The Modern Donghak Leader
As I continued our conversation, which was bordering on trivial matters, I eventually came to realize the truth.
The man in front of me, Jeon Bong-jun, may have looked modern on the outside, but he was not modern at his core.
Why?
He spoke vaguely about the positive effects and economic changes brought by the new government offices in Namwon and Jeonju, or what role the rice exchange in Gunsan and Incheon would play in the future, but when I asked political questions or about changes in private life, he gave responses that were as if he had prepared them in advance—stiff and textbook-like.
And those prepared, stiff answers were nothing but praise for me, excessive flattery, and accolades for the greatness of the revolution.
Wasn't that strange?
The man who was supposed to lead a peasant revolution that would turn the entire country upside down in just a few years was responding to the interview as if he were being controlled, without asserting himself at all.
And it was even stranger that he didn't show any hesitation or surprise when I suggested reforming his cumbersome topknot or the uncomfortable ancestral rites at the gates.
He simply followed my opinion with "yes, yes, yes."
And decisively,
"... I'm sorry, Your Excellency! I was the one who ordered everything!"
It turned out that Kim Gae-nam, the Chairman of the Youth Committee and Commander of the Vanguard, who had been lurking outside the corridor, finally barged into the inner office and bowed repeatedly in front of me like a broken reed, confessing everything to me.
It was clear that the reason he had been restless during the Alliance Association executive meeting for the past few days was because of today's events.
"This friend has a grudge against the Public Security Committee because he was active in the Donghak movement several years ago, so I had no choice but to dismiss him..."
"Hmm."
Instead of exploding in anger, I waved my hand in the air as if to hear more, and Kim Gae-nam slowly explained the situation.
In summary, it was simple.
Jeon Bong-jun was a Donghak member. He was so enthusiastic that he was responsible for an entire region.
Therefore, he had a grudge against the current government.
So, he felt the need to stamp out the label of reactionary and disloyal.
Therefore, he received absolution from the symbol of the Republic and the revolution.
Nice words, praise for the revolution, praise for Your Excellency the President's greatness, long live the Three Principles of the People!
After barely regaining my senses from the incoherent excuses and fanatical praise that were close to a hallucination, I asked,
"Did you practice by picking out only the words I like...?"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"..."
And to actively place Jeon Bong-jun in my favor, Kim Gae-nam had been monitoring every move I made.
He had forced Jeon Bong-jun to subscribe to newspapers for the past three months, including the Daehan Maeil Sinbo that I subscribed to and even foreign newspapers like the Yomiuri Shimbun from Osaka, to reflect my tastes.
Thanks to that, Jeon Bong-jun was able to speak simple Japanese conversation because he had been educated by a Japanese teacher who was unfamiliar with his background.
'Wait a minute, how is that possible in just three months? Maybe he's a genius?'
I wanted to ask a truckload of questions, but I barely held them back.
"I had all my facial hair shaved off too."
It didn't end there.
The mustache he had boasted about in the photo taken in 1894 was completely shaved off because of my preference for clean-shaven generals who didn't wear messy, unhygienic beards at meetings, and the original clothes he had been wearing raggedly from Gobu were taken away from him under the pretext of a bath for the interview and discarded.
At that moment, Jeon Bong-jun's ears were already turning red.
Noticing this, I looked at him with a worried expression.
"Are you all right?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine, Your Excellency."
No. He seemed angry.
Perhaps he hadn't realized that he had burned his own clothes, so Jeon Bong-jun bowed his head deeply to hide his face, which was flushed with shame.
What a mess for befriending the wrong person.
However, it didn't end there.
This crazy Kim Gae-nam was trying to turn Jeon Bong-jun completely into my man, or rather, he was carrying out a 19th-century-style grooming.
"Your Excellency prefers light porridge in the morning. Especially the clean, clear soup of seolleongtang without any ingredients."
He told me that I liked to have lunch with staff from each department, and he had spent his own money to get me used to the seolleongtang shop in front of the Yugyo street, the Namwon-style apple carbonated water I often drank, and even imported beef canned goods, by putting them in my mouth.
Somehow, Jeon Bong-jun had gained some weight, unlike in the photo, and that was probably the reason.
At this point, my expression and Jeon Bong-jun's became the same.
'Stalker?'
And it didn't end here!
Kim Gae-nam remembered that I had complained about the uncomfortable hanbok that dragged on the floor because it was too loose and long when I was in the Alliance Association, and he remembered insulting the generals who attended meetings without shaving in the Wolf's Lair as lazy bums.
Indeed.
In the end, the decisive reason Jeon Bong-jun's appearance had become 'modern' was this!
Finally,
"At first, I felt awkward too, but now I understand why Your Excellency values cleanliness and order so much! It's really comfortable!"
"..."
Jeon Bong-jun had his beard shaved, so why hadn't Kim Gae-nam left his own beard?
I looked up at Kim Gae-nam's head, which now felt uneasy, and saw that he had no topknot.
"Damn it."
"This is the revolution, and this is the new spirit of the Korean people that Your Excellency has championed, is it not?"
And this absurdity was shattered by the cry of a country mouse from the countryside.
"Stop it now!"
It was Jeon Bong-jun's true mindset that echoed through the office.
That was what I heard.
*****
Since the apology for the betrayal and lies was followed, the next part was the true, heartfelt story.
In the office where no alcohol was involved, Jeon Bong-jun, whose face was flushed and kept shaking his head as if drunk, poured out his true feelings to me without hiding anything.
"I was honestly confused, Your Excellency, about the reforms and the spirit of the Three Principles of the People."
"..."
"Gobu is a rather fine land. Excluding a few stupid and greedy people, anyone can manage their own affairs and farm well there. The farmers in Gobu are honest and hardworking, and it's a place with strong family bonds since ancient times."
Earlier, Jeon Bong-jun had praised me with near-flattery that the recent changes and the new government had caught corrupt bureaucrats like rats, and expressed deep gratitude.
Thanks to that, today Gobu, unlike before, has no impoverished farmers starving on the streets due to heavy taxes or unreasonable bribes and favoritism.
"But the demand from the Alliance Association for the wealthy to donate their assets and wealth under the pretext of enlightenment and recovering lost territory, with foreigners who didn't exist before entering the interior beyond the treaty ports, is really unbearable, Your Excellency."
Although I didn't know much, the foreigners with fair skin and blue eyes roaming around in Jeolla Province weren't a big hassle for the local residents.
Rather, the villagers were surprised to see a foreigner in their village, which was rare, and happily welcomed them, and the foreigners, mostly missionaries or businessmen moved by the emotion, often scattered generous travel expenses in the villages.
In other words, both sides often won-win situations.
"The newly established Alliance Association's small branches and the people's assemblies convened by outsiders in the villages aim to collude with local elites and corrupt officials to manipulate village administration as they please."
On the other hand, the real problem was that after the revolution, the small branches of the Alliance Association proliferated like weeds, and using the administrative vacuum, they formed committees and people's assemblies to freely control the villages.
The Alliance Association varied greatly depending on the situation in each branch: some places were oppressive, while others truly helped the impoverished farmers and served them.
First, Jeonju and Namwon, where I had founded the Alliance Association and given the most speeches, were still representative cities with some purity remaining.
"Jeonju and Namwon, which Your Excellency personally leads and has produced countless ministers and officials in the cabinet, are excellent. Even last year, when there was a drought in Gobu, the members of Jeonju and Namwon donated hundreds of sacks of grains voluntarily."
It was said that not only Gobu, but also nearby villages and declining hamlets received regular support from Jeonju.
As a result, Jeonju's status, which was on the verge of being labeled a reactionary land like Namwon, had noticeably changed after the revolution.
Jeon Bong-jun's false accusations continued.
He sounded like a social activist.
"The Youth Committee and the Vanguard drag young men from the villages, who are busy with the farming season, out early in the morning to pave roads and build dikes. They demand food contributions, saying that those who are a bit rich and have good grain stores should provide rice to add to our Republican Army to be sent to the Yodong."
Arbitrary conscription?
Damn it! What kind of mess is going on in the provinces?
"By the way, I didn't know about such circumstances. Vanguard Commander?"
When I turned my head to look at Kim Gae-nam, he waved his hand with a panicked expression.
"It is a shameful side, but only an extremely small number of branches engage in such lawless behavior-."
But Jeon Bong-jun was not ready to end it.
"And there is a coercive atmosphere, Your Excellency."
"Atmosphere?"
"Those who have not joined the party are taken for granted to be discriminated against. It's not just because I was a Donghak member or joined a disloyal organization. From people who lost their party membership because they couldn't pay dues due to poor family finances, to families where the head of the household is absent and widows have to manage the house alone, they are marginalized."
"..."
"The conflict between the local Confucian association and the committee that has lasted in the village for a long time has reached a level that cannot be ignored. Moreover, the local elites are moving to be quickly compensated for the efforts and hard work they have put into serving the revolutionary government-."
I couldn't understand why the widow's ashes suddenly appeared here, but I was sure of one thing.
Jeon Bong-jun was not an ordinary awakened person.
If I wanted to capture the 'real' rural sentiment, I had to capture him.
*****
About an hour later, I sent Jeon Bong-jun and Kim Gae-nam back with the message that there was another interview candidate.
The answer I could give immediately at that point was essentially predetermined.
I liked Jeon Bong-jun, and Jeon Bong-jun didn't seem to have much emotion about me destroying the Donghak.
Rather, he seemed to quietly approve of the cautious promotion of enlightenment and reform, which many Confucian scholars believed was necessary among the literati.
Jeon Bong-jun was also a former Confucian scholar, since he was a Donghak member.
So,
"I promise you, on my position. I will thoroughly investigate all matters regarding the subordinate branches of the Alliance Association. And I will conduct a full re-investigation of the hidden corruption and unreasonable incidents during that time."
"Thank you for your words, but the Public Security Committee, which is on the same side as the Alliance Association, honestly cannot be trusted."
"I will appoint you as the head of the Investigation Committee to be temporarily established."
"Eh?"
"The interview is passed. I want you."
"Too sudden a proposal, so..."
"Will you not join our cabinet together?"
Although he couldn't answer immediately, with my deep gaze and Kim Gae-nam's signal, Jeon Bong-jun answered that he understood.
Thus, Jeon Bong-jun was appointed as the head of the 'Investigation Committee' to be temporarily established.
There were complicated circumstances, but after settling the Jeon Bong-jun matter, the next problem came to me.
Yes, our beloved traitor, Mr. Lee.
"Your Excellency, I am Lee Wan-yong."
What a man, he walked in without any big impression and bowed deeply in front of my desk, then sat down on the chair with a stiff expression.
"..."
Although rude, I sat quietly and stared at Lee Wan-yong's face, which was looking at my mouth.
It was almost the same as the photo.
Rather, it was even more unnervingly identical than Jeon Bong-jun.
First, unlike Jeon Bong-jun, who worked in Hanseong as a somewhat official, I scanned his neat and fashionable clothing and opened my mouth.
"Have you ever received a bribe?"
"Eh?"
As if he couldn't imagine my question, Lee Wan-yong made a bewildered expression and quickly regained his composure to answer.
"I have never once said that I would receive a bribe or accept any recognition, with my hand on my chest."
"Then, even if you didn't want it, if the other party inserted it into your sleeve without you knowing, is there such a case?"
"Of course not."
Then he confessed that it was a bit of an excuse, but that he had been briefly investigated by the Public Security Committee because he had been suspected of tailoring his suit at his family's declining house one day.
However, he explained that it was supported by his fiancé's family.
It was just a probe, but with his face showing no sign of lying despite being flustered, I nodded and asked the next question.
"I heard you worked in the Ministry of Education. You left right after, and explained that job."
"That is..."
Lee Wan-yong hesitated for a moment, swallowed a sigh, and began to speak calmly.
"It was because I strongly advocated for the establishment of a language school to educate and supervise various foreign languages in preparation for the coming international diplomacy."
"You?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. But it was rejected due to budgetary reasons. However, the concern was that, in addition to the Minister of Education, many ministers were more interested in the abolished Confucian schools and elementary schools than in immediate foreign language education."
In Lee Wan-yong's story, I recalled for a moment.
'The National Education Charter and the elementary education issue were my orders, and I don't know about abolishing Confucian schools. I should flip this over too.'
Taking advantage of the moment when my gaze was diverted due to the war, there were departments that acted arbitrarily.
Well, it was my decision to give enormous autonomy to each department and ministers.
At that time, I opened my mouth when a curious question crossed my mind.
"How many languages do you speak?"
"Which one? English and a bit of French, and I learned a little Norwegian from a interpreter from Hamgyeong Province. That's all."
At this, I replied with a slightly surprised expression.
"So, you speak four languages?"
"Norwegian is almost at a level where I can't speak it, and French is at a level where I can give a presentation for a simple business proposal."
"I heard you are fluent in English."
"Yes. That's right, Your Excellency."
With that, Lee Wan-yong, who had a conversation with me in fluent English, was the first to express emotion in front of me.
What should I call it? Perhaps a sense of superiority?
It seemed that the reason I was learning English was because there was a clear vision.
"The United States and Britain will dominate the world in the future. Therefore, English is essential."
"Then, what about French?"
"Since Your Excellency has declared the French Republic as a friendly nation, isn't that natural?"
"..."
At least one thing was clear.
Lee Wan-yong was of the same type as Gojong.
What do you mean?
'He is sensitive to power.'
Even more so than Gojong.
And once I read the emotions from his expressionless face, the threads of his intentions and the flat expression began to be grasped.
"Then, why don't you speak up directly?"
"I am a low-level official who passed the outdated examination process and was appointed by good luck. My father is not even a member of the Alliance Association, and my brothers are also poor students."
"The fact that you didn't join the party or achieve merits in the revolution is not a valid reason in this interview for evaluating you."
"No, Your Excellency. I am not reactionary but a civic-minded official, and I think that a modest official life suits me better than being in the spotlight of everyone."
He was watching my eyes and analyzing my expression and gaze for every answer.
However, there was one other point.
"Then, the friends who should side with the Republic in the future are the United States and Britain."
"Yes, Your Excellency. The Russian Empire is a dangerous country that must never be allied with or approached closely."
"Hmm, if you know so well, how about going back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
"That is a difficult story, Your Excellency."
"Why? How about you taking the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and handling the Republic's diplomacy?"
"I have no aptitude for politics."
It was not humility or modesty.
He believed that it was impossible for him to reach the position of the top person.
Rather, Lee Wan-yong was thoroughly aware that he was the second-in-command.
Finally, as the last test, I threw the question I had prepared.
"How do you feel about the revolution?"
"Eh?"
"The revolution of the Republic and the spirit of the Three Principles of the People. Answer well, this is the last interview."