Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 203



Only Krnovel

#Episode 203 Our people are doing it

MacArthur’s words to Go Seok-man: Stop and forgive Japan.

In short, it is asking for formal diplomatic relations with Japan and economic cooperation.

And it was natural that Go Seok-man’s brow furrowed at those words.

Forgive Japan?

To put it bluntly, this is something that even Lee Kang-cheol, the absolute powerhouse in Korea, cannot easily decide.

Who is saying that Japan can be forgiven at will?

It was an issue that, if done wrong, could turn away from the people who support it as solidly as concrete, so no one spoke about it and there was no reason to bring it up.

In particular, there was a lot of resistance from modern expeditionary forces, such as Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man.

Although it was the situation at the time, not only did it trigger the June 3rd Uprising at the time due to excessively lax negotiations, but it also caused the sloppy negotiation due to the rush to pay compensation, leaving a stain on Korea-Japan relations even in the future.

Moreover, as was originally the case in history, reparations were not necessary for economic development.

No, what do you need?

The $300 million that was received in compensation at the time?

And that’s ‘Japanese products and Japanese services’ worth $30 million every year for 10 years?

That means it’s not even cash.

In fact, 44.2% of the free $300 million, or $132.82 million, was used by Korea Exchange Bank to import raw materials, 10.3%, or $30.84 million, was used to develop agricultural water, and 10.2%, or $30.8 million, was used to build the Pohang Integrated Steel Plant. (Pohang Steel used 44.3%, or $88.68 million, of the $200 million long-term loan.)

And the rest were received as fishing boats and weather forecasting facilities.

In addition, there was also a long-term low-interest loan of $200 million that was to be loaned in installments over 10 years, but the total amount is $500 million.

There is an additional $300 million in private commercial loans, but it is somewhat ambiguous to include purely private loans.

In any case, $500 million is less than a fraction of the dollars that South Korea currently earns per month.

That kind of money was originally written off in history.

For a total of $50 million per year, both paid and free.

Of course, there is a view that it was an urgent need for economic development at the time, and it cannot be denied that it was actually used usefully and served as a cornerstone of Korea’s economic development.

On the contrary, it also served as an opportunity to deepen trade dependence on Japan.

In any case, it was too sloppy, and things that really needed to be sorted out were overlooked.

Also, there was no clear explanation as to why they were receiving money from Japan.

It should be made clear that damages caused by Japan’s illegal actions will be ‘compensated’, but such a statement is not mentioned at all.

Even the name of the agreement is unpleasant.

‘Agreement on the Settlement of Problems concerning Property and Claims and the Economic Cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Japan’ attached to the Korea-Japan Basic Treaty What do you mean?

Then, in the preamble, ‘The Republic of Korea and Japan, in the hope of resolving the issues regarding the property of the two countries and their citizens and the rights of claims between the two countries and their citizens, and in the hope of promoting economic cooperation between the two countries, have agreed as follows.’ All that is written is the purpose.

In other words, it simply means resolving the bond and debt relationship between Korea and Japan in accordance with Article 4 of the San Francisco Treaty.

It is absolutely not ‘compensation’ for all the illegal acts committed by Japan against the Korean people from the end of Joseon until liberation.

In addition, the Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement and the Cultural Heritage Agreement, which were concluded together, showed the utmost carelessness and became a problem for a long time.

In conclusion, the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan in the original history was that all past and current issues were buried in a rush to simply receive $500 million for free or in exchange, without any settlement of the colonial past.

Of course, the situation at the time was desperate.

Aid from the United States was decreasing day by day, and it was difficult to find a decent factory in the country.

It was a time when the population engaged in agriculture reached as much as 70%, and barley farming was commonplace.

Needless to say, there was unemployment.

In such a situation, the first five-year economic development reform was established with the goal of an annual growth rate of 7.1%, but what must there be in order to achieve economic development?

Therefore, the politicians at the time would have had no choice but to hang on to claims against Japan.

However, no matter how economically desperate the situation was at the time, there was bound to be a lot of regret.

There have been previous attempts to establish diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.

It began in October 1951, during the Korean War, through the good offices of Siebold, the Foreign Affairs Director of the Allied Supreme Command, but in October 1953, Japan’s chief representative, Kanjirō Kubota, declared that Japan’s 36-year rule over Korea was important for Korea’s modernization. They said it was beneficial, but it ended with an outrageous statement saying that if Japan had not ruled, Korea would have been taken over by China or Russia and would have been more miserable.

The talks resumed five years later in April 1958 due to the demand for Japanese capitalism, which made a lot of money from the Korean War, to enter the Korean market, but as expected, it ran into difficulties due to issues of claims and fishing rights, and the issue of repatriation of Koreans living in Japan to North Korea also arose, leading to support. It was sluggish and eventually stopped at 4.19 and 5.16.

In this way, negotiations that had dragged on for almost 15 years ended in vain.

Because of $500 million, both paid and free.

In any case, is there any reason for the current government, knowing these unpleasant facts, to rush to establish diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan?

Of course, the situation now is 180 degrees different from the original history.

The King of Japan personally apologized at the conclusion of the war treaty, and this fact was clearly stated in writing.

In addition, territories including Hokkaido and Okinawa were received as compensation, and almost all looted cultural assets were recovered.

There were countless war criminals who were hung on the gallows.

economy?

As mentioned earlier, Korea is currently leading the global trade market with advanced technology and knowledge.

When it came to money, there was too much.

In short, the current Republic of Korea did not feel any need to establish diplomatic relations with Japan.

It was obvious that he would either be criticized for needlessly offending the public, or he would only create something for attack on the Liberal Democratic Party in the run-up to the presidential election.

Of course, since it is a neighboring country and a large country in its own way, relations should be normalized at some point, but the current government’s firm position was that at least not now.

In this situation, MacArthur kept getting involved, and Ko Seok-man was internally annoyed, but did not show it out loud.

Although it is said that MacArthur will soon retire from his position as commander of the Allied Supreme Command, he is a legend of the U.S. military no matter what anyone says.

It was something that could not be done carelessly.

Of course, there were friendships built up as neighbors.

Go Seok-man decided to speak honestly.

“General.”

“Please speak, General Go.”

“We’re friends, right?”

“ha ha ha! I’m not a person with many friends, but General Go is still my friend. At least I think so.”

“Ha, I also consider the General a friend. So let me be honest. Why on earth are you telling us to hold Japan’s hand? “When a similar story came up last time, I said that it would definitely be difficult for a while, right?”

“Whoa! I know it too. But it is not very good for Japan’s situation. Although we have been steadily rebuilding over the past eight years, there is still a long way to go. Not only has that damned LeMay bastard destroyed the country so much, but your country is blocking the entire continent, so there aren’t many ways to trade. “This makes it difficult to revive on our own.”

MacArthur was right about this.

Moreover, I don’t know about MacArthur, but American aid has always been inferior to that of Europe.

This was done intentionally by Truman, who knew the future would be slightly seasoned.

Since the Korean War did not break out, Japan is bound to have difficulties rebuilding its economy no matter how basic it is.

“Why does the General care about that? Eight years have passed, but Japan was an enemy country, an enemy country! “But why is the General doing this?”

“General High, that’s it. I ruled it myself for about 8 years. Almost like the king of Japan. As a result, something that wasn’t there before started to appear.”

“omg… … .”

“Besides, the Japanese should have been nicer to me. Many Japanese people have sent and are sending me letters and postcards of gratitude. That’s over hundreds of thousands of letters. “They even say that in rural areas, they hang up my picture and bow to me in the morning and evening.”

“… … .”

“It’s been eight years like that. At some point, I had no choice but to forgive the Japanese, and at some point I even thought of them as my own people. “I also feel responsible for ensuring that they live well.”

“driving me crazy… … .”

Go Seok-man thought MacArthur’s words were absurd, but at the same time, he understood them.

If the people who worshiped him so much were having a hard time, even if it were him, he would have stepped up for them.

However, what cannot be done cannot be done.

To put it bluntly, even if Go Seok-man and Lee Kang-cheol wanted to do it, they couldn’t do it.

“General, that is entirely beyond my authority. No, even if our president steps forward, it will be difficult right now. Forgive Japan? Who on earth is forgiving? “Is it okay for me and our president to forgive?”

“Yeah… … .”

“Listen to me more. Forgiveness is what our people do. “Our people suffered under the Japanese rule for decades.”

“No, I mean, isn’t it enough for the Korean government to say that we should forgive each other and get along as neighbors? “To be honest, there are some things I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“It has been said that the people of the Republic of Korea suffered from Japan for a long time, but in the end, the ultimate winner is the Republic of Korea, right?”

“what?”

“Am I wrong? In the end, we won the war, right? You definitely received an apology from Emperor Hirohito, right? In addition, war criminals were hanged, and quite a bit of territory was obtained as compensation. Above all, your country is now one of the most powerful countries in the world. “Isn’t it time for the winner to take his time?”

“… … .”

Go Seok-man kept his mouth shut.

The final winner was definitely Korea.

“Besides, wouldn’t the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan be beneficial to your country? Although your country has expanded its territory and population a lot in recent years, Japan still has a population of 70 million. Even if you simply look at it as an economic market, it is not a small market. “With your country’s technology and product capabilities, there is no doubt that it will be a huge success in Japan.”

“… … .”

“So what I’m saying is this. Even if it’s not right away, I’m asking you to at least bring it up and make it public. Do you know anything? “Will your people forgive you?”

Go Seok-man seemed to be trying to stop MacArthur.

As I listened to what he said, I felt that it was subtly reasonable.

Go Seok-man thought for a moment and opened his mouth again.

“General.”

“Say it.”

“For now, not until the presidential election.”

“That’s it… … .”

“And not until the end of next year when GHQ is disbanded. Then, we will talk about it little by little.”

“A little early… … .”

“Oh, really?”

“Okay, I got it.”

Go Seok-man’s thoughts became complicated.