Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 253



Only Krnovel

#253. It seems like it was planned well.

“When? By whom? And why?”

Who among us can set foot on the soil of the Republic of Korea without permission, whether it be the Emperor or Nabal?

“Please calm down. I guess I got a little excited and said something strange. To be exact, it’s not ‘come,’ it’s ‘I want to come.’”

“Oh, so Emperor Akihito wants to come to our country?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh, Mr. Usagi, you too. You should have said that a long time ago. It’s a bit strange.”

“Hehehe! I was a bit in a hurry.”

“… … .”

If it weren’t for Kim Kyu-sik, I would have heard something like that.

Kim Kyu-sik also seemed excited.

“Please sit down. Sit down and tell me the whole story.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

I sat down and soon the car came.

“What on earth is going on? The Emperor all of a sudden?”

“That’s why, a little while ago, the representative of the Japanese Embassy in Korea handed me a personal letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. This is the personal letter.”

“That person really likes personal letters. Where should I look?”

After a while, Lee Kang-cheol put down Prime Minister Yoshida’s personal letter on the table.

“Huh! Right!”

“What do you think?”

“So, the new Emperor Akihito, who abdicated from Hirohito last year, wants to come and personally apologize for the sins Japan committed against our country in the past. Please give us a chance?”

“Yes, that’s right. What do you think?”

“hmm…….”

Prime Minister Yoshida’s hand was obvious, but it was difficult to refuse.

That’s really a case of using your head properly.

“Prime Minister Yoshida, this guy seems to have planned it well, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. Now that the general election is over, I guess they’re going to seriously push for normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. And they’re using Emperor Akihito as bait.”

“It’s absurd, but all the factors are falling into place for Yoshida. Last year, Emperor Hirohito also stepped down, so he could ask the new Emperor Akihito to visit Korea to apologize, and our general elections are over, so the political burden on our government has also been reduced.”

“Yoshida is quite capable.”

Hirohito abdicated in favor of his son Akihito last year, as he had initially promised the Allies that he would take responsibility for the war and abdicate when Akihito came of age.

However, there were opinions that the year Hirohito came of age was too early, so after consulting with the Allied Powers, Hirohito abdicated last year when he graduated from Gakushuin University.

If Hirohito had continued to be the emperor, even Yoshida would not have been able to ask Hirohito to visit South Korea and apologize, so the time was truly ripe for Japan.

Here, it is clear that Mr. Yoshida, who sent a personal letter last year and was rejected, understood that the time to properly request formal diplomatic relations would be after the end of the South Korean general election this year.

“Still, I really didn’t know that you would even ask Akihito to visit Korea to apologize.”

“Haha! I felt like I had been hit too. It was something I couldn’t even imagine before. And Emperor Akihito is amazing too. It must have been extremely humiliating for him.”

“That’s true. Akihito was such a pacifist… … .”

“Huh? Was that so?”

“Yes, I originally felt quite sorry for our country. I remember that I often raised voices of caution because my stance was different from that of the Japanese government, which was becoming increasingly right-wing. I never visited the Shinto shrine, which we hated so much.”

“Well, it seems he was quite different from his father, Hirohito?”

“In a way, it couldn’t be helped. How old was Akihito?”

“I was born in December 1933. I remember clearly that the crown prince was born after having four daughters in a row, and that at the time, not only Japan but even Korea caused a fuss.”

“Hahaha! That’s right. Anyway, if you were born in 1933, you were just over ten years old when Japan fell. Of course, you would have more memories of the misery of war than of the Japanese Empire’s power. So, only a crazy person could have developed such a belligerent personality. It seems like you originally had a gentle personality.”

In fact, Akihito had been at odds with Shinzo Abe, who had been constantly trying to revise the Constitution, and their relationship was unusually bad.

“Anyway, isn’t this what Prime Minister Yoshida is thinking? If Emperor Akihito visits Korea and apologizes, anti-Japanese sentiment in our country will subside, and he’s using that as a chance to pressure us to establish diplomatic relations.”

“Yes, that is certain.”

“Then what do you plan to do, Mr. President?”

“hmm…….”

Lee Kang-cheol was lost in thought for a moment.

For South Korea, establishing diplomatic relations with Japan was not a particularly urgent matter.

It was obvious that if I touched it for no reason, it would end up like poking a hornet’s nest.

But that doesn’t mean it can be put off forever.

If we were to be blunt, Japan, which desperately needs economic cooperation with South Korea, would naturally be in trouble, but South Korea could not live forever at odds with a neighboring country the size of Japan.

Even in the international community, including the United States, there was still public opinion that it was time to forgive and get along well.

Above all, South Korea has grown by leaps and bounds and now has so much confidence that it makes even Japan look ridiculous.

The problem was public sentiment.

Will the majority of South Koreans now forgive Japan?

This was the crux.

In any case, it could be said that the time was ripe as Prime Minister Yoshida had hoped.

In particular, if the Emperor of Japan comes to South Korea in person and sincerely apologizes, there will be justification.

Well, now would be the right time.

“I am positive, but I will consult with the Senate. And I will also consult with the House.”

“All right.”

The next day, Lee Kang-cheol visited the Senate in person.

“Hehehe! Welcome, Mr. President.”

“Welcome. Hahaha!”

The Senate leadership, including Chairman Kim Gu and Vice-Chairman Kim Chang-sook, welcomed Lee Kang-cheol warmly, but unlike before, they now looked much older, which made Lee Kang-cheol feel uneasy.

“Why did you all come out? Why don’t you just sit and wait?”

“Haha! How can that be? The President has come to visit our elderly people after all this time.”

“If anyone hears this, they’ll think I don’t know you very well. I’ll try to see you more often in the future.”

“ha ha ha!”

After exchanging pleasantries, we sat down and got down to business.

“Have you heard the story?”

“Yes, Usagi came and went yesterday afternoon. Emperor Akihito, who ascended the throne last year, wants to visit our country and apologize?”

“Yes, that is correct. I would like to hear the Senate’s opinion on that.”

“The Emperor of Japan is coming to our country to apologize… … It’s truly like a dream. It’s something that was unimaginable even just 10 years ago.”

“Hahaha! That’s right. I never dreamed that a day like this would come when the Emperor himself would come to visit and apologize.”

“ha ha ha!”

“Hahaha! I’m so touched, so touched!”

The elder members of the presidium, including Kim Gu, seemed truly moved.

Why not?

Emperor Hirohito clearly apologized on board the battleship Missouri at the end of the war, but that’s one thing and this is another.

The apology at that time was something that South Korea received as a condition of the armistice negotiations, and anyone can see that it was an apology that was forced.

But this time, things were completely different.

The new emperor has volunteered to come to South Korea in person to apologize.

So, the emotion felt by the independence fighters who devoted their entire lives to the independence movement must have been truly special.

“This is truly a great honor.”

“Mr. Chairman, this is not that simple. It is certainly a joyous thing for the Emperor to visit Korea and apologize, but the Japanese government will certainly use this as an opportunity to demand the normalization of Japan-Korea relations. This is because Japan desperately needs economic cooperation with our Republic of Korea.”

“Haha! Of course it is. Even though we are old people growing old in a corner of the path, we think about that kind of thing too.”

“Oh my! You are being so talkative. If someone saw you, they would think you were being persecuted by the government.”

“Hahaha! That’s not what I meant, Mr. President.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

“I am well aware that the President is feeling a considerable burden about normalizing Korea-Japan relations.”

“Yes, honestly, it is burdensome. Even though I am the president, this is not something I can handle lightly.”

“I fully understand your feelings. Of course, you must be cautious. But, Mr. President.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

Lee Kang-cheol answered while looking at Kim Gu, who was looking at him with a pleased expression.

“If you look closely, it seems like the government, including the president, are more cautious than we or the general public.”

“yes?”

“Sometimes, government officials, including the President, act as if they are other people, and this is one of those times.”

“ah…….”

“Don’t do that. If the president thinks it’s time, then it’s time. It’s the same for us and the general public. There’s an old saying that excess is proportional. Well, honestly speaking, who do you think is the credit for our country’s independence and current prosperity? Is there anyone in the Republic of Korea who doesn’t think it’s thanks to ‘government people’?”

“… … .”

The ‘government people’ that Kim Gu was talking about were the ‘Kanggye people’ commonly referred to in the public sphere.

“This is the independence you created with your own hands, and this is the prosperity you created. You don’t have to worry about the opinions of the old people in the back room and the general public.”

“… … .”

“After hearing Usagi’s words yesterday, we discussed it among ourselves. We were really happy and touched. Oh my! The Japanese king himself came to our country and bowed his head? To be honest, I almost cried. Oh, Simsan cried openly, didn’t he?”

“Hey! Mr. Chairman, why are you talking nonsense… … .”

“Hahaha! Anyway, what I want to say is this. The Japanese emperor himself came and personally apologized, what more could we ask for? I really would die tomorrow without any regrets.”

“okay.”

“Furthermore, although Japan has fallen and is currently struggling, it is a country with its own strength. In the long run, it is not good for us to continue to have a hostile relationship with such a neighbor. Even if we are now reborn as a superpower.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“And public opinion may be a concern, but don’t worry. The general public feels the same way as we do. In any case, to conclude, our Senate actively supports the Emperor’s visit and apology, as well as the normalization of Korea-Japan relations.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and distinguished members of the committee.”

Lee Kang-cheol left the Senate with a much lighter heart, and upon his return, he notified the Republican Party and asked them to consult and inform the House.

And the conclusion was the same as the Senate.

No, Lee Kang-cheol said that he supported it regardless of party affiliation more explosively than he had thought, and when I looked into the circumstances, I found out that he was so moved by the large-scale event called ‘the Emperor’s visit and apology’ that he ended up just shouting ‘hurrah’ regardless of whether it was a meeting or not.

In this way, the Emperor’s visit to South Korea was decided.