Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 77



Only Krnovel

#77. What is the alliance for?

Ho Chi Minh had experience living in almost every powerful country in the world.

This was because they wanted to choose for themselves which country would help them escape the shackles of France.

So in 1911, he went to the United States via France, and from the United States to England, and then back to France, where he lived for a long time.

Afterwards, he stayed in China and the Soviet Union for a long time, especially in the Soviet Union, where he saw and experienced Stalin’s great purges firsthand.

A time of madness and fear.

No matter how you package it, it was not the communism he had been thinking of.

Ho Chi Minh thought while listening to Kim Gyu-sik’s shouting.

As I wandered around the world, I tried to evaluate the world with an unconventional, objective perspective, but did I find myself stuck in a rut before I knew it?

In the meantime, Kim Gyu-sik’s harsh words continued, but his tone lowered a little and it seemed as if he was passionately delivering the teachings.

“Did you say your new country is the Democratic Republic of Vietnam? “What on earth is democracy and what do you think a republic is?”

“…”

“Our Republic of Korea is also a democratic republic. And the current ruling party hates communism. But, would you like to tell us about the policies that these people who say they hate communism actually implement?”

“yes?”

“Our government prevents the inheritance of wealth by making the rich pay more taxes and levying a heavy inheritance tax. Additionally, the working hours of workers are limited, child labor is strictly prohibited, and youth labor is strictly restricted by law. In addition, we are preparing large-scale land reform based on the concept of open land. They go one step further and say that the state must guarantee the people’s minimum right to survival, and that it will designate the poor as recipients of welfare protection and pay them a minimum living wage. ruler! What is it like? “How is this different from the world you dream of?”

“Well, that’s communism, isn’t it?”

Ho Chi Minh was really surprised.

If what Kim Kyu-sik said is true, aren’t the policies implemented by Korea now the ones he wanted to implement in the country of his dreams?

But a regime that hates communism is implementing this policy?

“I was curious too, so I asked our president. But do you know what he said?”

“what did you say?”

“You said that there is nothing we absolutely have to protect other than a democratic republic. What he said was that if it were the way to make the country prosperous and the people happy, he would do it even if asked to kiss damn Stalin. “And he laughed and said, ‘Isn’t that the attitude a person who rules a country should have?’

“ah···.”

Ho Chi Minh felt like he had been hit in the back of the head.

That was the conclusion.

“But are you saying you can’t do that when a country that is trying to save you from a desperate crisis tells you to put down that sign? Is it really like that? “I’m so disappointed in you.”

“…”

There was a reason why Kim Gyu-sik did this.

Gyu-sik Kim knew the future of Vietnam before coming.

Vietnam eventually becomes independent.

But how many Vietnamese people will be sacrificed until that happens?

The war of independence with France, the division into North and South, and finally the long, long war with the United States, the world’s most powerful country, lasting over 20 years, devastated Vietnam and left countless people dead.

Kim Gyu-sik felt very sorry about this, and hoped that his comrade Ho Chi Minh, who was half of his disciple, would accept the hand extended by the Republic of Korea.

That’s why I tried to generate heat like this, and fortunately, it seemed to be effective.

Ho Chi Minh stood up, bowed deeply to Kim Gyu-sik, and opened his mouth.

“Teacher, you enlighten me once again. Thank you very much. As I said, I will not be concerned about ideology from now on. “Right now, I can’t kick out my organization right away because its roots are based on communism, but I will try to erase any ideological overtones as soon as possible.”

“Huh! Thank you! thank you!”

“No, sir. And when our country stabilizes, I definitely want to visit Korea.”

“That’s right. And I think I got a little excited and said something rude to Chairman Ho, the leader of the country. Please forgive me.”

“ha ha ha! He says all kinds of things. Everyone knows very well that these words were spoken for me and our Vietnamese people. In the future, if you think I am taking the wrong path, please scold me at any time.”

“Uh-huh! Thank you! thank you!”

The atmosphere in the conference room became warm.

Even Bo Nguyen Job was in tears next to me.

“But what are the other conditions? In fact, what you just said can hardly be considered a condition. “It is unilaterally beneficial to Vietnam.”

“The second is to form an alliance with the Republic of Korea.”

“yes? Alliance? No, that seems to be unilaterally advantageous to us, doesn’t it?”

As Ho Chi Minh said, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam is currently not recognized as a country by other countries.

This is because they are wary of France, a traditional powerhouse that is tolerant of corruption in every country, but why is Korea, which is emerging as an emerging powerhouse in Asia, asking to form an alliance?

This means that we will first recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a country, so for Vietnam today, it is not a condition, but rather a gift.

“Please listen a little. “Because alliances have a purpose.”

“okay. What is this alliance for?”

“It won’t be stated explicitly, but ultimately it will be an alliance with China. “This is what our president wants.”

“yes? Alliance with China? No, what kind of China-China alliance is this in these times? “Are you in the midst of a fight between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party?”

“So, let’s look far ahead and form an alliance. China is like that right now, but it will stabilize someday. And, if that happens, we will go back to being evil to neighboring countries like we did in the past…”

“No, it doesn’t matter to us, but it’s a bit unexpected.”

Ho Chi Minh really didn’t care.

No, you said it was an unheard complaint?

Traditionally, China and its neighboring countries have generally not had very good feelings, and the same is true for Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh was even captured by the Chinese Nationalist Party, which now had an overwhelming advantage in mainland China, and was imprisoned for a year before being released with the help of the United States, so it was not possible to look favorably on China even with empty words.

“Do you believe us? If China begins to stabilize, the momentum will be scary. If so, they will try to put pressure on neighboring countries like us and Vietnam again. Wouldn’t it be better to prepare by forming an alliance in advance?”

“You don’t have to say that. From the moment Korea provided us with weapons, we were going to consider Korea an ally, regardless of what Korea thought of us. But it would be best for us if they said they would just hammer the nail in.”

“ha ha ha! “Then it worked!”

“But is this all? “Isn’t this also a condition?”

Ho Chi Minh seemed even more anxious when he only mentioned conditions that did not seem like conditions.

Then Colonel Hong Jin-taek smiled and answered.

“If you really want to, just give us the Paracel Islands.”

“yes? Where are the Paracel Islands?”

“Ah, in Vietnam, they are called Hoang Sa Islands. It is a small archipelago about 400km east of Da Nang and is so small that people cannot live there. It was originally used as an anchorage for Chinese fishermen, but France unilaterally incorporated it into Indochina territory in 1933.”

“is it so? To be honest, I didn’t even know such a place existed. And if it’s an archipelago 400km east of Da Nang and unilaterally incorporated by France, we don’t care at all. “But why do you want such a useless place?”

It was natural to be curious, but it couldn’t be said that it was because of the underground resources beneath that useless archipelago.

“haha! “In the future, we plan to use it for emergency evacuation of our fishing boats and merchant ships heading south.”

“Well, if you say so. But honestly, I’m rather worried about Korea. “There will be a huge backlash from France.”

“ha ha ha! If you want to protest, I say do it. “We, the Republic of Korea, are not afraid of anything like France.”

“Something like France… “I’m really jealous.”

“Uh-huh! Now, is there an agreement?”

“Yes, teacher. Thank you sincerely.”

“Uh-huh! “I’m happy too!”

* * *

September 6, 1945, 3 p.m.

Government Complex.

Lee Kang-cheol and Go Seok-man were mentally running away from home to the other world.

Because of the old man sitting right in front of them.

“When I was in America…”

“Uh-huh! “I’m from America…”

“Haha! In Hawaii…”

“…”

“…”

The old man who blossomed into American stories was Syngman Rhee.

Lee Kang-cheol and Go Seok-man knew that it would be a hassle if they were caught, so they ran away, but in the end, it became an unavoidable situation and we had to listen to his American biography for over an hour.

“No, over there, Teacher Syngman Rhee…”

“doctor!”

“yes?”

“Uh-huh! I am the doctor, doctor. He is also the first Korean to receive a Ph.D. And when addressing a doctor, it is proper etiquette to address him/her with doctor.”

“Ah yes. Anyway, Dr. Syngman Rhee…”

“So, how did I first obtain a doctorate from Princeton University in 1910…”

“…”

“…”

For the mistake of giving the wrong title, the two had to listen to Syngman Rhee’s ‘Story of Obtaining a Doctorate’ for over 30 minutes.

Eventually, when the lecture on obtaining a doctoral degree ended, Ko Seok-man quickly joined in.

“Um, so why did you ask us to meet you?”

“Haha! therefore···.”

“Doctor! We have to go to a cabinet meeting soon. “If it’s okay with you, we’ll just get up.”

“Ah, then let me ask you just one thing.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“I will not ask where you came from and what skills you had to achieve independence.”

“yes?”

“But aren’t you two both soldiers? This means that the current government is actually a military government. Oh, of course, a military government may be necessary to sort out the chaos of the early days of independence. But not now, right? “Isn’t it time to stop military rule and transfer power to representatives directly elected by the people?”

“…”

“…”

Lee Kang-cheol and Go Seok-man were dumbfounded and speechless.

In short, isn’t this saying that we should quickly hold a referendum and relinquish power?

“Otherwise, it would be right to announce a plan for when it will be implemented…”

“Hey, Mr. Woonam!”

Lee Kang-cheol, with a hard expression, called out to Lee Seung-man.

“No, call me doctor…”

“It doesn’t matter to us whether you have a doctorate or a master’s degree, so please don’t keep interrupting us with titles.”

“…”

“As we have announced several times, we will decide on the transfer of military administration to civilian administration at the appropriate time. So you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Huh! That’s not it. “A normal country would naturally hold elections…”

“Elections? No, it is obvious that most people will sell their votes for a pair of rubber shoes or a bowl of makgeolli, so what kind of election are you talking about?”

“no···.”

“And you are making a huge mistake. Do you think that the war is completely over just because the Japanese were kicked out? Can’t you see the civil war happening in mainland China right now? Oh, anyway, we have no intention of leaving power for at least 10 years. So, please do not bring up this matter again.”

“…”

“More than anything! From one to ten, it is the independence we won and Manchuria we won. I’ll be honest with you, but don’t even think about clumsily putting a spoon on a fully prepared dinner table. Chief of Staff! let’s go!”

“Yes, Commander.”

Lee Kang-cheol seemed to be about to leave, but then turned his head again.

“And I’m telling you this out of anger, but it would be best for you to remain quiet as much as possible. If you live like that, you will be able to enjoy the rest of your life in peace as a respected independence activist.”

widely!

When Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man left without even looking back, Syngman Lee, who remained, only then distorted his face.

“dare···.”