Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 300



Only Krnovel

#300. That law was created because of me?

December 7, 1960.

Harry Truman of the United States visited Korea.

“Welcome, Harry.”

“We’ve been seeing each other so often this year.”

“Haha! That’s true.”

Lee Kang-cheol smiled slightly bitterly.

My visit to the United States a few months ago was to attend Roosevelt’s funeral.

“You worked hard last time. I don’t know how grateful we, the American people, are.”

“Hey, what did I do?”

“That’s amazing. What president in the world, especially one of the superpowers like South Korea, would do something like that? Not only did he personally bring the body, he also stayed until the very end of the funeral.”

“I didn’t mean to, but I’m glad the American people viewed it favorably. I was just honoring my friend’s last moments.”

“Frank was my friend too. Thanks, Iron.”

Lee Kang-cheol must be particularly fried.

Not only did he personally transport the body on his private plane, but he also followed the hearse wearing military uniforms, which left a deep impression on the hearts of Americans.

Even de Gaulle attended the funeral, but did nothing special.

Lee Kang-cheol wanted to remember the title ‘General’ that Roosevelt used to call him, and he wore it with the intention of sending off his comrades who fought together in the Pacific War.

“Anyway, Frank did a good job for our Democratic Party until the very end. Thanks to him, Joseph was elected.”

“I was surprised to see that too. I wanted to pay attention to Joseph, but in fact, there weren’t any particular issues between Korea and the US these days, so I couldn’t help him much. So I was worried when I saw that the Democratic Party was losing ground in public opinion due to fatigue, but I didn’t know that he would survive on such sympathy votes.”

“Hahaha! That’s all Joseph’s luck.”

“I really felt that the position of President was a gift from heaven.”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

Although he was a bit taken aback when his older brother appeared instead of his younger brother, Joseph was still quite friendly with him.

Moreover, Joseph himself is very friendly to me and to the Republic of Korea.

Of course, he may not have been as good as Roosevelt or Truman, but he was much better than any other human being, especially Richard Nixon, who became the President of the United States.

However, as the Democratic Party was struggling due to fatigue from its long-term rule and had nothing special to offer, Roosevelt gave them one last gift.

Not only to Joseph, but also to himself and to the Republic of Korea.

“Anyway, don’t worry about Joseph. I told him to get along well with South Korea, and I think he had intended to do so from the beginning.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

“Thank you? It was all done for the benefit of our country.”

“Hahaha! Still, I’m grateful.”

“ha ha ha!”

And looking back, I think I’ve been close with Truman for a long time.

Maybe it’s because we contact each other so often and share secrets.

“Ah, Iron.”

“Tell me, Harry.”

“It’s Cuban.”

“Cuba? Why Cuba? I thought there wasn’t any trouble this time.”

“Haha! It’s not that I’m different, I’ve decided to transfer to the US.”

“Oh! No, how?”

“We were keeping that Batista guy in check, but he’s been acting up a bit lately.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened?”

In some ways, Central America, including Cuba, is a blind spot for South Korea.

Because it is right under the noses of the United States, they do not conduct any intelligence activities for fear of provoking the United States.

For South Korea, it was a place where there was no reason to engage in intelligence activities.

“So I decided to do what I had been thinking about for a long time. The opportunity came up, and I thought if I didn’t do it now, I would never get another chance.”

“What do you mean, an opportunity arose?”

“This was something Castro suggested first.”

“Yes? Really?”

“Hahaha! Why are you so surprised?”

“No, how about Castro?”

I heard last time that Castro’s ideology is 180 degrees different from the original history.

But today’s Cuba is still Batista’s world.

It is a world ruled by dictators, even though the United States is suppressing it with force.

In such a place, I could not understand how Castro could possibly hand over Cuba to the United States.

“That guy is a man of character. His organizational skills and execution ability are truly top-notch.”

“is it so?”

“Yes, even the CIA, which knows nothing about the future, wrote that it was fortunate for the United States that he and his brother were friendly to the United States. In short, they were the kind of guys who would do anything.”

“Huh?”

It is no coincidence that the Castro brothers devoured Cuba.

“Those guys have formed an organization to oppose Batista, and they have been agitating for a long time that it would be better to become an American territory than to suffer under Batista. And that slogan is working very well.”

“Really? No, I think Cuba is a pretty good place to live these days.”

“Hahaha! It’s probably much better than the original history that Iron spoke of. That’s how much we in the United States cared about it. But we must not forget that humans are animals that naturally like to compare.”

“Comparison? Ah!”

“That’s right. What if you can make a living? All the real rich people are Batista’s cronies.”

A saying that means you can eat and live.

This statement is actually very subjective and relative.

In a poor country, it’s literally just enough to survive, but once you get to a level where you don’t starve, it becomes very subjective.

Bread is barely enough to satisfy hunger. Can a person live by eating the same bread every day?

You might want to eat some fancy bread, and sometimes you might want to eat meat.

And if you take care of what you eat, you will also want to have clothes and a place to live.

However, Cuba is not starving or anything right now, but the problem is that the country’s wealth is monopolized by those who cling to the Batista regime.

Moreover, the country that puts pressure on such dictators and allows them to live a decent life is the United States, and that United States is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world.

Then, wouldn’t you want to become an American citizen?

In particular, Cuba was a country that was under American rule and almost became part of the United States.

Because Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico were territories that the United States acquired by winning the war against Spain.

However, since the politicians at the time spewed out this unnecessary sentiment to the international community, it was a regrettable thing for the United States as well, and the current Cubans, suffering under a dictator, would rather become American citizens.

If that happens, they too will become citizens of the United States, the world’s most powerful country.

“Batista won’t stay still, will he?”

“Hey, what if a bastard like that won’t stay still?”

“… … .”

Truman did not hide his disgust and contempt when the Batista story came up.

“That guy is not that stupid, so he acts pro-American. Otherwise, I would have blown him up a long time ago. But now that we have a justification, why would we care about what he thinks?”

“But… … .”

“I already told him. I’ll let him amass a decent amount of wealth, but he should go live somewhere like Miami.”

“Haha! Good job.”

“And Joseph agreed.”

“What did Joseph say?”

“At first, I was a bit negative. I didn’t really want to create work.”

“That’s natural. Joseph doesn’t really know what Cuba was to the United States in terms of history.”

“That’s right. So I had a hard time getting things going starting this spring, but Frank convinced me over the phone.”

“Frank?”

“Yes, he said he tried to persuade me several times over the phone. So I agreed.”

Who is Roosevelt?

In the Democratic Party, he is a nobleman who reigns almost like a god.

So I have no choice but to listen.

“Instead, I decided to handle it during my term. Well, I didn’t necessarily want to pass it on to the next president. And even while Frank was alive, there was no guarantee that Joseph would be elected, so I moved quickly because I was worried about what would happen if the matter was passed on to someone like Nixon.”

“I see. Anyway, you did a really good job. You may be pro-American now, but you never know when you might turn anti-American.”

“So, even if there is opposition, I intend to resolve it cleanly during my term.”

“Our Republic of Korea will actively support it.”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

Truman used his last visit to Korea as president very wisely.

At night, he mostly discussed with Lee Kang-cheol what to do after his retirement, and during the day, he spent his time going to the general hospital with his wife for a health checkup and looking around here and there.

And the day I return.

“Are you coming to Joseph’s inauguration?”

“Of course. Why would I be blamed for not going?”

“Hahaha! That’s right. But Iron.”

“Huh? Why?”

Lee Kang-cheol looked puzzled and asked back when Truman suddenly lowered his voice.

“Haha… … It’s not that I have anything else to say, but after I retire, we would like to come to Seoul sometimes. Is that okay?”

“No, of course… … . Ah! Hahaha!”

“Haha! This is a bit embarrassing.”

“No, I should have said it first, but I forgot.”

“yes?”

“How was your stay this time?”

“The house we stayed in this time? It was really nice, wasn’t it?”

“That’s Harry’s house.”

“Yes? That house? Oh! I can’t accept that. What I said was that my wife and I sometimes come here and get help from the general hospital.”

“Are there any airfare costs to and from there?”

“… … .”

Truman immediately shut his mouth.

Even today, the cost of passenger aircraft was quite expensive.

But what about the cost of a flight across the Pacific?

Of course, it was very expensive and not something poor Truman could easily afford.

Truman, a retired colonel, a judge, a federal senator, and eventually three-term president of the most powerful country in the world, was poor?

It might seem odd to say that Truman was poor, but in reality, his financial situation was not very good.

To begin with, his family was not a wealthy one, and the general store he had run as a means of earning a living after World War I ended up with nothing but debt.

Although he earned a decent salary by becoming a judge and a senator, living as a politician in Washington required much more than that.

Likewise, as president he received a considerable amount of money, but it also came with significant expenses, so he could not save much of it.

So it was obvious that Truman, who would return to being a man of the wilderness after leaving office, would feel economically deprived.

It is true that he did not have the means to maintain his dignity as a former US President, although the legends about his supposedly ‘punishing’ poverty are exaggerated and misrepresented.

And it’s also true that the Former Presidents Act was partly because of Truman.

There had never been a single US president who had left office before.

There was no pension, no special security, no personnel, no office support as a former president.

In any case, Truman did not have the ability to receive special medical services while traveling to and from South Korea on his own, and Lee Kang-cheol openly pointed that out.

It was also quite rude.

Lee Kang-cheol smiled and said while looking at the embarrassed Truman.

“Hey, Harry.”

“why?”

“You don’t have to worry. Well, since we’re on the subject, how can a former president of the United States, the world’s most powerful country, not have the money to maintain his dignity?”

“… … .”

“And I’m not even giving a bribe. What kind of idiot would bribe a former US president?”

“That’s true, but… … .”

“Sleep! Harry, just do as I say.”

“what?”

“Are you going to write a memoir?”

“Of course… … .”

The main sources of income for retired American presidents, modern and contemporary, are memoirs and lectures.

Memoirs in particular are a big money maker.

In fact, Truman played a leading role in escaping from economic difficulties.

“There is a publishing company in the United States that our Century Holdings owns. I will give you separate instructions, so sign a contract right after you leave office. I will sign a contract on very good terms. Then you can pay it back with that money, right?”

“Is that okay?”

“Hahaha! Of course! And I’m going to tell that bastard Joseph to create a former president protection law right now. I mean, does it make sense to send a former president who served his country back to the countryside without any protection?”

“Whoa, whoa! Don’t do that.”

“Why don’t you do that? It was like that all along.”

“Really? That law was created because of me?”

“Yes, it is true. Even President Hoover, one of the two living presidents, took a pension even though he was rich just to keep Harry out of trouble.”

“her……!”

“It seems that there was no pension system because most of the people who were presidents were rich, but that is wrong. So, are you saying that only rich people can become president of the United States?”

“That’s not it!”

“Hahaha! Anyway, as my friend, no, as a friend of the Republic of Korea, please don’t refuse this little favor that I am extending to Harry.”

“Heh heh… … .”

Only then did Truman’s face brighten.

“What should I do if I am grateful for this?”

“What should I do? Why don’t you come often and keep in touch with me and give me advice?”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

In this way, Truman was able to leave Korea with a smile on his face on his last visit as president.