Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 214



Only Krnovel

#214 If that damn human being

February 6, 1953.

After a long period of construction, the Blue House was finally completed.

Construction began in the fall of 1949, and was a major project that lasted three and a half years.

This too was completed early because there were no complicated administrative procedures, and all the land near the planned site of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Blue House was purchased, so there were no obstacles.

The general consensus was that in modern times it would have taken at least five years.

The person in charge of this major construction was Yeocheon Kim Jung-eop, a representative of the first generation of Korean architects.

He was chosen when the person responsible for the construction was being discussed. At that time, it was difficult to find an architect as good as Kim Chung-up, and Kim Swoo-geun, another representative architect of the Republic of Korea, was mentioned because he was 9 years younger than Kim Chung-up, born in 1922, and was still a student. It was not even included in the target.

Even if Kim Swoo-geun had reached his age in the first place, he would not have been chosen because there was a lot of controversy in modern history.

Of course, there were architects of the generation before them, such as Park Dong-jin, Kang Yun, and Lee Cheon-seung, but Kim Jung-up was still the leader.

In any case, Kim Chung-up, who was selected as such, was given several people in charge of architecture and construction included in the expedition team.

Even though Kim Jung-up was responsible for the overall design and design, someone who learned from Hyundai was needed to equip it with modern construction methods and internal facilities.

Thanks to this, Kim Chung-up was almost forcibly sent to France in 1947, a few years earlier than originally scheduled, and studied abroad for nearly three years as a disciple of Le Corbusier, who was called the father of modernist architecture. After returning to Korea, he studied abroad. I immediately started working on the construction of the Blue House.

In order to ensure a smooth design, he was sworn to secrecy and granted limited computer access. Kim Chung-up was surprised at first, but since he was still young in his early 30s, he quickly learned the architectural design program.

“The core theme of this work can be said to be the coexistence of the past and the present.”

Kim Chung-up held the microphone at the completion ceremony and opened his mouth.

“As you know, the site of the official residence of the President of the Republic of Korea, named the Blue House, was originally the Bukwon of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was a palace garden created during the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace during the reign of King Gojong. And in the center, an empty lot was created to play the same role as Chundangdae (春塘臺) at Changdeokgung Palace, and it was called Gyeongmudae (景武臺).”

“Oh, I see. That’s why it was called Gyeongmudae.”

“That’s right. The official residence of the Japanese Government General of Korea, which was recently dismantled and moved to Independence Hall, was called Gyeongmudae, right? That’s where it comes from.”

“Wow.”

“Yes, that’s where the Japanese built the Japanese Government-General’s residence. Well, they are the ones who demolished the royal palace and built the government-general building, so I won’t say more about that.”

“… … .”

Kim Jung-up seemed to be thirsty, drank a glass of water, and then opened his mouth again.

“I couldn’t help but think about the past because it is a place where history breathes and where our country’s pain is buried. And since it will be a building that represents our Republic of Korea in the future and where the President will work and live, we couldn’t help but think about functionality as well.”

“That is correct.”

“That’s why we decided on the theme of the coexistence of the past and the present. It was designed to have the appearance and modern functionality of Korea’s representative Hanok while preserving existing or existing pavilions and pavilions as much as possible. So, not only Yungmundang and Yungmudang, but also Chimryugak, Ohunjeong, and Okryeonjeong were all saved. In addition, new buildings such as the Blue House main building have the exterior appearance of a traditional Korean house, but the interior was designed in a modern style to ensure that the President does not feel inconvenienced while working and living. also… … .”

After Kim Chung-up’s explanation, which lasted about 30 minutes, a tape-cutting ceremony followed.

When the event was over, Lee Kang-cheol called the architect and construction manager from Hyundai who worked with Kim Chung-up and congratulated them on their hard work.

“It was really hard. In particular, Mr. Kim Jung-up designed it really well. “I like it very much.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. It wasn’t just me who had a hard time, but also the hard work of those who worked with me. I really learned a lot while working together. “I had no idea that there were objects in the world that could be designed so easily, and I learned a lot of construction methods that I had never heard of.”

“No, Mr. Kim had the hardest time.”

“haha! “The design sense was exactly what I had heard.”

When Kim Chung-up attributed the credit to themselves, the people from Hyundai looked pleased and also gave the credit to Kim Chung-up.

I would have been truly happy.

As if collaborating with Kim Jung-up, whom they knew as a legend while learning, was not enough, they were able to teach them in some aspects.

“ha ha ha! Everyone had a hard time. “I will make sure you receive a separate reward.”

“thank you. “Then I have one request.”

“hmm? “Mr. Kim, please speak comfortably.”

“The design programs I learned this time. I think it would be great for other architects to learn as well… … .”

“haha! That’s a bit tricky. “As you may have heard while learning, there are many reasons.”

“Ah yes… … .”

“We plan to open slowly with time to spare. However, Mr. Kim will continue to be able to use it in national projects.”

“ha… … .”

“hmm? Why are you sighing?”

“I became completely accustomed to the program while working on this project. From now on, I can’t imagine working without that program. So, I have no choice but to continue to focus on national projects in the future, right?”

“hmm? is that so? ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

Lee Kang-cheol and the others laughed out loud while looking at Kim Jung-up, who was in tears.

After moving into the Blue House, Lee Kang-cheol left the General Government Complex and started working in the Blue House office.

Originally, the Blue House was criticized as being overly authoritarian and too far away from the secretariat building, Yeomin-gwan, which isolated the president and made work inefficient, so this time, the president was created to be able to work organically with his secretaries in one building.

Also, the size of the office was not too large to prevent people from saying that it was unnecessarily authoritarian.

“how is it? “Is it worth it?”

A few days later, Ko Seok-man, who visited the Blue House, asked:

“Well, it’s okay. Above all, it was built in response to criticism from the Blue House, so it was easy to work with.”

“Then that’s a relief. Actually, the Blue House was really talkative.”

“That’s right.”

“Ah, the Director of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Chiefs of Staff of each service are waiting.”

“okay? Ask them to come in. “Let’s have a meeting.”

“yes.”

After a while, the meeting began in Lee Kang-cheol’s office.

“Please come quickly.”

“Hey? “The office is really nice.”

“I see? Is it really good? “Not too big?”

“If you’ve just seen it, sit down. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“haha! yes.”

“I called you today, as I announced in advance, to inspect our Armed Forces weapons modernization project. When I went to the United States last month, President Truman said that the Republic of China had requested weapons supply, so I told them to just give it to him. I didn’t think it would matter much since we were switching to modern weapons anyway. Shall we start with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?”

“Hmm… … .”

Nam Byeong-woo, who recently resigned from the position of Army Chief of Staff and became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“As the President said, I don’t think it will have a big impact. Our Armed Forces are in the process of being replaced with new weapons one after another as the industrial base becomes established. Moreover, if it goes as we expected, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Republic of China’s military to be somewhat well-armed and give them some relief.”

“yes?”

“Yes, it is.”

“What does Army General Chung think?”

“I agree. “As long as it’s not too over-armed.”

“Are we continuing to deploy our new tanks?”

“Yes, that’s right. All personal weapons are being replaced with K-series rifles, and new tanks and infantry fighting vehicles are coming out one after another. “The new self-propelled howitzer is scheduled to be mass-produced starting in the second half of this year, with performance between the K55 and K9 self-propelled guns.”

The new Army Chief of Staff Chung Seon-ho also agreed.

“Director of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“There is no problem, right?”

“That’s right. As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, as our industrial base is modernized, domestically produced weapons are coming out one after another. “Surplus weapons from World War II will be no match for us.”

“Okay, please make sure there are no disruptions.”

“All right.”

“What about the Air Force?”

“The new jet fighter is well on its way to deployment. “It doesn’t matter as long as the United States doesn’t give us jet fighters.”

“You said our new jet fighter has about the same performance as the F-20, right?”

“That’s right. The only difference between our new F-1 fighter jet is that it is twin-engined, and the rest is almost as close to the performance of the F-20 fighter jet. “You can’t fight it with a propeller fighter.”

The F-20 fighter is the final evolved version of the F-5 series produced by Northrop Grumman.

It was originally developed by Northrop after seeing the demand for replacement of the F-5 fighter jets distributed in large numbers to America’s allies. Although it boasted high performance comparable to that of the early F-16 model, it was an unfortunate fighter that was not adopted by any country due to a series of crashes of the prototypes. It was.

However, it went back in time and was reborn as Korea’s new jet fighter.

The only difference is that the F404 single turbofan engine was replaced with a domestic twin turbofan.

In any case, it would become a fighter jet like Lu Bu not only in the 1950s but also afterward.

“General Kim Jong-woo, how about the Navy?”

“As long as you don’t give me a submarine, it doesn’t matter what I give you.”

“okay? But why submarines?”

“Submarines are difficult. “No matter how old she is, her mere existence poses a threat if the enemy operates her.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not for nothing that even modern times continue to operate trash like North Korea’s old Romeo class and Whiskey class. “It’s because it’s a submarine.”

“Right.”

“Anyway, submarines are a no-no. “Nothing else matters.”

“I get it. By the way, how is it going?”

“If that’s the case, is that it?”

“Yes, that.”

Lee Kang-cheol, who was asking the question, and Kim Jong-woo, who was answering the question, understood it perfectly even though they only said ‘that’ to each other.

“There is no problem with that either. We are jointly developing it in cooperation with the United States, and it would be perfect as long as those damn humans don’t scratch their heads.”

“That damned human being, Admiral Hyman Rickover?”

“Yes, it is. “Anyway, there are very few people who don’t feel indignant because of that person.”

“Well, really. “Hagi must have created that because he was so thorough and eccentric.”

“Well, there is that aspect to it.”

Admiral Hyman Rickover.

He is a very great and famous person.

With a damn personality.