Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 304



Only Krnovel

#304. You, you really need to be careful with what you say.

“Is Israel really that serious?”

“Hey, you know that well?”

“What do you know? I really don’t care about that neighborhood.”

“Really?”

“If you don’t want to believe it, then don’t believe it.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol only knew that the situation was really not good.

The principles of the South Korean government have been firm, past and present.

Beyond India, to the west, there is no place that is too close or too far.

This is because they knew that no matter how they planned the game, the Middle East would not fare well because of oil and religion.

And more than 90% of all the problems in this region were caused by the actions of Europeans, led by Britain, during the imperialist era.

I feel a bit sorry for other European countries when I say this, so let’s say the British are 90% of 90%.

Anyway, it’s obvious that I’ll end up in Bokmajeon, so why would I go there like I’m crazy?

It was said that “the one who ties the knot will untie it.”

It was up to the people who started things this way to get involved or not.

Aren’t you tempted by the oil in the Middle East?

petroleum?

When it comes to oil, South Korea now has so much that it could rot.

The oil produced in Manchuria alone was more than enough for South Korea, and when combined with the oil produced in Siberia, it was a strange situation in which not much was exported.

Moreover, if you add in the oil that they are mining with development rights in Southeast Asia, there will be no one to complain about until the day when oil becomes necessary for mankind.

In short, there is no reason to risk one’s life in this area.

Just the South Korean market would have been enough, and it didn’t have to be that way.

The Middle East is not a region with particularly strong purchasing power.

That is why, in the recent Israeli problem, I was just acting as a complete bystander.

Since he couldn’t just stand by and close his eyes and ears, he did some normal information gathering activities, but that was just for the sake of emergency, so even when reports came in, Lee Kang-cheol didn’t pay much attention.

I didn’t even want to pay attention.

“To be honest, Joseph, you know we’re not really interested in going west beyond India. This is something Frank and I discussed, and at the time we didn’t want to provoke Europe unnecessarily, especially because of England. Of course, the main reason was that we didn’t want to set foot in troublesome territory.”

“Then what about now? Back then, it was the early days of the Republic of Korea, so that was the case, but now you don’t have to worry about Europe’s feelings, right? No, what do you mean by worrying about Europe? It’s a situation where Europe is worrying about South Korea’s feelings.”

“haha…….”

It’s already been over 15 years since the end of World War II.

Meanwhile, the economic revival in Europe, led by the three great powers of Britain, France, and Germany, which had maintained its unity unlike before, was truly remarkable.

But no matter how great it was, the scars of World War II could not be healed easily or quickly.

France was less devastated, but Germany was completely destroyed, and so was Britain.

Moreover, the astronomical amount of money spent on war has not yet brought them the prosperity they once had, no matter how hard they tried.

So, if we look at the current nominal GDP of each European country, the UK is similar to the original at $70 billion, France at $60 billion, and Germany at $50 billion while maintaining unification.

Other than that, it was mostly the same as the original: Italy with $40 billion, Sweden with $16 billion, and Spain and the Netherlands with $12 billion.

What if we add up all of Europe like this?

Even so, it was only 330 billion dollars.

Even including all Eastern European countries excluding the Soviet Union.

This shows how incredible it is that the United States, which received synergy through cooperation with South Korea, exceeded the original $540 billion by $700 billion.

Because he is truly peerless among peers.

Here is South Korea?

Last year’s nominal GDP was ultimately slightly higher at $290 billion, exceeding expectations by $280 billion.

What does this mean?

This would mean that the newly independent nation had an economic power almost on par with that of Europe, which had been leading and writing world history for hundreds of years.

Of course, this is simply a comparison of GDP over a period of one year, and we cannot ignore the strength of Europe that has been built up over hundreds of years.

But given South Korea’s upward trajectory, it would not be long before it would surpass the strength it had built up over hundreds of years.

So, as time went by, Europe’s wariness of South Korea was increasing, and the South Korean government could not help but be aware of it.

It is natural for a new power to be envied, and a square peg gets rounded.

Of course, it’s not that scary, but if you behave a little better, you won’t have to intentionally get hit when you don’t need to.

“Joseph.”

“why?”

“Don’t go around saying things like that.”

“Hey, why? Isn’t that true?”

“I told you not to do that!”

“Really why?”

“You, when you were young and going to school.”

“When you were in school?”

“Yeah, your family was the wealthiest when you were in school, right?”

“Of course it was.”

“And you were the most popular?”

“Hahaha! Are you saying that’s obvious?”

“But, you know, a transfer student suddenly came from somewhere. He was originally poor. But then, all of a sudden, his family hit the jackpot. So he beat you out and became the richest person in the family, and he became the most popular. Do you think that would make you feel good?”

“Well? I don’t know, because that never happened and there was no chance of it happening.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol originally didn’t like people born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but this kid seemed to be even worse.

You never even considered that possibility.

“Anyway, that’s just how the world is. When a talented newbie comes in, people tend to get jealous. That’s why I want to avoid that kind of friction.”

“Hey, why are you doing that… … .”

“Don’t do it! I told you not to! Why are you talking so much?”

“Wow… … .”

“That’s why we’re not interested in the Middle East. Israel acquired land from Algeria and established itself there, so strictly speaking it’s not the Middle East, but North Africa.”

“Then, what about Africa?”

“I don’t care about that either!”

“… … .”

Africa is a place as chaotic as the Middle East.

I only traded for a reasonable amount of money for the minerals I wanted, and I never wanted anything more than that.

North Africa is somewhat better.

If you go down that path, the only place that still maintained the appearance of a country is South Africa, but at the time, they were the epitome of racial discrimination, and the South Korean government didn’t even treat them like a country.

The funny thing is that the South Africans were the ones who first proposed establishing diplomatic relations with South Korea, saying that they would treat South Korea as a ‘quasi’ white person or an honorary white person.

Honorary white?

This was called ‘honorary whites’ and was a kind of special racial class that was actually granted to the Japanese throughout history.

Thanks to this, Japan became the largest trading partner of the isolated South Africa, while the Chinese were treated as ordinary Asians, one of the four major races, along with the Indians.

Except Taiwan, of course.

Here, South Korea also received a proposal to establish diplomatic relations, but fortunately, it was rejected even in the difficult circumstances of the early 1960s.

It must have been quite difficult for South Africa as it was a country that participated in the Korean War, but surprisingly, it made a sensible decision.

In any case, South Africa strongly hoped for diplomatic relations this time as well, because South Korea’s status had grown tremendously.

Therefore, if not diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, at least economic exchanges were hoped for, and this proposal was made to Kim Kyu-sik, who happened to be stopping by England for a short while on business.

If it is true that people rule and oppress people, then this is for Kim Kyu-sik, who is shaking his head.

“Get out, you little shits!”

This is what Kim Kyu-sik said at the time.

Frankly, the State Council members who heard about this situation thought it was fortunate that they did not receive more harsh criticism.

However, Kim Kyu-sik, who was angry, escalated the situation and it became a problem.

Not only is diplomatic relations with South Korea sever, but all countries under South Korea’s influence that trade with South Africa are subject to sanctions.

For South Africa, it was like trying to remove the wart but getting the wart back on, because if this had become a reality, it would not be able to import a single grain of rice from Asia.

If even de Gaulle, who was now completely pro-Africa, joined in, it was only a matter of time before France, which had great influence in Africa, became a real threat.

Britain grumbled that it was a bit too much, and within the South Korean government, there was a difference of opinion, citing the fact that the Air Force had been dispatched to the Korean War in the past, although this was not something that would happen again, and Kim Kyu-sik withdrew his proposal.

It was truly something for South Africa to be thankful for the warriors who had participated in the war.

Anyway, South Korea is Africa and it has no interest in it.

“But why? How serious is the Israeli problem? I know that diehard Jews are causing trouble.”

“That’s a serious problem, especially for the Jews who remained in Palestine.”

“How much is left?”

“There are still about 200,000 of them.”

“Are you crazy? Why are you doing that when I told you to go to a better land?”

“Ha! I don’t know either. Why are you so obsessed with Palestinian land? Well, if you want to continue living there, why don’t you just live well with the Palestinians?”

“Who else?”

“What’s problematic now is that we have information that these guys are preparing for armed struggle in the Palestinian territories.”

“What? Are you crazy? Is that true?”

“This is information from the British. Our CIA has also confirmed it.”

“Then it’s true, right?”

“yes.”

British intelligence in the Middle East was more than equal to that of the United States even in modern times.

If that’s what they were like, then so be it.

“What on earth is this armed struggle for? What do you want?”

“They say they will also make the Palestinian region part of Israeli territory.”

“No, what kind of beggarly things are there? Are you saying you want to eat Algerian land and Palestinian land too?”

The person who first proposed the idea of ​​establishing an Israeli-Algerian state was Lee Kang-cheol.

There are only a few people in the world who know this fact, including Roosevelt, Churchill, George Marshall, and Harry Truman.

But what is this?

You want to eat this and that?

“That’s what I mean! Hey! My father was right?”

“… … .”

“Why are you like that?”

“You, you really need to be careful with what you say.”

“… … .”

Joseph’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., was an anti-Semite.

He even went so far as to defend the Nazi persecution of the Jews, so to speak.

But does that mean our father was right?

This is an extremely dangerous statement that could end one’s political career if it were to leak out.