Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 275



Only Krnovel

#275. Even when playing with fire, you have to watch your opponent!

When Kim Kyu-sik arrived at the presidential residence, he went straight into the meeting without any special protocol.

Originally, if a big shot like Kim Kyu-sik had visited, there would have been considerable ceremony, but this time, due to the circumstances, Kim Kyu-sik declined, and the Borneo side did not make any separate preparations.

“I didn’t know that the Deputy Prime Minister, being so old, would come in person.”

“Haha! It’s still okay.”

“I am sorry in many ways.”

“Hahaha! I told you it was okay.”

President Stevens is a young politician, born in 1920 and only in his forties.

His father participated in an uprising during Japanese colonial rule in 1943 and was executed the following year. Stevens was later arrested along with him and narrowly escaped death.

His father, who was like that, was almost like a nephew or even a son to Kim Kyu-sik, so Stevens was always cautious about Kim Kyu-sik.

Because he was almost like a grandfather.

Stevens’ extreme respect for Kim Kyu-sik was not just due to his age.

Above all, the Republic of Korea and Kim Kyu-sik were like benefactors and teachers to him.

Because he discovered me eight years ago when I was in my early 30s and supported and nurtured my political growth.

Yet he helped to secure his place as president of the new Republic of Borneo without expecting anything in return, and even after assuming the presidency a year ago, he still asked for little in return.

What South Korea took was the development rights to the oil fields in eastern Borneo and other resource development rights. This was originally agreed upon with Indonesia and the Netherlands before the establishment of the Republic of Borneo, so it could not be said that they gave anything in return. In addition, the development of oil fields in Brunei and Sabah was added.

And even the development of these resources was not a concept of colonial exploitation, but was almost in line with international practice, so it brought considerable economic benefits to Borneo.

Railway and road projects were underway here, but since the Republic of Borneo had no technology for this, it was a task that would have to be undertaken overseas anyway. South Korean companies were pushing forward with projects by hiring Borneo nationals as general laborers, except for key technicians.

In this situation, President Stevens had no choice but to respect Kim Kyu-sik.

Because he helped to bring independence to the Republic of Borneo, and personally, he helped to elevate me from being just a journalist to the position of President.

Of course, it wasn’t the South Korean government or Kim Kyu-sik who did this because they liked Stevens.

He was chosen as the leader to lead Borneo because he was a major leader in Borneo’s history and was a strong advocate for independence, especially against the Federation of Malaysia.

The reason he opposed West Malaysia and advocated independence was because originally West Malaysia and Borneo had no connection whatsoever.

Historically, and even religiously, it was difficult to get along in British North Borneo, where Christianity was dominant.

Meanwhile, West Malaysia only wanted to exploit East Malaysia’s resources, and when they extracted oil, they only offered to give North Borneo a 5% share of the profits.

In this situation, Prime Minister Stevenson of Sabah was naturally furious and actively pursued independence, but he died in a plane crash of unknown causes in 1976.

People just assumed that Malaysia had killed him.

And after his death, Malaysia strongly implemented the ‘Malaysization’ policy in North Borneo, during which countless people were forcibly converted to Islam and suffered the miserable fate of being massacred and raped, the aftereffects of which remained until the modern times when the expedition team arrived.

Although not as much as at that time, there were still independence movements, and citizens who wanted to go from West Malaysia to East Malaysia, or North Borneo, had to obtain a visa.

Anyway, knowing this history, the South Korean government had no hesitation in making Stevenson a partner of the Republic of Borneo.

“Yeah, you’re saying that Indonesians are being noisy these days?”

“Yes, Deputy Prime Minister. I am embarrassed to say this, but it seems that they are making fun of the fact that our Republic of Borneo has only recently become independent, and even if we make an official protest, it will not stop.”

“hmm…….”

“They have even mobilized the Navy to demonstrate force recently.”

“Huh! Right! And they’re protesting even though they’re the Navy?”

“yes?”

“Oh, no.”

For Kim Kyu-sik, who had seen the might of the South Korean Navy countless times, this was merely laughable, but for the new republic, it would have been a considerable threat.

“What on earth does Sukarno want? Didn’t he have something to say about it?”

“Yes, there was.”

“Why is that?”

“They are making ridiculous demands. They are demanding that Borneo be given back to them because it is their land historically. No, they are demanding that we unite with Indonesia.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“And then they say that we are persecuting the Indonesian people living in Borneo, and that when they were independent, they were powerless, so they were forced to do so by South Korea… … .”

“No, that bird… … .”

“yes?”

“Oh, no.”

Kim Kyu-sik was a party to the negotiations.

But now that he’s come here and talking about something else, I suddenly got angry and almost swore at him.

“Anyway, they made that demand. Since we strongly opposed it, the negotiation proposal they came up with was to first integrate into a federal system and then merge completely later.”

“Huh! Right! So you have power now?”

“At least Sukarno seemed to think so.”

“You don’t have that much patience… … .”

Indonesia has developed over the past decade.

It’s a ridiculous level from the perspective of South Korea.

However, after only 10 years, Sukarno could no longer stand it and coveted Borneo.

Even if you endure for 20 or 30 years and are greedy, it won’t be enough.

“In a way, it might be natural. They originally occupied most of Borneo, but they were greedy for North Borneo… … .”

“What are you saying… … .”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was talking to myself.”

When Stevenson heard him mumbling in Korean without thinking and asked him about it, Kim Kyu-sik gave a vague answer.

“Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, what on earth are we going to do about this? I’m sorry, but we don’t have the power to protect ourselves yet.”

“I understand completely. They wouldn’t be able to commit such atrocities where our Marines are stationed, right?”

“Yes. They haven’t been able to establish a base in the eastern part of the country where the ROK Marines are stationed, and in the northern part of here.”

There was a small presence of South Korean troops in Borneo, including marines guarding the eastern and northern oil fields and an advisory group leading the Borneo Republic Army, which was established before independence the previous year.

“Huh! Are you weak against the strong and strong against the weak? You’re such a petty person!”

“Yes, Deputy Prime Minister.”

“Anyway, don’t worry. I will go straight to Indonesia and meet Sukarno. I will talk to him nicely when we meet.”

“Will Sukarno listen?”

“If you don’t listen? Heh heh! For those who don’t listen even after being told nice things, there is only one cure.”

“yes?”

“Our navy is on standby in case Sukarno doesn’t listen.”

“Ah! Republic of Korea Navy!”

“Our South Korean Navy is powerful. The Indonesian Navy? If our mobile fleet comes down, it won’t even take half a day. Just blow and they’ll fly away.”

“Oh! I believe it!”

“However, I hope it doesn’t get to that point. Our Navy Chief of Staff is a bit extreme.”

“Radical?”

“It seems the President hasn’t heard the rumor yet? Haha! Anyway, that’s true. When that guy comes out, it starts with a sea of ​​fire and ends with a sea of ​​blood.”

“Huh!”

The next day, Kim Kyu-sik went straight to Indonesia.

“Welcome, Deputy Prime Minister.”

“Oh! It’s been a while since I’ve heard this line.”

The person who came out to welcome me at the airport was Lee Jong-beom, the South Korean ambassador to Indonesia.

And no one came from the Indonesian side, which meant something clear.

It was said that he was an unwelcome guest, but considering Kim Kyu-sik’s status and his role in the process of Indonesia’s independence, this is impossible.

“Haha! These guys are really obvious, aren’t they?”

“The atmosphere is really bad. In front of our embassy, ​​protesters incited by Sukarno are protesting every day.”

“This ambassador is having a hard time.”

“No, Mr. Vice Prime Minister. Please move first and then speak. The atmosphere at the airport here is not very good.”

“I see.”

As Ambassador Lee Jong-beom said, the airport was not conducive to further conversation as Indonesian soldiers with guns were staring at them with fierce expressions.

A little later, the ambassador’s residence.

“Is the official residence still quiet?”

“Perhaps because the official residence is not well known to the outside world, protesters do not come here.”

“Ugh! That damn Sukarno. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Anyway, tell me what’s going on.”

“It has been some time since Sukarno began to extend his hand toward the Republic of Borneo. As you know, he issued a fierce protest statement when Borneo became independent last year.”

“Report only what happened recently, leaving out what you know.”

“Yes, Prime Minister. Sukarno started crossing the line about a month ago. He was blatantly pressuring the Republic of Borneo militarily, and recently he has even turned his knife against us. The media here has suddenly started criticizing our Republic of Korea.”

“Well, what did you accuse him of?”

“They say that our country is no different from the Dutch in that it exploits Indonesian resources. In addition, although it is not openly stated, rumors began to circulate that when they gained independence, they forced the Dutch to take only Sumatra and Java by military force.”

“Huh! Are you going to reveal everything? Even seasoning it?”

“Then, a large-scale demonstration group clearly organized by the government has been protesting every day. Not only in front of the buildings where our companies that have advanced here are located, but also in the oil fields and even in front of our embassy. Yesterday, fire bombs and rocks were thrown into the embassy. Two of our employees were injured by rocks.

“What! At our embassy? And someone got hurt! Are there any such damned people!”

Kim Kyu-sik was really angry.

“What do they say?”

“I went straight to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and protested to the minister, but it was no use. They said it had nothing to do with them.”

“Damn it! This won’t work. Didn’t you tell Sukarno that I was coming?”

“Yes, I have an appointment for tomorrow at 2pm.”

“Okay.”

The next day at 2:00 PM, Kim Kyu-sik went to the presidential palace earlier than the appointed time.

however.

“What? This line, we clearly promised to meet at 2 o’clock?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It was half past two, but Sukarno still hadn’t shown his face, only telling us to wait.

“Are these guys joking?”

“I think he did it on purpose. It’s a tactic that even modern Russian presidents have often used to gain the upper hand.”

“her!”

Kim Kyu-sik was at a loss, but once he got this far, he had no choice but to wait.

As time passed and it was 3:30, Kim Kyu-sik could no longer endure it and got up from his seat.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes? Are you just going to go?”

“We’ve done enough. We don’t have to keep up with his tricks any longer.”

“All right.”

As I was about to leave, a staff member from the presidential palace came running in a hurry.

“The President is coming out now! Please wait and don’t go away!”

“No need.”

“yes?”

“I will go back to my country like this. And I will take full responsibility for this.”

“Ah, no… … .”

“Ambassador Lee Jong-beom!”

“Yes, Deputy Prime Minister.”

“You will also return together. And I will also officially inform our technicians, businessmen, and residents in the oil field. As of today, the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and Indonesia are no longer friendly, but are defined as potential enemies. Therefore, all of our Korean businessmen and residents will return to their home country as soon as possible!”

“All right.”

“Excuse me, Deputy Prime Minister… … .”

The staff was taken aback by Kim Kyu-sik’s chilling aura and his extremely strong response, and tried to dissuade him, but to no avail.

“Go and tell your President. Even when playing with fire, you have to be careful with your opponent!”

“… … .”

“Let’s go!”

“Yes, Deputy Prime Minister.”

As Kim Kyu-sik took the lead and left the presidential palace, Ambassador Lee Jong-beom quickly followed behind.

As I was trying to leave the presidential palace in my car, the soldiers guarding the main gate of the presidential palace started running around busily and the main gate began to close.

“Me, me!”

“No, these guys?”

Ambassador Lee Jong-beom, who was furious, got out of the car and shouted.

“What are you doing! Hurry up and open the door!”

“… … .”

Even though Ambassador Lee Jong-beom is causing a ruckus, the soldiers remain silent with embarrassed expressions.

At that moment, a group of people were running out from inside the palace, and among them was Sukarno himself.

And when Kim Kyu-sik saw that, he raised the corners of his lips and opened his mouth.

“Idiot… … .”