Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 271



Only Krnovel

#271. I did as much as I could?

April 1, 1959.

Government Complex.

“As of today, it is estimated that our Korean population has surpassed 50 million.”

“Oh! Already?”

“Wow? That’s really fast?”

“Hahaha! That’s really good news.”

The State Council Chamber was filled with a pleasant buzz as the Minister of Health and Welfare reported today that the Korean-American population had surpassed 50 million.

They tried so hard to increase the population that was so insufficient, and they achieved considerable results.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s under the jurisdiction of the National Statistical Office, but babies are being born at this very moment. It’s impossible to count them all, but we can still compile them by following the trend. I’m not sure if it was yesterday or the day before yesterday, so I’ve decided to count them today. In any case, it’s over 50 million.”

“Hahaha! Our Minister Jang In-yeong really worked hard. Then, how much more has it increased compared to the original history?”

“According to the original statistics, in 1959, South Korea had 24 million people, and North Korea had about 11 million. The total was 35 million. So you can see that there was an increase of about 15 million people.”

“That’s great! But what is the main reason for the increase?”

“More than anything, the baptism of modern medicine was a big deal. Infant mortality and child mortality rates dropped dramatically. Let’s take infant mortality, for example.”

“Okay, then.”

“The infant mortality rate is the number of infants who died within one year of birth (less than 365 days) divided by the total number of births in that year, and is usually expressed as a ratio of 1,000. In short, it is how many babies are lost within one year of birth. According to the 2021 statistics from where we came, Korea’s infant mortality rate was 2.4, which is much lower than the OECD average of 4.0.”

“Oh! That’s great!”

“Japan was 1.7?”

“… … .”

It would have been better if it was much lower than the OECD average, but Minister Jang In-young was the one who made a fuss by saying things that he didn’t need to say.

“Ah! So anyway?”

“Let’s look back to the past. As I said before, no one knows the exact infant mortality rate. In those days, so many children died that it was not uncommon for births to be registered late. In some places, it was 25%, and in others, it was 35% to 40%.”

“her…….”

“Even if you just cut it off in the middle, it’s 30%. What this means is that out of ten children born, three of them will die. In terms of infant mortality rate, it comes to 300. However, by 1950, it was reduced to less than 10, and in the past nine years, it has been reduced to 6.”

“Wow? It’s almost a miracle, a miracle!”

“Well, you could say it was a triumph of modern medicine. Our Ministry of Health and Welfare also worked hard. Anyway, infant and child mortality rates have decreased dramatically, and adult mortality rates have also decreased dramatically. On the other hand, the birth rate was scary, even to me. No matter how much we encouraged childbirth.”

“How much does it cost?”

“In the late 1940s, the total fertility rate in South Korea alone was 6.78. This alone was a great achievement. In our time, it was 0.7, and people were saying that the country would disappear.”

“Well, the low birth rate problem was serious. Wow! I really don’t understand why people were so reluctant to have children.”

“I don’t think that’s something a president in his early 50s should be saying.”

“… … .”

The Minister of Health and Welfare was acting strangely today.

Still, since he had accomplished something great, Lee Kang-cheol decided to let it go.

“Hmm! So?”

“But after much effort, we managed to raise the total fertility rate to over 9. We were making a fuss about how having a baby was patriotism.”

“This is amazing!”

“Of course it’s huge. I mean, it means that most households produce more than ten.”

“You really worked hard.”

Minister Jang In-young’s words were, in a word, that it was possible because the infant and child mortality rates were drastically reduced and childbirth was enthusiastically encouraged.

The total Korean population, which increased to nearly 30 million after overseas Koreans began to return to Korea in earnest immediately after the end of World War II,

But, the increase of 20 million people in 15 years here was truly an incredible achievement.

Currently, South Korea is home to a significant number of people of Chinese, Russian, and Japanese descent, so increasing the number of Koreans is an urgent matter for preserving South Korea’s identity.

“However, I cannot guarantee that the birth rate will remain high in the future. The birth rate has been falling over time, and it will continue to fall. No matter how much we encourage childbirth by shouting that it is patriotic, we cannot stop the birth rate from falling as the economy grows and women’s rights increase.”

“What is the birth rate now?”

“It fell to 7.8 last year.”

“Well, even if it’s difficult, please do your best to defend us. Our country is still underpopulated, especially us Koreans.”

“Now, even a simple carrot won’t move anything.”

“The budget is ample, so let’s plan something groundbreaking. Prime Minister Koh Seok-man.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Please push forward with policies to encourage childbirth without sparing any budget.”

“All right.”

“Minister Jang, Minister Jang, please continue your efforts.”

“Haa… … . Okay, I understand.”

I was dumbfounded when they asked me to continue increasing the population even though I had already increased it to 50 million in a short period of time, but I had no choice.

“So what is the current population?”

“A little over 98 million.”

“What is the ethnic ratio?”

“There are 50 million Koreans, and the next largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese, at 23 million. There are 15 million Russians, and there are about 6 million Japanese, including the Japanese who were on the Korean Peninsula and in China, the Japanese who were in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, Okinawa, and those who later immigrated through marriage or relatives.”

“Then it’s 94 million?”

“The remaining 4 million are ethnic minorities such as the Mongols, Manchus, Buryats who lived in Siberia, and ethnic minorities who lived on Hainan Island and the Noeju Peninsula.”

“There are fewer Chinese people than I thought?”

“That’s because after unifying Manchuria, he actively encouraged immigration to China. In particular, later, more people moved to Chiang Kai-shek’s side than to the north, which was ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.”

“There is no one who wants to pass now, right?”

“Don’t even say anything. Most of the outflows I mentioned occurred within three years of the unification of Manchuria. After that, no matter how good the conditions were, they wouldn’t go. Who would want to go when our country is a good place to live? And it was during the Chinese Civil War.”

“But… … .”

“Still, it was reduced by more than expected.”

“That’s true.”

After unifying Manchuria, reducing the number of Chinese was a truly critical task.

It was to preserve the identity of the Republic of Korea at all costs, but it decreased more than expected.

“Then, will this ratio be maintained in the future?”

“Yes, there will be no special leaks in the future, and above all, the policies that have been discriminatory in favor of Koreans and encouraged childbirth in Manchuria and Hokkaido have recently begun to be applied to them as well.”

“Whew! Can’t help it.”

Until recently, policies to encourage childbirth were almost exclusively targeted at Koreans, but over time, this is no longer the case.

This was because continuing to use such tricks would have hindered national unity.

“It’s been almost 15 years since Manchuria was unified. Since the unification policy has been so actively pursued during that time, teenagers and young people have become no different from us Koreans. Even children born these days are given names in our style using Chinese characters. Parents say that they do this so that they won’t be discriminated against later on because they are Chinese.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, the boys’ names are like ours: Yeongsu, Yeongcheol, Seongsu, Jeongho, Seongho, Kangcheol… .”

“Why is Steel here?”

“It was originally a common name, but it is often named after the president.”

“Ugh!”

“And for girls, Japanese names like Jeongja and Sunja have completely disappeared from our Korean community, and instead, names like Misuk, Mikyung, Yeonghee, and Gyeongsuk are preferred even among Chinese people.”

“Huh! Right!”

If Chinese people gave themselves Korean names, it would be difficult to tell them apart later on.

Because the surnames themselves were similar in China and Korea.

On the other hand, those of Japanese or Russian descent were obvious no matter what.

This is because Japanese people either use the kanji compound surnames as they are, such as Sato (佐藤, left), Suzuki (鈴木, young tree), Takahashi (高橋, high school), and Tanaka (田中, full school), or they use only the first kanji character as their surname, such as Jwa, Yeong, Ko, or Jeon.

There was no need to even mention the Russians since they were a different race.

“Isn’t this a good thing, as it shows that integration is going well?”

“That’s true, but it’s a bit weird.”

“Hahaha! Mr. President, if we continue like this for another twenty years or so, national distinctions will become meaningless.”

“Oh, Mr. Usagi. Of course that is true. Anyway, I understand.”

As Kim Kyu-sik said, if things continue this way, national distinctions will lose their meaning.

No, there will come a day when the very act of distinguishing and judging ethnicities will be prohibited by law.

Because it is an act that hinders integration.

“Anyway, our population will soon exceed 100 million, right?”

“Yes, we expect to exceed 100 million by the end of this year.”

“Please confirm the exact date. It doesn’t have to be exact. I just want to know it so that I can commemorate that day.”

“All right.”

“I ask for your continued hard work, Minister Jang In-young.”

“Well, by the way… … .”

“Huh? Do you have anything to say?”

“I’m turning sixty this year. That’s why I’m telling you this. I wish I could retire and rest at home… … .”

“Oh my! What kind of nonsense is this from someone much younger than me?”

“Really? Your 60th birthday is next year, right?”

“Hey! How many of us haven’t turned 60 yet?”

Suddenly, cries of anger poured in.

“Oh, no, why are you guys doing this? I did as much as I could.”

“Why would you say that when you say there is no one here who hasn’t done enough?”

“Hey Minister Jang, Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin is almost 80 years old and has retired. And I am here because I am a few years younger than you. So where are you going?”

“Deputy Prime Minister, are you really telling me to work until I’m your age? That’s ridiculous!”

“Why doesn’t that make sense?”

“Oh my god!”

“ha ha ha!”

“Heh heh heh!”

South Korea still has a shortage of highly skilled workers.

That is why the highest-ranking members of the expedition team, the State Council members, could not even dream of deserting until they were at least in their seventies and their health began to deteriorate.

The cabinet members could not bear to see someone younger than them step down.

“Stop talking nonsense and work hard. In return, I’ll give you a vacation, so please understand.”

“… … .”

Minister Jang In-young was left speechless.