Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 254



Only Krnovel

#254. Why do you interfere when you know it well?

September 4, 1956.

After the hot summer, Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shigeharu Yoshida arrived at Gimpo International Airport during a time when cool breezes were blowing in the mornings and evenings.

“Welcome. I welcome His Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan to the Republic of Korea. I am Kim Kyu-sik, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.”

“Thank you for the welcome, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister.”

“… … .”

Kim Kyu-sik attended the airport ceremony and greeted Emperor Akihito with the aforementioned expression.

Although his tone was a bit stiff, Akihito surprisingly smiled and bowed his head slightly.

The one whose expression was particularly crumpled at this sight was Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, who accompanied Akihito to Korea.

Kim Kyu-sik said, “Your Majesty (Heika, 陛下)” and not “Your Highness (Tenka, 殿下)”.

And he said it in fluent Japanese, without any interpretation.

No matter how much the Republic of Korea insisted that the word emperor not be used, there was no particular problem in the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers led by the US military under MacArthur.

In English, it would naturally have been changed from Emperor to King, but since there was no English word that properly distinguished between His Majesty and His Highness in common titles, the Japanese did not care whether they called him His Majesty or His Highness.

How many people in Japan would bother to distinguish between Majesty and Highness?

And in reality, that never happened.

As a result, a sort of external emperor/empire atmosphere was created in Japan, and when they were alone, they would refer to His Majesty the Emperor without hesitation as before, but when the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, who was good at speaking Japanese, came forward, they ended up losing face.

If he had gone through an interpreter, the interpreter they brought could have translated it as “Your Majesty,” but Kim Kyu-sik, who was a foreign language genius, didn’t even give him a chance and immediately spoke in Japanese, which left Prime Minister Yoshida feeling bitter.

“Prime Minister Yoshida, welcome too. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, thank you for welcoming me. But it’s been a while? When have we last seen each other?”

When Kim Kyu-sik greeted him in English this time, Prime Minister Yoshida became suspicious and asked back.

No matter how much I thought about it, this was my first time seeing Kim Kyu-sik.

“Hahaha! I don’t think you remember, Prime Minister, but I remember it vividly. We met at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.”

“Huh? Oh! No way, that guy, the one who was dragged out while trying to enter the conference room… … .”

“Haha! That’s right. That person was me.”

“… … .”

Prime Minister Yoshida was at a loss for words.

Kim Kyu-sik.

Among the provisional government figures, he is the only one at the pinnacle of power in the Republic of Korea, and as the Republic of Korea grew into a superpower after independence, he is a world-renowned figure among the big shots.

But who would have thought that I would be entangled with such a person in a relationship that was either fate or fate?

“I was really jealous back then. Well, that’s all in the past now. Hahaha!”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. I have forgotten everything. Now, there is no country on earth that treats our Republic of Korea coldly at its doorstep.”

“… … .”

Why are you bringing it up when you’ve already forgotten everything?

Prime Minister Yoshida’s judging was becoming increasingly complicated.

And now, on the way to the Blue House.

During the year, many citizens came out to watch the emperor’s procession.

The Japanese flag, which I had not seen in a long time, was displayed on both sides of the front of the car carrying the Emperor, in accordance with diplomatic protocol.

The reactions were truly varied.

“Oh my god! I never thought I would see the Emperor come to our country to apologize… … .”

“Hey, you bastard! What’s the Emperor? When was he demoted to Emperor?”

“It’s because it’s in your mouth. Why are you being so strict?”

“Still, that’s true!”

“Okay, okay. By the way, I can’t see your face?”

“Isn’t that obvious? What kind of trouble are you expecting?”

“But isn’t he the one who came to apologize? Isn’t he Hirohito himself?”

“I still don’t like it! I feel like throwing a stone at it if I have one!”

“If you do that, the police will scold you.”

“Damn it! That’s why I’m just staying still.”

The reactions varied, but there were commonalities.

The gazes looking at the Emperor’s procession were all extremely cold.

As a result, a truly strange scene was created.

An unusually large crowd gathered for the foreign presidential motorcade, but not a single person waved, much less applauded.

Just a cold gaze.

“The eyes of the people of the Republic of Korea seem truly cold.”

Emperor Akihito, who felt the gaze of the citizens through the car window, opened his mouth to Yoshida, who was riding with him.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty!”

“No. It would be natural for them to do so. Am I not their enemy?”

“Your Majesty! Keuheuk!”

“Please don’t keep doing that. You were like that earlier because of the title… … .”

“The gods are ugly… … .”

“Oh, really, stop it!”

“… … .”

“By the way, that’s really great!”

“yes?”

“Isn’t Seoul’s development amazing? Look at those buildings. And the people.”

“… … .”

“How many cars do you have? It’s really amazing and enviable.

“It’s only been about ten years since they became independent from us, and it’s like a whole new world.”

“… … .”

Yoshida was a person who visited Joseon often.

No, he’s not someone who visits frequently, he was the secretary to the first Governor-General of Korea, Terauchi Masatake, when he was Governor-General.

Moreover, he spent 20 years of his diplomatic career in China, so the place he visited countless times while traveling back and forth with his home country was Joseon.

However, the Gyeongseong of Joseon that he knew was nowhere to be found.

Doesn’t this look like a big city like New York in the United States?

I knew that South Korea had developed at an extremely fast pace, but seeing it in person made me think that it was going too far.

His surprise grew as Gwanghwamun came into view.

The Government-General Building that he had always seen was nowhere to be seen, and instead, Gwanghwamun and Gyeongbokgung Palace were showing off their grand appearance.

“Oh my god! Are you saying that Gyeongbokgung Palace has already been rebuilt?”

Forgetting that the Emperor was right next to him, an exclamation escaped Yoshida’s mouth without his knowledge.

Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace of Joseon Dynasty, which they had almost completely destroyed.

That Gyeongbokgung Palace was rebuilt.

“Didn’t we just push them all away?”

“Four? Ah! I apologize, Your Majesty! I was so surprised that I was rude.”

“No, Prime Minister. I am also genuinely surprised.”

“your majesty!”

“Prime Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“I will apologize thoroughly. Humiliation? Pride? What does it matter, considering what we did to them? So, Prime Minister, please make an effort to restore relations with the Republic of Korea. Shouldn’t Japan also rise again?”

“Ugh! Your Majesty!”

Yoshida shed tears again, this time because he misunderstood Akihito’s words.

Akihito said that he would sincerely apologize after seeing the cold reaction of the citizens of Nara, so Yoshida simply asked them to make an effort to restore relations.

However, Yoshida heard this strangely, thinking that Akihito was trying to overcome the humiliation by force, and was overcome with despair and shed tears.

“… … .”

“Khuuuuk!”

“ha…….”

“your majesty!”

“… … .”

The misunderstanding deepened.

“Welcome. Welcome to the Republic of Korea.”

“Thank you for welcoming us.”

This is Lee Kang-cheol, whom I have only seen in photos and videos.

Akihito was originally of small stature, standing in his mid-160s, but he was still slightly taller than the average height of Japanese people at the time, so he was rarely criticized for being short.

But this man, the President of the Republic of Korea, was so big and strong that he looked like an American soldier from the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces.

No, doesn’t this thing have a bigger and more imposing physique than the average American soldier?

The same was true of his cabinet members whom he introduced.

I knew that Koreans were originally bigger than Japanese, but this was the first time I saw such a big difference overall, and I felt intimidated.

Amid his turmoil, a welcoming ceremony was held in the courtyard of the Blue House, and Akihito sat down face to face with Lee Kang-cheol.

“It must not have been an easy road, but thank you for coming to our country.”

“No. I thought that I would have to come and sort things out myself someday so that the unfortunate history between the Republic of Korea and Japan would be resolved.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

At that time, Prime Minister Yoshida, who was sitting next to him, intervened.

“Your Excellency, Mr. President! I apologize, but please be more careful with your titles. No matter how unfortunate our situation is, you are still the ruins of Japan… … . King.”

“huh?”

The meeting was conducted directly in English, excluding interpretation.

Yoshida, who was a career diplomat, and Akihito, who grew up with an American Quaker female governess after the war, were both fluent in English.

So Yoshida decided that it would be better to have a direct conversation in English rather than in formal Japanese or Korean, and requested a meeting in English, which was accepted.

But even so, doesn’t Lee Kang-cheol just call him ‘You’?

Even if it was difficult to use the title Majesty, it was the minimum courtesy to use Highness, and since that was the last of his pride, Yoshida cautiously protested.

But Lee Kang-cheol’s reaction was cold.

“Look here, Prime Minister Yoshida.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Who is the highest leader in Japan?”

“Yes? Of course, His Highness Akihito?”

“Then who is the highest leader of the Republic of Korea?”

“Yes? That’s His Excellency the President.”

“No, why are you interfering when you know better? The two leaders of the two countries are talking. Isn’t that proper etiquette?”

“… … .”

Yoshida’s face turned red with humiliation.

But regardless, Lee Kang-cheol continued to open his mouth.

“It was your intention to have a meeting in English. We knew the reason why you wanted to do it that way, but we respected your country’s intention and accepted it. So why are you interfering with the trivial formalities? As you said, I am the President and this is the King. Isn’t that enough? Do you think I am intentionally insulting you by accepting your King’s visit? Why? No, if you don’t like it, why don’t you bring in an interpreter?”

“Ah, no, but still… … .”

“Stop it, Prime Minister. Why are you being so critical when I am speaking in English, as the President said? I am fine, so stop.”

“… … .”

Even though he may not have any real power, at least in this position, Emperor Akihito is the one in charge.

Although the argument was okay, Yoshida had to keep his mouth shut because he couldn’t let his subordinates keep picking on him.

“I’m sorry, Mr. President. Please just speak English.”

“Is that okay? Why don’t you just use an interpreter?”

“No, please feel free to speak.”

“Okay. Then let’s talk about it comfortably. To be honest, we know very well the purpose of your visit and apology. After apologizing for the past, you want to normalize Korea-Japan relations, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then, you will be giving a joint address to the House and Senate tomorrow, which will be broadcast live across the country. You really need to do well. If you do it half-heartedly or pretend to apologize in the difficult language used in the palace, you will face a backlash.”

“Yes, I intend to sincerely apologize anyway.”

“That doesn’t mean you should be mean. You just have to admit that you did something wrong. You have to admit that you did something wrong. You have to admit that you did something wrong. So that our members of the National Assembly and the people will think, ‘Ah! Japan has sincerely apologized!’”

“I fully understand what you are saying.”

“I’m saying this out of concern, but at least in Korea-Japan relations, if the people don’t understand, there will be no future. Even though I am the president, I cannot push forward with something that the people don’t understand. Do you understand?”

“Okay, I understand.”

And the next day.

All members of both houses of parliament gathered in the main conference room of the Diet building, and Akihito stepped up to the podium.

“Citizens of the Republic of Korea!”

Akihito’s apology speech began in front of the entire nation.