor Hirohito, and all cultural assets were returned. There are no territorial or territorial issues to negotiate. “There is no reason to establish diplomatic relations so early!”

“… … .”

As expected, everyone opposed it with open arms.

As the ministers who attended the meeting said, there was currently no reason for the Republic of Korea to normalize diplomatic relations with Japan while making negative comments to the people.

“As expected, everyone is against it. By the way, what do you think, Minister-General? “You don’t have anything to say?”

“Hehehe! Would you think differently if it were me? I agree that it is too fast now. There is no real benefit, but we have a lot to lose. In particular, we must not forget that although our government has the full support of the people, it is an imperfect government.”

“Mr. Chancellor! What do you mean by that? “What do you mean by an imperfect regime?”

Someone questioned President Kim Ho-jin’s words.

“I mean, it’s literally not complete. Although we have the full support of the people, and all public officials, including the President, are working hard and making progress day by day, this does not mean that military government becomes civilian government. “It’s true that there is a problem with legitimacy, right?”

“… … .”

“So we have to do better and, if possible, avoid doing things that will get us caught. Of course, national policy does not always have to follow the will of the people. Sometimes, even if there is opposition from the people, there are things that must be done for the future of the country. However, we must be careful, at least until we completely secure legitimacy through elections. “If possible, we should avoid doing anything that goes against the will of the people.”

“I understand what you are saying, Mr. President, but our government’s approval rating has always been above 90%. Then why… … .”

“Tsk! Approval rating? Don’t you know how vain that is? I can’t help but disappear like a bubble in an instant. For example, in our time, President George HW Bush won the Gulf War in 1991 and his approval rating was close to 90%. My son, I’m talking about Father Bush, not that stupid Bush. But was his term successful? “No one doubted his re-election, but wasn’t Bill Clinton ultimately elected president?”

“… … .”

The person who asked the question had to keep quiet.

Because I had nothing to say.

“There are many such examples in our constitutional history, without necessarily looking at examples from the United States. President Kim Young-sa also disbanded Hanahoe like lightning and implemented the real-name financial system, raising the figure to the mid-80%. In the end, it fell to 6% due to the IMF. Do you understand? “If you become arrogant and deceived by things like immediate approval ratings, the end will definitely not be good.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Anyway, that’s true. I think we’re doing really well. Still, politics is fleeting. “There is absolutely no reason for us to rush to establish diplomatic relations with Japan when there is no real benefit to it.”

“I understand, Secretary General. Then, this agenda is definitely rejected… … .”

“Just a moment, Mr. President.”

“yes? “Is there anything else you want to say?”

It was a story that was brought up with the intention of rejecting it anyway, but the opposition from the State Council members is steadfast.

Therefore, when Lee Kang-cheol was about to clearly refuse, Minister Kim Ho-jin spoke again.

“You said the President also felt uncomfortable, right? Because the person who requested it was General MacArthur. I know that person to have a very strong sense of pride, and he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to flatly refuse something that was difficult for him to request. “Maybe if Teacher Woosa had been around, he would have said the same thing.”

“ah… … .”

Gyu-sik Kim was unable to attend today’s meeting because he is currently on a tour of Europe.

“then?”

“Still, please let me save face. “As far as I know, the Japanese government’s biggest regret at the moment is hard currency, and at the moment it desperately wants dollars.”

“I know that, but that doesn’t mean we can provide dollars, right?”

“Of course not. However, please forgive the extent to which Japanese Koreans in Korea send remittances to their family members or relatives remaining in Japan. Even that much would be a great blessing for Japan, and it would also save General MacArthur’s face. “If only a certain amount of money were sent from our country’s Japanese citizens, it would be quite a lot.”

“Hoo? “Is that okay?”

MacArthur is MacArthur.

This means that he is not just a general, but a person with such great influence in the United States that even in history, the Republican Party tried to push him as a presidential candidate in the 1948 presidential election.

Even during World War II, Roosevelt felt burdened.

It was difficult to humiliate such a person.

“Of course, the amount that one person can send must be limited. MacArthur would also be satisfied if we could reasonably improve the currently extremely inconvenient immigration system between the two countries.”

“All right. “Then, please do so.”

In the end, it was a good idea to do as Minister Kim Ho-jin said.

MacArthur, who was still in Korea, returned with great gratitude.

“And President Truman says he’s inviting me to be a state guest.”

“Oh oh! “State visit!”

“I heard that there have been almost no state visits by foreign leaders since President Truman took office!”

“haha! General MacArthur says he wants to discuss the world order after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Even if not, I thought I would take a look, so I plan to accept the invitation.”

“What is your schedule?”

“I received an official invitation from the U.S. Embassy yesterday, and they said they would like to see me as soon as possible. So, I plan to visit the US at the end of this month.”

“You can go a little more comfortably this time.”

“ha ha ha! “I think so.”

In the meantime, when visiting the United States, I used the C-27J Spartan transport aircraft brought from Hyundai or the C-54 received from the United States. The C-27J was fast and had pressurization, but the plane was too small, and the C-54 Skymaster did not have pressurization. Because I didn’t have it, the suffering was extremely severe.

But now that suffering is over.

This is because a new airplane was purchased from the United States last year.

This is Douglas Aircraft’s DC-6, which is said to be the last best-selling propeller airliner.

Although it was still equipped with a cylinder engine, it was the best passenger aircraft at the time, but it originally caused several major accidents in the early days due to various defects.

However, the Korean government was aware of the defects and requested that they be corrected, and thanks to this, a disaster did not occur this time.

Of course, I received generous compensation for it.

In any case, the Korean government purchased six DC-6s, modified them to be equipped with safety and operational convenience equipment, and decided to use them as government planes. Two of them were specially modified as presidential planes.

Of course, the pressurization system was also modernized, so passengers would not have to suffer as before, and the cruising range was considerably longer, so it was possible to reach Washington with only two stopovers.

“So, when will the development of our passenger aircraft be completed?”

“As you know, we are developing the Boeing 707 airliner with target performance, and the prototype will be released by the end of next year.”

The Minister of Science and Technology, the department in charge along with the Ministry of National Defense, quickly responded.

“Then isn’t that too fast?”

“Absolutely not. It’s later this month that British kids will develop the world’s first commercial jetliner and make its first flight. It’s never fast.”

“Huh! “Are British kids that fast?”

Lee Kang-cheol was really surprised.

No matter how rotten it may be, I didn’t know that the first commercial jetliner would already be developed in the UK, not the US.

“Yes, it is. It is called the de Havilland DH.106 Comet, and although it is equipped with a turbojet engine rather than the turbofan engine that modern airliners are equipped with, it was successfully developed and is in operation for quite a long time.”

“So, what about us?”

“It took us a long time to develop a turbofan jet engine to be mounted on modern passenger aircraft from the beginning. “We are going through a lot of trouble developing parts that can withstand high temperatures.”

“So, what about America?”

“In the original history of the United States, the Boeing 707 airliner succeeded in its first flight at the end of 1957. Well, as expected, it was developed as both a military aircraft and a passenger aircraft. But this time it will be a few years early. Because we sold some of our jet engine technology. So Boeing’s 707 and Douglas’ DC-8 are scheduled to come out around the same time with the same engine, a little faster than originally. “We are cooperating with them and keep hearing from them, and we expect development to be completed around 1954.”

“uh? “Then there is no difference between us, is that still okay?”

“ha ha ha! Don’t worry. “We only gave them early turbofan engine technology.”

“And what about our plane?”

“Of course it’s ahead of that. Both fuel efficiency and durability. “The technology we initially sold to the U.S. was given with that in mind.”

“haha! okay.”

“Yes, we will always be 10 years ahead. Not too advanced either. “Isn’t that our policy?”

“ha ha ha! you’re right.”

July 27, 1947.

Lee Kang-cheol boarded three DC-6 planes with an entourage of nearly 200 people and embarked on a state visit to the United States.