Spreading the Hongik Ingan Spirit
I never imagined I'd end up turning Hongik Ingan, the ancient Korean ideal of "broadly benefiting humanity," into some kind of pseudo-religion and spreading it as an ideology. Still, seeing how many of these fellows took an interest in it, I figured there was plenty of use to be had. "Koreans unleashed a cult on Japan!" That's how it'll probably be framed, but whatever.
"It was the guiding principle of Dangun Wanggeom, the founder of Gojoseon, the very first Korean state. To broadly benefit the people. I was entrusted with that mission long ago. Otherwise, how could I have triumphed over the invincible Imperial Japanese Army?"
"Hongik Ingan?"
"A philosophy dating back over four thousand years. Under the banner of Hongik Ingan, we seek to benefit everyone."
"What exactly does 'broadly benefiting' mean?"
I racked my brain on the spot and squeezed out an answer. "It means making the world better for the people living in it. Securing their right to survive and prosper. If I had to compare it to something Japanese, it's similar to how Japan, as the first Asian nation to catch up with the West, spreads civilization and aids other Asian countries. But Hongik Ingan goes beyond that framework. Regardless of race—yellow, white, or black—regardless of ideology, regardless of age or gender, it is about improving the world everyone lives in. National borders and ethnic lines mean nothing."
"Please continue."
Good thing I looked up Hongik Ingan beforehand, just in case.
"Long ago, Hwanin had a son named Hwanung. Hwanin asked him if he could descend to earth and broadly benefit the human world. Hwanung received the Three Heavenly Seals, descended with three thousand spirits beneath the sacred tree on Mount Taebaek, and from that moment—long before the Korean people even had a nation—the ideal of Hongik Ingan spread. I, too, carry that same calling."
"Does that mean a single leader must guide the world?"
No, that's not the angle I wanted. That would just remind them of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Better to say there is no central subject.
"Not at all. Hwanung was merely the beginning. The concept itself has no fixed subject. It means anyone can work to improve the world people live in. Of course, those who cause harm along the way must be removed."
"Ooooooh."
"White civilization inherited this mission centuries ago, but they have since fallen into corruption. Instead of benefiting others, they oppress weaker nations and turn them into colonies. After returning from Europe, I laid the foundations here in Korea. So what must white civilization do if it truly wishes to benefit humanity?"
"Stop oppressing weaker nations and help them achieve civilization?"
Exactly. Typical of people who once dreamed up the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere—they came up with that line instantly. I clapped my hands and smiled as if they had given the perfect answer.
"Precisely. Helping one another achieve civilization and live together in harmony—that is Hongik Ingan."
I played the role of a patient teacher, giving the officer who had answered an encouraging smile and a round of applause.
"The surface reason for my visit to Japan today is to restore diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. In truth, however, I came because I wish to work together with Japan—the first nation in Asia to modernize—to broadly benefit the world."
"I see."
"To think Korea was so eager to stand with us, Kuroki. If only that disgrace to the Imperial Army hadn't ruined the war, things might have moved much faster."
They were actually buying it. Well, if some godlike being you admired grabbed a sword bare-handed right in front of you, you'd probably start believing too.
"A pity, but the past is the past. Both nations must now join hands and move forward together."
"But this 'mission' you speak of—can such a thing truly be possible? No matter how much of a hero you are, it's hard to believe. Earlier, with just your hand—"
Right. They needed more than just my hand to be convinced.
"Does anyone here have a weapon?"
I needed to show them the same feat that had convinced the Russian Tsar and his nobles. At my question, a buzz-cut officer who looked like he played baseball handed me a knife.
"It's just a fruit knife we use around here."
I gripped the blade with both hands and stabbed it repeatedly into my stomach as if committing seppuku, driving it in hard enough to make the point obvious. Even if it had been an act, there should have been blood, yet not a single drop appeared—only my clothes were torn. The officers' eyes widened in shock.
"You see? If I had not truly been entrusted with spreading Hongik Ingan, I would be bleeding out and dying on this very floor."
For a while after that, I explained the ideology of Hongik Ingan to the young Japanese officers. I demonstrated my superhuman nature and preached the doctrine. Mere words would have meant nothing, but showing them that even blades could not break the Hongik ideal made all the difference. The young officers began to believe.
"The future belongs to the young. Only by reconciling Korea and Japan can we truly realize the ideal of Hongik Ingan."
In short: you need to side with Korea. Of course, if these fools proved useful later on, I could always use them as convenient justification when the time came to strike Japan.
"We will join the cause of the Manchurian Administration!"
"Leave the Empire to us!"
They actually believed it. Idiots. Still, I had to keep the possibility in mind. After all, the Triple Intervention had sent Japan spiraling downward. I didn't expect this to work miracles, but even if they only created internal chaos at Imperial General Headquarters, that would be enough.
Next came the navy. Both the army and navy officers were young—an advantage I could exploit. This was around the time they were busy glorifying Admiral Yi Sun-sin, so there was definitely something to work with. I decided to pay the naval officers a visit on my way out.
"It is said that if one is prepared to die, there is nothing one cannot accomplish. Though the Combined Fleet suffered a crushing defeat off Tsushima due to a sudden ambush, you still managed to sink half the Russian fleet. That is an achievement worth taking pride in. If the conditions had been equal, would the Japanese fleet ever have lost? This is all because England fed Japan the wrong Russian strategy."
"Ah, that's right. England! It's all England's fault!"
England—Britain—was to blame for everything.
"Even though your fleet was shattered by defeat, I still believe in the potential of the Japanese people, Asia's leading nation. Our own Admiral Yi Sun-sin rebuilt a fleet that had nearly vanished after the Battle of Chilcheollyang, all without support from the central government. Surely Japan can rebuild its navy as well?"
I kept mentioning Admiral Yi Sun-sin. The glorified image of Yi that the Imperial Japanese Army had created would serve as the perfect catalyst for these demoralized Japanese naval officers.
"That's right! The Korean is correct!"
"We can rise again!"
Several officers clenched their fists as they looked at one another.
"Although Korea and Japan shed blood fighting each other, once a war ends, shouldn't both sides acknowledge one another and strengthen their friendship?"
"She's right. And coming from the country of Yi Sun-sin, no less."
Exactly. From the country of Yi Sun-sin. And from what I could see, Yi Sun-sin really had been elevated to heroic status here. That alone was already a significant achievement in my book.
"It's hard to believe Yi Sun-sin was a Joseon general, but looking at this woman from the Manchurian Administration, I suppose it makes sense. She's the one who saw through the Imperial Army, after all."
I didn't bother pushing the Hongik cult on the navy. Why? Because I planned to keep the army and navy divided by feeding them different lines. Let the army chase the dream of benefiting the world through Hongik Ingan while the navy swore to rebuild and dominate the seas. Wouldn't that create even more conflict than in the original history? At the same time, I was planting seeds of discord in case the navy lost influence and the army took over later. Who knew? Maybe their precious Yamato spirit would come in handy after all. If they started brawling with the army over rebuilding the fleet, that would be perfect for us.
While I was busy sowing discord everywhere, someone was bound to be sent after me sooner or later. By now they must have heard about the assassination attempt.
"You certainly move quickly."
Speak of the tiger and it appears. Finally, someone had shown up.
"Oh? I was told the reply would be late, but it's the Chairman of the Privy Council himself."
The man who had come to see me was none other than Ito Hirobumi. The only Japanese official I had any real acquaintance with was Ito, so of course he had come in person. Seeing him like this actually pleased me.
"You look considerably thinner than before."
"Hahaha. Whose fault do you think that is?"
Ah, this was what they called reaping what you sow. He should have either driven Russia out and handed over Manchuria or quietly stepped aside. Instead, he carelessly let his guard down against me. Come to think of it, these bastards had underestimated me and paid the price.
"Hahaha. Hearing you say that makes me happy. I've only just passed twenty, after all."
"Even after turning twenty, your potential remains this great. Truly remarkable."
Whoa, if he kept praising me that highly I'd start feeling embarrassed. Still, he'd been awfully deferential toward me since a while ago.
"You've been treating me far more politely than before."
Ito Hirobumi going out of his way to act humble? I really had grown, hadn't I? From his perspective, getting emotional and looking down on me as just some Joseon bitch would have been a mistake.
"After all, you are not merely the Foreign Minister. No matter how young you are, one cannot treat a diplomatic representative of another nation with disrespect."
"I see."
That was one thing I genuinely appreciated. Even now, there were precious few people in the Korean cabinet who could keep a cool head when it came to Japan instead of just screaming about those damn Japs. The more they underestimated us, the better. It was far more effective to pretend to be friendly while hiding the knife.
"I heard you spent time with our officers."
Of course. How else was I supposed to change anything?
"Ahaha, the young officers seemed quite interested in me."
"I must apologize for the assassination attempt."
The sight of him bowing his head was satisfying.
"It's fine. Thanks to that, we'll be restoring diplomatic relations again. How fortunate."
"Still, you seemed to get along with them surprisingly well."
Well, they were going to be the ones creating chaos in Japan from now on. Of course I had to get close to them. It would be nice if something big came of it.
"Looking at those officers, I couldn't help but think the Japanese are truly impressive."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. If it had been Korea, they would have ground their teeth and joined in trying to kill me. Yet your officers ended up glorifying me instead."
Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never lose. By elevating the enemy, it became easier to accept that their own generals had been defeated. Korea itself was inferior, but individuals like Yi Sun-sin and Ok Jin-seo were rare superhumans who crushed the Empire's commanders. That was the narrative. Not that Korea was great, but that certain Koreans were strong. Looking down on them as inferior savages or Japs had never gotten Korea anywhere. At the very least, Japan had the sense to say "so-and-so is dangerous, so don't let your guard down." That kind of thinking was necessary.
Ito Hirobumi let out an uncomfortable cough.
"Ahem."
The sight was quite pleasing.
"Didn't the Privy Council Chairman himself act friendly toward Koreans when he came to Korea?"
Surprisingly, Ito had been quite friendly to Koreans. But was that because he genuinely wanted to be close to them? No. He had been trying to win them over so he could absorb Korea more smoothly.
"You're right. Neighboring countries should get along well."
Asians getting along with Asians—that was the ideal, wasn't it? At the very least, Ok Jin-seo needed to appear as a pan-Asianist to the Japanese.
"Wouldn't it be perfect if Korea became the France of the East and Japan became the Britain of Asia?"
That line had actually appeared in the original history too. Of course, Korea had ended up as Japan's colony in the end.
"Are you speaking seriously?"
"Ah, purely in terms of an island nation versus a continental nation. Now we're finally starting from the same line, aren't we?"
I clapped my hands loudly for emphasis.
"The same line?"
Of course, from Japan's perspective—which had modernized much earlier—it probably sounded ridiculous. But while they were busy crawling out of the pit they had fallen into, we were making our own progress. This was our era of independent modernization.
"As equal nations. Let's be frank with each other. Didn't Japan plan to turn Korea into a protectorate, strip away its diplomatic rights, and eventually turn it into a puppet state or annex it outright?"
Korea was still far behind, but by the time Japan recovered, we would have our own house in order. We were already pushing modernization hard, and there was no longer any foreign power left to interfere the way they had during the Gwangmu Reforms. This was our time.
"You're being rather extreme. If Korea simply became a pro-Japanese nation, none of that would have mattered. As long as it remained pro-Japanese and achieved civilization, having a reliable ally would have been beneficial for us as well."
The way his brow furrowed told me he was lying. What he had really envisioned was a gradually pro-Japanese Korea—one where the Japanese Emperor would also serve as King of Korea.
"Very well. In any case, we're fortunate to be establishing a new relationship through this."
"Now then—"
"Ah, one more thing before that."
I had almost forgotten why I brought this up.
"There's something else?"
"Could you at least apologize for assassinating the late Emperor?"
"Let's be accurate. That was an impulsive act by that fool Kuroki. Thanks to him, Korea was able to accelerate its civilization even further, wasn't it?"
I knew that too. I was almost grateful for it. After all, I had used that very incident as justification to take Tsushima in the Treaty of Paris. In other words, Kuroki's blunder had been worth about as much as Tsushima Island. But that was that. If I returned empty-handed, how would the fiercely anti-Japanese Korean public and imperial family react when I announced normalized relations with Japan? I couldn't explain it to every single person. They'd just call me a woman who had submitted to the Japs. Personally, I'd rather squeeze something out of these bastards.
"If I go back like this, people will say I'm a Japanese lapdog."
"That's not my problem—"
Oh? So that was how he wanted to play it? Fine, I had my own ideas.
"Oh dear, Your Majesty the Tsar! Your Countess was nearly assassinated by the Japs! Please grant your subject vengeance—"
"Enough! Enough already!"
Ito Hirobumi raised his voice, desperately trying to stop me. Right. That was the reaction I wanted. Japan wouldn't want to give Russia any more justification while they were still wary of them.
Ito Hirobumi's face twisted into an extremely ugly expression. Not that I cared.
"The former Prime Minister and I will personally visit Hanseong to offer our apologies."
"A wise choice. Thank you."
And so, diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan were normalized.