Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 65



Only Krnovel

#65. The moment God is reduced to a human being

That bastard is our bastard.

No one knows the truth of this statement.

It is simply said that when Roosevelt established diplomatic relations with Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1938, he did so to those around him who tried to dissuade him.

Another version is that it was said to refer to the Spanish dictator Franco.

In any case, it was undoubtedly a historical story containing Roosevelt’s usual thoughts.

In other words, it is the ultimate statement of the camp’s logic that it doesn’t matter what kind of bastard he is as long as it helps the national interest.

If so, Roosevelt must have organized his thoughts to some degree before speaking.

There was no way someone of Roosevelt’s stature would just say something like that.

This is not the Trump of the world where Lee Kang-cheol came from.

“Then do you intend to forgive Hirohito?”

“haha! I’m just asking the general’s opinion. “Please don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

“…”

Lee Kang-cheol shouted inwardly, “Fuck you.”

Because Roosevelt sensed that Hirohito had already made up his mind not to punish him.

However, when I first met with Lee Kang-cheol, I promised to respect the opinions of the Republic of Korea regarding the handling of Japanese war criminals, and since there were many things that would require cooperation with the Republic of Korea in the future, it was probably just a secret.

Lee Kang-cheol and Go Seok-man felt repulsive inside, but they could not show it.

Although the expeditionary force made a great contribution to reducing the sacrifices of American soldiers, no matter what anyone says, 90% of the defeat of Japan was done by the United States.

This means that if you openly protest at the last minute for putting a spoon on the table and making some effort, your relationship with Roosevelt will only become more awkward.

Lee Kang-cheol gathered his thoughts for a moment and opened his mouth.

“Hmm, anyway, the President is saying that we should deal with Hirohito in a way that is beneficial, right? “Japan has already been defeated.”

“ha ha ha! As expected, the General knows my heart very well. Of course, as I promised before, if the General insists on punishing me, I will think again.”

“Then do it like this.”

“Oh, how?”

“It is clear that Hirohito is a war criminal, but we cannot just ignore it as if nothing happened. This is especially true for us, who were robbed of our country and suffered all kinds of exploitation and suffering for over 30 years.”

“So you’re saying we should punish it?”

“Please listen to me until the end. “What I’m saying is, please at least take care of the cause.”

“The bare minimum justification?”

“Yes, it is. “You heard the broadcast of Hirohito surrendering, right?”

“Yes, I heard.”

“Is that a surrender broadcast? “Tell me honestly.”

“…”

Also known as Showa’s Okum Broadcasting (玉音放送).

This time, because there was no Potsdam Declaration, the content changed slightly, but it was basically the same as the original broadcast.

Not only was it written in an old written language that most people could not understand, but there was no word of surrender at all.

It was the damn Okum Broadcasting that avoided responsibility by saying that it was not their intention to start the war, and was covered with bullshit that continuing the war would not only lead to the destruction of the Japanese people, but also the end of human civilization.

There has probably never been such a bizarre surrender broadcast in human history.

The United States and the United Kingdom assumed that Japanese people were inherently strange people, and the Japanese government had signaled its intention to surrender unconditionally the day before, so they simply assumed that a good thing was a good thing.

“Well, the words were a bit strange. However, we have already received the Japanese government’s intention to surrender unconditionally…”

“Yes, I understand. Since it was a broadcast aimed at its own citizens anyway, they probably meant that they would tolerate that level of nonsense.”

“Well, it’s similar.”

“Anyway, this is our opinion. Justification! “I hope you give me at least a justification.”

“Can you be specific?”

“First, Hirohito must appear in person and sign the surrender agreement.”

“Hirohito himself?”

“Yes, there is a king, so why does the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nabulaeng, sign it?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Japan’s only condition for surrender was that Hirohito be spared, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You said you would save your life, but who told you not to sign?”

“…”

Roosevelt thought for a moment as to whether he had anything to say, then looked at Admiral King and Marshal Marshall and asked:

“What do you two enemies think?”

“I think it’s reasonable.”

George Marshall answered coolly.

“I completely agree with what General Re said. I found that strange too. “Why does a mouth come out when the head should come out?”

Admiral King was, after all, a man.

“Hmm, is that possible now?”

“The war is already over. “If you say you won’t come, I can drag you along.”

“haha! All right. Then please take that action.”

“All right.”

“Okay, then what is the second one?”

“I would like to receive an apology verbally and in writing in clear, modern language for invading and plundering our Republic of Korea and for sacrificing countless lives.”

“There’s nothing wrong with apologizing, but what is clear modern language?”

“I guess the President doesn’t know much because he heard Hirohito’s ‘Okum Broadcast’ as a commentary, but these guys speak a bit strangely.”

“Well, isn’t that because General is Korean?”

“No, you’re saying that’s not true?”

“yes?”

“Even Japanese people couldn’t understand that audio broadcast.”

“It wasn’t Japanese?”

“A Japanese guy speaks Japanese, but which country does he speak?”

“No, but why can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“To put it simply, imagine the president giving a radio speech using the language of Alfred the Great of England, more than 1,000 years ago. “Will any American citizen understand?”

“Well, is it that much?”

“It was also covered in terms used in the royal court. “If you put it in your ears, you pick words that stick in your ears, and if you put it in your nose, you only pick words that stick in your nose.”

“…”

Roosevelt just kept quiet.

And the reason why Lee Kang-cheol did this was to prevent confusion and controversy based on interpretation by saying something that seemed like a pain in the ass.

“Is it really that hard to just say, ‘I’m sorry!’ or ‘We were wrong!’”

“Hmm! There is no need to take the easy path the hard way. I will ask you to do so.”

“Thirdly, Hirohito should not remain on the throne for long, if not immediately. “At the very least, we must show that we are taking responsibility.”

“So you’re talking about abdication?”

“Yes, my eldest son, Akihito, is much younger now, but because he saw the horrors of war from a young age, he later became something of a pacifist. He is about 12 years old now, so I will pass it on to him when he becomes an adult.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Is that possible? “The condition is that when you leave office, you clearly state in modern language that you will take responsibility for the war and resign.”

“As expected, you are sure.”

“Because I am also in a position to represent the country.”

“haha! All right. Then, under the conditions you have mentioned so far, we will not touch Hirohito for now. Are you okay?”

“There are a few more small things, but I will tell you about them later. “This includes a ban on commemorating war criminals, joint supervision between Korea and Japan when writing history textbooks, and the return of stolen Korean cultural assets.”

“Ha, I’ll do whatever you want, so please write it down.”

“You know we made a lot of concessions, right?”

“haha! I know. Don’t know.”

“Then, let’s have a personal meeting with President Marshall…”

“…”

Since he had made concessions on the issue of Hirohito’s punishment, Lee Kang-cheol was willing to take even more.

That evening, there was a grand dinner to welcome Roosevelt.

“He is a great man of our country who went through hardships in China for a long time and served as president of the Provisional Government.”

“haha! Thank you for your hard work. “I respect you.”

“This is the Vice President of the Provisional Government. “You have a master’s degree in English literature from Princeton.”

“Oh oh! I am from Harvard. Nice to meet you.”

Roosevelt greeted the provisional government officials and promised full support for the Republic of Korea in his speech, receiving much applause.

And the highlight is of course the toast.

“Let’s get value!”

“Whahaha! Let’s go together!”

The next day, June 10th.

In the morning, Roosevelt and Lee Kang-cheol boarded a C-27J transport plane together and headed to Japan.

Kim Gu and Kim Gyu-sik also represented the Provisional Government.

Battleship Missouri (BB-63) in Yokosuka Port at 3 p.m.

Originally, the surrender ceremony would have been held at anchor in the waters near Tokyo, far inside Tokyo Bay, but this time, at Lee Kang-cheol’s insistence, it was decided to hold it in Yokosuka, 45km below.

This is because there was a risk that the city of Kawasaki, just below Tokyo, would be contaminated with radioactivity if an atomic bomb was dropped on it.

“coming.”

“Yes, you are coming. “I told my kids to take good pictures, right?”

“Yes, I brought a DSLR camera, so I will take good pictures.”

“shit! It’s canon, right? “Japan surrendered, but they filmed it with Japanese cameras…”

“There’s nothing you can do about cameras, right? Because Sasung got out of the camera business. However, the trademark part was well covered.”

“Here, we must also develop the photo and video equipment industry, such as cameras.”

“Of course.”

Government ministers and Japanese soldiers, led by Emperor Hirohito, who was called the god of Japan, entered the signing ceremony hall set up on the Missouri.

Hirohito, wearing a tailcoat, looked very nervous, perhaps because he was surrounded by the crew of the Missouri and representatives of the Allied Powers. He looked around for a moment, but when he made eye contact with Lee Kang-cheol next to Roosevelt, he immediately turned his head.

Soon, the surrender ceremony began.

Hirohito, sitting at the prepared table, signed the surrender document without even looking at it, and the government ministers and soldiers who followed behind him looked on with miserable expressions.

After Hirohito finished signing, Roosevelt stepped forward and signed, followed by Lee Kang-cheol, the only head of state other than the United States in attendance.

It was truly a historic moment, a scene that would have thrilled a president in the 21st century to see it.

And the eyes of Kim Gu and Kim Gyu-sik, who were watching that scene, became wet.

This is because I could not have imagined that my country would so proudly become a member of the victorious nation and sign the document of surrender after the United States.

Signatures followed in that order: the UK, China, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

Following Europe, the Soviet Union was also left out of the victorious countries here.

After the surrender ceremony was over, Hirohito, guided by a U.S. military officer, hesitantly approached Lee Kang-cheol and his group and stood in front of them.

At 165cm tall, he was quite tall for a Japanese person of this era, but when he stood in front of Lee Kang-cheol and his group, he couldn’t have looked that small.

Lee Kang-cheol and his group who came as an expeditionary force were all around 180 cm tall and, as they were soldiers, they all had sturdy physiques.

Even Kim Gu, a person from this era, is over 180.

So it’s inevitable that they will be compared.

Hirohito’s mouth opened as he had no choice but to look up at Lee Kang-cheol and his group.

“As the Emperor of Japan, I invaded the neighboring Empire of Korea and brought great suffering to countless people. “I sincerely reflect on this and apologize.”

Gyu-sik Kim immediately interpreted.

“Teacher Kim, is this exactly correct? “Did you use any ambiguous words?”

“Only clear words were used in plain Japanese.”

“Then that’s it. “Please translate what I’m saying.”

“Please speak.”

“The United States will not punish you, but we, the Republic of Korea, will never be able to forgive you. Many people died in the war, and many more had to live in pain. I hope to spend the rest of my life reflecting.”

As Kim Gyu-sik interpreted, Hirohito blushed, lowered his head and turned away, probably out of shame.

It was the moment when Japan’s gods were downgraded to humans.