Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 244



Only Krnovel

#244. Mother-in-law’s country

Still, Lee Kang-cheol opened the letter with the obvious content.

It was said to have been handwritten by the Japanese Prime Minister himself, but when I opened it, it was in English.

“Who is the Prime Minister now?”

If the president did not know who the prime minister of a neighboring country, Japan, was, then Lee Kang-cheol had a problem. However, at the time, Japanese politics was more chaotic than in history, and the prime minister changed frequently.

Moreover, since Japan is not an important country to the Republic of Korea, it is even more difficult to know.

“I am Shigeru Yoshida. He recently became Prime Minister again.”

“Oh, again? No, how many times has that guy been Prime Minister? And if he’s going to do it, he should do it seriously. Why does he keep coming and going and confusing people?”

“Who isn’t it?”

“… … .”

Shigeru Yoshida.

Originally, in history, he was the person who laid the foundation for Japan as an economic powerhouse while resolving the political chaos after the war as the Prime Minister.

He first served as the 45th Prime Minister, but then gave up the post for a year and a half during the 46th and 47th terms to Tetsu Katayama and Hitoshi Ashida, before returning to serve as Prime Minister until December 1954.

Historically, in the history of Japanese politics, only Shigeru Yoshida and Shinzo Abe have served as prime minister and then returned to the office of prime minister.

However, in this history, Japan was a bit more confused.

Not only was it ruined even more by Curtis LeMay’s prank, but it was also ruined when South Korea defeated the Soviet Union as soon as the Cold War began, so it lost its strategic importance and received less support from the United States than it originally did.

Instead, South Korea, America’s top ally, has entered Asia.

There was no Korean War, which they called a “blessing from heaven” and was a catalyst for Japan’s revival, so it was only natural that the chaos continued.

So, it seems that Shigeru Yoshida was unable to continue as Prime Minister, and one man after another took turns as Prime Minister, before returning to the Yoshida system.

“What kind of person is he?”

“As you can see, he speaks English fluently enough to write a personal letter. He originally came from a diplomatic background. I also saw him from a distance a long time ago.”

“Huh? A long time ago? When?”

“It was at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.”

“ah…….”

“Hahaha! At that time, Japan attended the conference as a proud member of the victorious nation. I tried to get in somehow, but was turned away.”

“… … .”

The victorious powers and their colonies.

There was nothing to see.

How miserable would that have been?

But Kim Kyu-sik’s expression was bright as he thought about the events of 35 years ago.

“But now it’s the opposite. The young Shigeru Yoshida who used to enter the conference room with such confidence is gone. Instead, there’s only an old man who wants to normalize diplomatic relations with our country. Life is like that! As they say, a blessing in disguise… …”

“ha ha ha!”

It was rare for circumstances to change like this.

“Anyway, he is a capable person. He was completely free during the war crimes trial. No, it wasn’t just free. This guy was extremely opposed to the Pacific War. He tried to stop it until the very end. In addition, he was involved in anti-military activities during the war and was even imprisoned.”

“is it so?”

“Yes, that’s right. But I don’t think that means he’s some kind of anti-imperialist or anything like that. I heard that he was sometimes more hawkish than the military in his administration of Manchuria.”

“You are an unknown person.”

“In a word, he is a realistic person. That’s probably why he opposed the war. He traveled the world a lot as a diplomat, so he knew reality well.”

That is why Shigeru Yoshida was able to rise to prominence as a leader of post-war Japan.

The fact that he had been imprisoned for opposing the war actually served as a decoration in the Allied High Command system.

In addition, he would have had personal connections with the Western world from his many years of diplomatic career.

“okay.”

“Anyway, what are you going to do? As you can see from the letter, Yoshida strongly wants to establish formal diplomatic relations and economic cooperation.”

“hmm…….”

Lee Kang-cheol thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Not yet. Especially in the run-up to the general election, improving relations with Japan is nonsense. No matter how we get involved with Japan, it will be a good attack point for the LDP. There is no need to create such a situation.”

“Hahaha! You are right.”

“We need to improve our relations with Japan, but not now. Tell them not to come. We will proceed slowly after the general elections, taking into account the opinions of the Senate and House of Representatives and the public.”

“Okay, then I’ll tell you not to come for now.”

Unless he is on drugs, there is no crazy leader who would try to improve relations with Japan, where public sentiment is still bad, ahead of a general election.

For South Korea, there is nothing to be sorry about.

***

As the summer of 1955 passed, South Korea was quiet but bustling with activity in preparation for the general elections in March of the following year.

The Republican Party and the Liberal Democratic Party, as well as Cho Bong-am’s Progressive Party and each minor political party, prepared for the election by securing candidates to nominate.

And the Central Election Management Committee mobilized all available resources, including TV and radio, to provide election education every day.

“It is not a true democratic election to elect someone because they are from the same family or graduated from the same school!”

“It is about electing a true worker who can truly represent the people and work for the country!”

“If you drink a bowl of makgeolli, you will have to spit it out a hundred times over!”

“I warn you! If you commit the act of buying votes with money, not only will you go to jail, but you will also be banned from public office for the rest of your life!”

It wasn’t just a verbal warning.

In fact, since the summer, the number of people arrested for violating election laws has increased significantly, and they have been subject to a hammer blow.

The current government’s intention is to create a fair and clean election culture.

Accordingly, the election law was so harsh that some people said it was too harsh.

Even a minor violation of the election law could result in a huge fine and a minimum of five years of disqualification, and if it was proven to be intentional, the punishment could be so severe that it could end one’s life.

After beating them like this as a demonstration, by the beginning of fall they had become quieter than in the summer.

September 7, 1955.

Guests visited Seoul when the heat subsided and cool breezes began to blow in the mornings and evenings.

A bald guest.

“Hahaha! It’s finally time to meet you. Hello. I am Nikita Khrushchev, General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Lee Kang-cheol, the President of the Republic of Korea.”

Just six years ago, a historic event occurred when the leader of the Soviet Union, the enemy country with which the Great War had been fought, visited Seoul, South Korea.

This visit by Khrushchev to Korea was entirely at Khrushchev’s request, and South Korea permitted the visit because its relations with the Soviet Union were not that bad after the war.

Moreover, South Korea suffered little damage in the war that began with the Soviet Union’s invasion of Manchuria in 1949.

No, it was a war that was actually perceived as a sweet deal, as it stripped away more than 10 million square kilometers of Soviet territory east of the Ural Mountains.

On the other hand, the Soviet Union suffered horribly, with millions of soldiers killed and wounded.

Although not many people lived there, it lost a huge amount of territory and its status as a communist powerhouse was virtually lost.

In short, if there were feelings, it would rather be the Soviet Union, but now, six years after the end of the war, there were no particular antipathy feelings.

That would be the case, because everyone knew that the war itself was a reckless invasion by Stalin, so rather than blaming South Korea, they blamed Stalin, but he has already passed away.

And after that, economic exchanges with South Korea also became active, and now South Korea occupies a significant portion of the Soviet economy.

Moreover, human exchanges were needless to say, and the 10 million or so former Soviet people living in areas that were once part of South Korean territory became the center of this.

With a population of over 10 million, there was no one who did not have a relative beyond the bridge, and as time went by, news of their prosperity was heard.

They were living a life they could only dream of, and countless girls crossed the border dreaming of a better world.

And so, before we knew it, the Soviet Union had truly become a ‘mother-in-law’s country.’

Given these circumstances, it is hard to believe that the Soviet Union and South Korea had fought a war that resulted in such a huge bloodbath just six years ago, and relations between the two were not bad.

However, there was no political exchange due to pride on the Soviet side, but with Khrushchev’s first visit to Korea, it is certain that the situation will improve.

“I heard you had a hard time getting here. Why didn’t you come by plane? Why did you insist on taking the train?”

As Lee Kang-cheol said, Khrushchev took the train from Moscow to Seoul.

And that too, slowly, over almost 40 days.

“Hahaha! I took the train because I wanted to.”

“Do you have a fear of flying?”

“No, that’s not it. I just wanted to see the development of your country with my own eyes.”

“Huh? I see. Well, what do you think when you see it for yourself?”

“Wow! It was truly breathtaking. The cityscape that appeared as soon as we crossed the Ural Mountains was so amazing that it made me wonder if this was really part of the Soviet Union just six years ago. Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk… … Ha! To be honest, I had mixed feelings.”

“Hmm, I understand.”

Cities that had until recently been part of their own country were developing at an alarming rate.

Perhaps even Lee Kang-cheol himself must have had all sorts of thoughts.

“But that was just the beginning of the surprise. When I entered Manchuria, I thought a new world had opened up, but compared to the Korean Peninsula, it was nothing. It’s really amazing! It’s amazing! How could such a leap forward be made in such a short period of time?”

“Hahaha! Thank you for your kind words.”

“No, I’m not trying to be nice to you, it’s just the truth. I don’t like diplomatic rhetoric. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to be honest and tell me the truth.”

“Haha! That’s great. I think we’ve made great progress. It’s all thanks to the hard work of our people, regardless of their status.”

“No, is that something that can be achieved through hard work? Are you saying that if you work hard, you can achieve something like returning to your home country in a short period of time?”

“… … .”

How could that be?

Lee Kang-cheol was momentarily at a loss for words when Khrushchev rushed at him, asking him directly and openly.

So I was thinking of just glossing over it and letting it slide, but when I saw Khrushchev’s earnest gaze, I thought that wasn’t the right thing to do.

I can’t say everything as it is, so I decided to end it with something that I think might be helpful.

“Well, that’s not true. The direction of our efforts must be right, and we must have luck on our side, both domestically and internationally.”

“What would you say is the direction you are working towards?”

“No matter how hard you try, if the policy direction is wrong, it is actually better not to try. It will only bring disaster to the people. You have seen this a lot, Secretary General. During the Stalin era.”

“… … .”

Khrushchev understood what was meant.

Because I saw a lot of hell during the Stalin era.