Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 235



Only Krnovel

#235 Can you be confident?

The next destination after Poland was Yugoslavia, which Bismarck referred to as the “powder keg of Europe.”

Yugoslavia was not originally included in the list of countries to visit, but due to the disruption of the itinerary caused by France, it was hastily decided to visit two days later after Poland.

Of course, the Yugoslav side strongly hoped for Lee Kang-cheol’s visit.

“Welcome. I asked you to come visit me, but you ended up coming because of France. Hahaha!”

“Isn’t this embarrassing? Hahaha!”

This visit to Yugoslavia, unlike other visits to other countries, was a working visit rather than a state visit.

Because it was a hastily decided visit, there was no time to prepare unnecessary state visit ceremonies for either Yugoslavia or South Korea, so he went straight into an expanded summit with Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and ministers from both countries, and the main agenda of the meeting was, again, economic cooperation.

“We want South Korea’s advanced technology and capital. In return, you can use our country, which is located in a strategic location in southern Eastern Europe, as a bridgehead.”

“One of our key allies in Eastern Europe is already Poland… … .”

“I’ve heard about Poland, but isn’t it bad for maritime transport there? How long will it take to go around the North Sea and get to the Baltic Sea? We have a long Adriatic Sea, so it’s right across the Gulf of Suez.”

“That may be true, but… … .”

“So, please don’t do that and give us some of the attention you give to Poland. You say we’re much better?”

“Ahem!”

“Have you caught a cold?”

“… … .”

As the Yugoslavs say, Yugoslavia was certainly in a much better position as a trading partner than Poland.

Currently, trade with Poland is conducted via two routes: land and sea. The sea route is also far and takes a lot of time as it requires sailing north all the way to England.

Otherwise, you would have to go through Greece in the south, or through the Bosphorus Strait into the Black Sea and then through Romania, etc., which were also inconvenient because you had to go through another country.

Fortunately, the land route was still alive, and there was a way to go directly to Poland via the Trans-Siberian Railway through the Soviet Union.

This was possible because South Korea won the war against the Soviet Union and signed a railway transport agreement as a supplementary agreement to the armistice.

That is, a route was created that went from South Korea to Europe through the Soviet Union, allowing passage at a fairly low tariff.

But track and field was track and field.

Since rail transport was bound to be less efficient than maritime transport, it was only natural that the main mode of transport to Europe would be maritime transport.

Of course, it took more than twice as long to get there by sea, so it was faster to use the Trans-Siberian Railway for urgent cargo.

“Are you saying that because we treated you well?”

“How do you say that?”

“We will impose a tariff of only 1% on all cargo bound for Europe that uses our ports. What do you think?”

“really?”

“True! True!”

This makes a difference.

In Europe, transit taxes were abolished only after the creation of the European Union, and only within EU member states.

How many landlocked countries suffer from the oppression of transit taxes by neighboring countries?

If it’s 1%, it’s no different than nothing.

Of course, Yugoslavia also had its own calculations and did this.

The amount of cargo currently moving from South Korea to Europe is astronomical, and it is increasing every year.

Although it may be just a 1% tariff, for Yugoslavia, even just that 1% tariff would result in a significant profit.

Of course, since they have no choice but to use their logistics while passing through Yugoslavia, there will be additional profits there.

“Hahaha! Good!”

“ha ha ha!”

Eventually, the meeting concluded in a friendly atmosphere.

And after the dinner, President Tito invited only Lee Kang-cheol.

“When I entertain guests, I always offer them good wine and pipe tobacco, but since the President doesn’t smoke, I guess I can only offer him wine.”

“Hahaha! I just need wine. I quit smoking a long time ago.”

“No, why did you stop this good thing?”

“I quit because it was too bad for my health.”

“Hey, but still, a man… … .”

“I know you’re very close with Winston. You smoke a lot with him.”

“Hahaha! I guess so.”

“… … .”

In some ways, this country called Yugoslavia was truly unique.

Originally, in history, it was a communist country in Eastern Europe, but it was not a satellite state of the Soviet Union. Rather, it was close to Churchill, almost like brothers, and on the contrary, it was no different from an enemy to Stalin.

Stalin wanted to kill Tito so badly that he would even attempt to assassinate him whenever he was bored.

“I understand that Winston is very close to this President?”

“Well, he was an ambassador to our country for a long time. It was difficult because he would come by and drink alcohol whenever he wanted.”

“Hahaha! As expected, Winston is a man.”

“What the heck, men! Just going near it makes my head hurt so bad from the smell of cigarettes!”

“Hahaha! That’s a man!”

“Would you like some wine?”

“Well, anyway, I am truly happy to meet you in person and to be able to create good things for both countries. Let’s have a toast.”

“Cheers!”

visor!

As we kept giving and receiving like that, we almost emptied two bottles of wine and gradually started getting drunk.

“I heard a lot from Winston about the President and the Republic of Korea.”

“Ugh! Anyway, I knew that since you’re a chatterbox.”

“Hahaha! But I’ve never seen that chatty Winston talk so much about anything. It’s true.”

“Really? What did you say?”

“He just said that he was the best. He said that the president and the Republic of Korea were the same. He also said that in 10 years, the Republic of Korea will become a country that rivals the United States, so he said that we should stay as close as possible.”

“Hey, saying it’s comparable to the United States is a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Hahaha! Winston really believed that.”

“This is going to be a big problem. I should call them and tell them to stop talking nonsense.”

It’s nice to hear good things, but to say that it will be on par with the US is really over the top and not good for South Korea either.

Because the United States would not be happy to see a power comparable to itself emerge.

But if Churchill keeps talking nonsense, he could cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

At least until South Korea’s national power grows to a level that can rival that of the United States, it would be best to crouch down as much as possible.

“By the way, do you have any advice for me?”

“Advice?”

“Winston said that President Lee Kang-cheol seems to have some foresight into the future, so he told me to ask for his advice when I meet him.”

“Ha! That guy, really!”

“No, please say something.”

“… … .”

Since he said all this, I felt like I had to say something.

“President Tito is doing well. What advice can I give him? He is doing well.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it is true. It was a really good thing, especially that you abandoned communism.”

The official name of Yugoslavia was not originally the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but simply the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Of course, it did not abandon socialist policies, but Yugoslavia was originally a country somewhere between communism and capitalism, and developed in that way.

There was no reason to abandon socialist policies.

“Well, that’s because the communist country is like that. I personally don’t call myself a communist anymore.”

“That’s what I call a good thing. We are also using some of the good things in socialist policies. Capitalism is not all good. What does ‘ism’ have to do with anything? It just has to be good for the country and the people.”

“Hahaha! That’s right. I totally agree.”

“If you continue to do so, Yugoslavia will prosper under President Tito.”

Certainly, Yugoslavia was the most prosperous of the Eastern Bloc communist countries under Tito’s rule.

“but…….”

“But? What is it?”

“The unity of the members of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is really important, you know what I mean?”

“Haha! Of course. Integration is a matter of utmost importance to our federation. You don’t have to worry.”

“… … .”

But I became worried.

The 1984 Winter Olympics that Lee Kang-cheol watched on TV as a child.

How beautiful and developed was Sarajevo during those Olympics?

But that beautiful city became a hell of royalties just 7 years after hosting the Olympics.

They were besieged for 1,425 days, completely destroyed and massacred, and the women were systematically raped.

Lee Kang-cheol looked blankly at Tito.

Has this person ever even imagined it?

The Yugoslav Federation, which had prospered under his powerful rule, soon split after his death, and not only did people kill each other, but it also became the stage for the most ugly and dirty massacre in modern history.

“President Tito.”

“yes”

“I hope you don’t find what I’m saying too offensive.”

“Hahaha! How could that be? I’m a man, a man!”

“… … .”

That guy, he really seemed to like it.

“Please feel free to tell me anything.”

“Then let me explain it to you more comfortably. The unification of the federation that President Tito is confident of is not even close to being possible at this point.”

“Huh? You don’t seem to know how much I’m emphasizing integration these days… … .”

“I told you not to bring that, right?”

“Huh? You say this isn’t enough?”

“Yes. Are you really sure that the Serbs have forgotten the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Serbs by the Croatian Ustasha?”

“That, that will be forgotten as time goes by.”

“Can you be confident?”

“… … .”

Tito couldn’t open his mouth at Lee Kang-cheol’s words.

How could anyone forget that massacre, so brutal that even the German soldiers trembled?

“Right now, no, while President Tito is alive, no one will dare to rebel. But after the president dies? Who will be there then to maintain unity? Is there anyone else as capable as President Tito?”

“… … .”

The country called Yugoslavia itself means ‘Southern Slavs’.

In short, it is a country created by the Slavs living in the Balkan region, who united Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia of their own free will to avoid being annexed by foreign powers such as Italy after World War I.

Even at this time, it was truly of their own free will.

But after the outbreak of World War II, everything changed when the Ustasha, a perverted fusion of fascism and the Croatian religion, Catholicism, became the Nazis’ puppets and brutally massacred hundreds of thousands of Serbs living in Croatia.

Because Serbs will never forget the massacre of their compatriots.