Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 298



Only Krnovel

#298. Isn’t this a huge profit margin?

03:15 Seoul time, May 23, 1960.

Seoul Government Complex Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters.

“Has it started?”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

Koh Seok-man just came down from taking a short nap in the Prime Minister’s office.

This is because we knew that at 3:11 a.m. in Seoul time, or 3:11 p.m. on May 22nd in Chilean time, the world’s largest earthquake, the so-called ‘Chilean earthquake’ or ‘Valdivia earthquake’, would occur.

Since the expedition arrived in 2027, the world has suffered and will suffer numerous natural disasters.

The South Korean government knew about this fact in advance, but did not bother to warn everyone about it.

No, it would be more accurate to say that I failed to warn you.

What on earth are you warning me about?

A natural disaster?

The god of children has descended?

Or maybe your deceased grandmother appears in your dream?

Just because it feels cheap?

Rather, if it is a large-scale man-made disaster, and if it occurs in an ally or at least a friendly country, there is a way to stop it by any means necessary.

However, natural disasters are still an unknown area that humans cannot know in advance, both now and in the future.

Unless it’s something like a typhoon.

Ultimately, the expeditionary force headquarters established several principles regarding both man-made and natural disasters from the beginning.

First, we will prevent any natural disasters or calamities that are certain to cause damage to Korean citizens and property, whether within or outside the territory of the Republic of Korea, by any means necessary.

Second, large-scale talent from abroad only warns allies and friendly countries in a natural way.

In fact, the talent could have been prevented to some extent even if only anonymous tips had been made.

If it happens even after doing that, then it can’t be helped.

Of course, it was easier in the United States, where presidents knew the identity of the expeditionary force, so it was enough to tell them directly.

And even if they were not allies, as long as they were not enemies, they would give appropriate warnings to any large-scale talents that would be recorded in history.

The problem is the third natural disaster overseas.

There really was no way.

In the case of the United States, it was possible, but once Harry Truman left office, it became no different from other countries.

The conclusion was that when it came to natural disasters abroad, all we had to do was just comply.

At best, they could make excuses to keep overseas staff and Korean residents from approaching them, but in reality, this was something that could not be openly said, so there were limitations.

Unfortunately, a natural disaster is literally a natural disaster.

The South Korean government can only do what it morally can.

But this time, the great earthquake in Chile had a somewhat strange character.

The earthquake itself was a massive one, measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale.

It was the largest earthquake since humans began to properly observe earthquakes, but the number of casualties in Chile was surprisingly small for such a large earthquake.

Fortunately, the epicenter of the Valdivia earthquake was 40 km off the coast, and there were few people living on land close to the epicenter.

With a magnitude of 7.6, the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China killed at least 250,000 people, a much weaker earthquake, so you can see how lucky the 1,000 or so victims of the Chilean earthquake were.

Therefore, according to the established principles, the Chilean earthquake was classified as a natural disaster that could only be ignored, and it was normal for a small amount of relief supplies and donations to be delivered after the fact along with a statement of condolences.

There was a separate problem.

It’s a tsunami.

Since the epicenter of the earthquake was 40km off the coast of Chile, a tsunami inevitably occurred, and this tsunami was quite scary.

It literally caused damage to all coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

Even the tsunami hit the eastern coast of Japan, the Kuril Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula, which were 18,000 km away, so it goes without saying.

According to records, the tsunami generated by this mega-quake affected all parts of the Pacific coast to a greater or lesser extent, but the hardest hit were Hilo, Hawaii, and the northeastern coast of Japan.

A tsunami as high as 10.7 meters hit Hilo, Hawaii, killing 61 people, and in Japan, a tsunami as high as 6.4 meters killed 142 people and displaced nearly 150,000 people.

It was a catastrophe so great that it was hard to believe that an earthquake on the other side of the world could cause such a disaster.

The question was whether the damage would be limited to Japan and Hawaii.

Tsunamis up to 7 meters high hit not only Australia and New Zealand, but also the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka Peninsula, which are now South Korean territory.

But were the countless Pacific and Southeast Asian islands safe?

Common sense tells you this doesn’t make sense.

It would be reasonable to assume that damage was not properly recorded in the Pacific and Southeast Asian islands due to the poor local conditions, although this may not have been the case in Australia or New Zealand.

Given that damage was being done not only to the territory of the Republic of Korea but also to protected countries, it was right for the government of the Republic of Korea to actively intervene in the natural disaster of the great earthquake in Chile, and that was the decision made.

“What time is it now?”

“It is 3:17. It has been six minutes since the earthquake occurred.”

“I am now issuing a tsunami warning to all Pacific Rim countries. Very strong!”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“America is fine. President Truman will take care of it there.”

Truman had been warned in advance that a massive tsunami would hit Hawaii, so there was no need to worry.

“I strongly warn Japan in particular. Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Akkeshi County in Hokkaido in particular, because they will definitely be hit hard, so evacuate all residents.”

“What would you say if someone asked you how you could be so sure?”

“What are you talking about? We confirmed it with our satellite! But if you don’t listen, there’s nothing we can do.”

“All right.”

It is now a world-wide fact that South Korea operates several weather satellites.

I don’t know the detailed performance though.

Therefore, if it is confirmed by ‘satellite’, there is no basis for arguing.

“It goes without saying, but we also warn our country. We strongly warn especially the northern part of Hokkaido, and we mobilize the military to prevent them from being on the coast. We also issue a warning to the Navy and Coast Guard.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“When will the tsunami come here?”

“In Japan, it will be dawn tomorrow, May 24th, 22 hours and 30 minutes later.”

“Whew! I guess we have plenty of time.”

“Yes, there is enough space for a person to get out.”

“Anyway, it’s really amazing. Even on a jet, it’s hard to get there that fast, but to get there in just 22 hours and 30 minutes, a distance of over 18,000 km.”

“That’s why nature is scary, Prime Minister.”

It was really scary.

Even today, it takes at least 30 hours to get to Chile, and often well over 40 hours.

But this tsunami hit Northeast Asia in just 22 hours and 30 minutes.

“What about relief supplies?”

“I’m currently waiting.”

“Let’s get everything going. Help at a time like this is something I’ll be grateful for for a long time. Even if we send Chile by cargo jet right now, it’ll take more than 30 hours?”

“Yes, it will take about 35 hours with a stopover.”

“It’s really dirty.”

“… … .”

“And Japan may be able to avoid casualties, but it can’t help but create refugees, right?”

“Yes. According to the records, more than 30,000 households were displaced, 46,000 buildings were damaged, and over 2,500 ships were destroyed.”

“Isn’t that amazing?”

“You can think of the northeastern region as virtually scorched earth.”

“Damn, I never thought the day would come when we would have to worry about Japan.”

“But now that diplomatic relations have been normalized, and what’s more, we are an ally?”

“So that’s what I’m saying. The transport ships are also on standby?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Prepare thoroughly. Don’t help them for nothing and get scolded.”

“All right.”

A short time later, 12 jet cargo planes took off and headed for Chile, filled with relief supplies.

And at 1:40 AM on May 24th.

Tohoku region (Northeast region) of Japan

Eeeeeeeeng!

A massive tsunami struck the coastal areas of Sanriku as sirens wailed fiercely.

Swish!

Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Hamanaka Town in Hokkaido were completely scorched earth, but fortunately for them, all residents had already evacuated due to a strong warning from the South Korean government.

Moreover, their main source of income, fishing boats, were able to avoid disaster by receiving warnings and evacuating far out to sea in advance.

And two days later.

A naval fleet and dozens of transport ships arrived in northeastern Japan.

Tata tata tata!

Dozens of helicopters took off from naval aircraft carriers to deliver relief supplies, and heavy equipment sprang out from transport ships to clear debris and begin recovery efforts.

And this sight made the Japanese people feel complicated with various emotions.

Until just a dozen years ago, the country they ruled was South Korea.

These are the people who were looked down upon and called ‘Chosunjing’.

But that country has suddenly become a superpower, and now they have come to their rescue.

It’s no wonder I feel so complicated.

But that complexity didn’t last long.

What other country in the world would send such a large-scale relief team so quickly and with such sweat as if it were their own work?

I was truly grateful.

“All, Daikanminkoku (Great Korea)! Banzai!”

“Banzai! Osaka Minkoku!”

“Pagaya-ro! That’s a derogatory term! What kind of rudeness is this to those who came to help! Do it right! Daikanminkoku!”

“Oh, sorry. I got confused because they were similar.”

“… … .”

Anyway, all of Japan began to overflow with gratitude towards the South Korean government, and Kim Jong-woo, who was watching this, shook his head and muttered.

“What is this atmosphere? True internal and external unity? No, since we are now the internal islands, will we become the internal islands?”

“… … .”

In any case, the great earthquake in Chile, which was the largest since earthquakes were first observed by humans, was able to save many lives thanks to South Korea, and South Korea’s status has truly skyrocketed.

This was especially true for Chile and Japan, which quickly received rescue and relief supplies.

“Isn’t this a huge profit margin?”

“That’s what I mean.”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

Although a lot of manpower was mobilized and a lot of materials were poured in, it was really a huge profitable business.

Because it made people all over the world give a thumbs up when they hear the name of the Republic of Korea.

***

September 5, 1960.

It’s Baekjung (百中).

Lee Kang-cheol received a phone call in his office.

It was Mrs. Lee Seon-yeong.

“Oh, honey.”

-honey.

“Yeah, tell me. What’s going on?”

– It’s not that anything else, but Frank’s condition is not good.

“What? Frank? Why? You don’t like it very much?”

-Yes, I don’t think it will last long.

“… … .”

Roosevelt, who followed Lee Kang-cheol to Seoul early this year, was in good health for a while, but recently his condition has been worsening significantly.

But if Lee Seon-yeong is calling like this, then her condition is really serious.

“Okay. I’ll stop by later.”

-yes.

Lee Kang-cheol felt distraught after hanging up the phone.

“Is Frank going to go now?”

As time went by, those I had thought were my close friends gradually turned their backs on the world.