Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 232



Only Krnovel

#232 There is no end

“But why was it evaluated that way? I didn’t dig deep, but I heard rumors that it was the cause of the ‘Argentine phenomenon’ or the ‘South American disease’?”

“haha! It was like that. Well, other experts will know the details better than me, but for now, I will just tell you what I thought. Fortunately, I also had the same question as you in the past, so I only scratched the surface.”

“Hoo? Did you say that?”

“Yes, originally I was researching the Falklands War, a territorial dispute between Britain and Argentina, and a question arose, so I studied more. Thanks to this, I roughly remembered when Eva Peron died. ha ha ha!”

“Ah, I see. “I thought it was strange that they seemed to have questions as soon as they heard that President Peron and his wife were here.”

Only then did Kim Gyu-sik understand why Lee Kang-cheol remembered almost exactly the time of death of the wife of the president of another country, who died long ago by modern standards.

“haha! That’s not necessarily true. Eva Peron was very famous. As I said before, life was really dramatic. So much so that there are a ton of musicals and movies about her. So there are quite a few people who are somewhat culturally sophisticated about her, if not exactly, who remember her to the extent that she died young from cancer in the 1950s.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yes, it is. Anyway, let’s get to the point and find out who is the main culprit in ruining Argentina’s economy. In fact, this topic is so inconclusive that it is controversial even among renowned political scientists and economists.”

“Was this such a difficult story? “I don’t think it’s that difficult?”

“ha ha ha! This is really complicated. “The explanations varied depending on the political camp one belonged to, and policies that seemed successful at first turned out to be the main culprit in destroying what little of Argentina’s national wealth was left over time.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, for example, there was a time when Argentina was praised as the darling of neoliberalism that swept South America and the whole world. However, this soon became synonymous with a shovel overnight, as it was said that it was putting Argentina out of breath.”

“her!”

“That means the cause of Argentina’s fall is complex.”

“Whoa! “I don’t know what it is.”

Kim Gyu-sik shook his head.

“ha ha ha! I don’t know much, but this is the conclusion I came to while studying, so just use it as a reference. “Even world-renowned scholars raised their hands and said they couldn’t understand the Argentine economy.”

“Yes, I will.”

“To start with, the Argentinean economist and professor at Harvard University, Rafael di Tella, said this.”

“which?”

“‘If a person dies from 700,000 bullets, it’s hard to know which of them killed him.’”

“yes?”

“That means the causes are complex and diverse.”

“ah… … .”

“Argentina? They say it was a very prosperous country. This is inevitable because the climate is generally mild in a land area more than 12 times the size of the Korean peninsula, and a large temperate grassland called the Pampas is spread out, making it ideal for agriculture as well as livestock farming. “If you really think about common sense, this is a country where you can’t starve even if you want to.”

“I heard so. In particular, the beef was very… … .”

“ha ha ha! Shall we eat grilled beef tomorrow?”

“ha ha ha! “I will try to quietly spread the word to Poland.”

When the topic of beef came up, the two people’s mouths watered.

“Anyway, Argentina was a blessed country. From the late 19th century, large-scale agriculture and livestock farming developed, accumulating capital of large landowners, and with the influx of capital from Europe such as England and France, general industry also began to develop. In 1913, the first subway in South America was opened. “It was only about 10 years later than Boston, USA in 1901.”

“That’s right! In our country at that time… … .”

“Yes, some time after our country was ruled by Gyeongsulgukchi. In any case, Argentina’s prosperity was enormous. Not only was there an influx of capital from Europe, but there was also an immigration craze, which brought in a huge number of people. At that time, 30,000 miles in search of my mother… … . “Oh, you don’t know about this.”

“30,000 miles to find mom?”

“haha! It is one of the short stories from a fairy tale called Cuore, originally written by an Italian author, but Japanese children later adapted it and made it into a full-length cartoon. “It’s a masterpiece.”

“Cuore? Where do you think I heard this before? Boy in love? “School of Love?”

“100 million! No, how do you know about the school of love? What was known in our country was the ‘School of Love’?”

“uh? That was it? “The book was famous in China and Korea as well.”

“huh? is it so?”

“ha ha ha! Although the book is a fairy tale, it contains a lot of content that stimulates nationalism. There was a lot of content that promoted patriotism. In particular, the ‘Boy Patriot of Pajua’ episode was really… … .”

“Pajuah boy patriot?”

“Why is it there? A boy was sold to France and suffered hardships before returning home on a boat. The foreigners on the boat gave him a few pennies out of sympathy and curiosity. But when they criticize Italy, the cheerful boy throws a coin and shouts:

“I beg your pardon?”

“You bastards, I won’t give you the money of those damned bastards who insult our sacred country, so take it back!”

“ah! Patriot boy! “Keuuu!”

“The boy’s true patriotism! Anyway, it was translated as ‘Education of Love’ in China and became a huge hit, and in Korea in the 20s, it was already translated under the titles ‘School of Love’ and ‘Boy of Love’. Of course, I also read both the Chinese and Korean versions.”

“aha! “It was something like that.”

This was the first time Lee Kang-cheol realized that The School of Love was such a fundamental book.

“ha ha ha! It’s a masterpiece! “School of Love!”

“ha ha ha! you’re right! Big! I really can’t watch it without tears… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

The story kept leaking out.

From beef to the school of love.

“Hum hum! Anyway, yes. Anyway, Argentina continued to prosper. Because South America was free from World War I, it continued to develop even after the war ended until the Great Depression hit, and was able to avoid World War II. but!”

“but?”

“On the outside it seemed like I was making progress, but on the inside I was already rotting. “Because industrialization had come to an end, Argentina’s national wealth actually came from agriculture and ranching, but the problem was that this was monopolized by a small number of large landowners.”

“Hoo? “It was exactly the right conditions for communism and the left to emerge, right?”

Communism tends to grow well in areas where there is a severe gap between the rich and the poor and a structural fixation of status.

“you’re right. It is said that the rich landowners at that time really had no control over their money. However, the workers below them, who made up the majority of the people, had to suffer in poverty. “There was almost no middle class.”

“No, that’s why President Peron came to power. “Then isn’t their policy the right one?”

“That’s right. It was President Peron and his wife Eva who scratched the itch of the poor. In particular, Eva had more symbolism because she herself came from a poor background. “She was not revered as a saint for nothing.”

“Hoo?”

“In this way, Peron sought to increase workers’ income by excluding foreign capital, nationalizing industry, and greatly increasing welfare benefits such as public health care and public transportation. “While calling for the expansion of the middle class.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Kim Gyu-sik really didn’t understand.

In his opinion, the policies that Lee Kang-cheol just mentioned all amounted to selection, and not only the Republic of Korea but also most countries during this period were pursuing similar policies.

But why is it only Argentina that is the problem?

“The problem is this. Peron’s policies actually had a populist character and were implemented hastily in the absence of a long-term strategy. Import substitution industrialization actually proceeded at a pace that Argentina could not afford, so although it seemed effective at first, it later had a self-defeating effect. No, we need to create conditions for self-reliance and ban imports, so what are we going to do if we just ban imports?”

“Well, I see.”

“As a result, we ended up relying more on imports. And, the problem was the corporatism that arose in the process of creating and governing the government.”

“What is unionism?”

“Unionism is the idea that major groups that make up society, such as worker groups, are organized into ‘unions’ and officially participate in relevant policy organizations of the state, adjusting and compromising their interests with other groups with the government.”

“Does that sound like a good thing?”

It sounded like a really good thing to say.

Isn’t it?

What does it mean for the major groups that make up society to participate in policies with the government while also compromising and adjusting their interests with other groups?

“That’s a very nice thing to say. “It’s also very idealistic.”

“So?”

“As I just said, what is ‘ideal’ is the problem. In Peronism, syndicalism is cleverly integrated as one of the three major axes along with populism and nationalism. This is not unreasonable when the world is going well, but when things are not going well, it acts in a very bad way. “This kind of Peronism basically has no choice but to lead to protectionist nationalism.”

“I guess so.”

“However, as the external situation worsens and the export market decreases, substituting imports increases the introduction of necessary equipment and intermediate goods. Then, the foreign exchange situation worsens and an economic crisis occurs. Then, the government’s fiscal revenue decreases, but the government’s expenditures and the deficit of state-owned enterprises increase. Then, more currency will be issued to make up for the deficit.”

“A vicious cycle begins.”

“That’s right. That’s why unprepared protectionism is so scary. A more serious problem is that the alliance that supported Peronism is starting to break away. This is because groups can no longer resolve their interests through coordination and compromise. So what started to come out… … .”

“Coup d’etat!”

“bingo! “It is also a tragedy for Argentina that very ignorant and vicious people take over power.”

“… … .”

In underdeveloped or developing countries, soldiers are often the highest elite of that society.

So, they became obsessed with the desire to rule themselves, and although it is a consequential story, there were often cases where the military ruled and the results were not bad.

But that wasn’t the case at all, at least not in Argentina.

That’s why it’s a tragedy.

“I don’t know much, but I know roughly what you mean. But still, isn’t it strange to say that President Peron is the main culprit that ruined Argentina?”

“This is why the story of Argentina is so complicated. “There is no end.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol thought he should finish it as simply as possible.

It seemed like the sun would rise like this.