195. North Korea (1)
Unlike what Kim Su-ho in Seoul or Serabeol—and many warlords and onlookers—had expected, Pyongyang... no, the North Korean regime had not collapsed.
Even a proper democracy like South Korea had crumbled once. So why hadn't a far inferior North Korea fallen? The reason was brutally simple.
"Exploit the provinces to save Pyongyang. The center must survive. The provinces will live too. For the Dear Leader. Endure this brief suffering. A strong and prosperous nation is just around the corner."
"What nonsense is that, you Kims?!"
The North Korean regime existed solely to sustain Pyongyang, exploiting everywhere else. As long as their stronghold of Pyongyang held, the regime could endure. Everything the nation had—its foundations, its wealth—was concentrated there, making it possible.
South Korea faced criticism as a "Seoul Republic," with all its riches and power centered in the capital. North Korea took it further: Pyongyang was North Korea's Paris. No matter the path, as long as Pyongyang survived, the regime could cling on.
But naturally, the provinces, crushed under this central monopoly, rebelled.
"Open the Yalu River border!"
"You mad Kims! Are you trying to kill us all!?"
The Kim family valued their perch as "Dear Leaders"—or rather, their Kim dynasty—more than the nation itself. More than preserving North Korea, they prioritized regime survival. In the critical moment, they betrayed their people's hopes.
Instead of deploying Pyongyang's wealth or troops to rescue the suffering provinces and quell their unrest, they flung open the border at the Yalu River. Hordes of undead from China ravaged North Korea everywhere except Pyongyang, turning it to ash.
Local warlords, based in Sinuiju, had desperately defended against the Chinese undead. They fiercely opposed the Kims' choice, refusing to join this insane plan to doom everywhere but Pyongyang—and even tried to stop it.
"This is true 'using barbarians to control barbarians'! Deal with foreign devils with foreign devils!"
"Heavens above!"
The problem? This deranged policy worked.
People always prioritize immediate threats over distant futures—especially when their lives hang in the balance. They had no choice but to focus on the undead right in front of them, not curse the regime that had opened the gates. Even knowing Pyongyang was behind it, the provinces' structure forced them to rely on the center for survival.
Just as North Korea had long provoked America or South Korea to stoke war fears and maintain power, now they used Chinese zombies as an external enemy to prop up the regime. A classic performance for their survival.
"Damn those Kim bastards!"
Local warlords building strength in the provinces trembled at the Kims' cruelty—or questioned if they were even human. There were lines even people shouldn't cross, apocalypse or not. Could anyone abandon their own kin so mercilessly?
True, these warlords crushed enemies ruthlessly too. But they welcomed surrenders as brothers, striving together to survive the end times.
Pyongyang, though? As long as it survived, the rest didn't matter.
"The center and Party must live. That's how the nation lives."
"Yes, Dear Leader."
But this regime lacked even that conscience. Utilitarian calculus made sense: better to secure Pyongyang's loyalty than waste effort on provinces. No coups that way. And it wasn't wrong—nearly a year into the apocalypse, the regime thrived on Pyongyang's support.
Above all, their wickedness lay in...
"From now on, you're all accomplices, comrades."
"W-what...? Us? We did this?!"
No one in the regime wanted sole blame. They knew their karma, feared retribution more than anyone. So they needed to drag as many as possible into hell with them. The Kims made all of Pyongyang complicit, framing every act as "for saving Pyongyang" to the provinces.
"You cursed demons! You Pyongyangers want to live so bad you exploit us?! Us, with nothing left!?"
"No! We didn't!"
For desperate provincial warlords, the true culprits—the regime, the Kims—were invisible. Hatred turned to Pyongyang. For the Dear Leader? No—for Pyongyang. Any warlord with a brain knew it was a lie, that the Kims were the villains.
But agony bred denial. They craved an outlet for rage and hate like a drug. Pyongyang's protests fell on deaf ears.
No matter their logic...
"The clothes you're wearing, the food you eat, your homes—all came from there, didn't they? How could you not be accomplices? Speak up with that smart mouth of yours!"
"Uh... uh... aaah?!"
It was true—they benefited handsomely. Pyongyang's civilization endured only because the Kims plundered the provinces for it. With the center intact and no need to control the fringes, surplus administration piled up. The Kims built a paradise for Pyongyang alone.
In North Korea, Pyongyang was strongest. No one dared challenge it. Ideal for the Kims.
Or so they thought. Reality differed.
"Damn Kim bastards! You think anyone in North Korea truly believes in your family anymore?!"
"We're not slaves!"
"Revolution in North Korea! Sanctions on the Kims!"
"Bloodlines of kings, nobles, generals aren't special! The Kims were traitors from the start!"
The awakened knew: the Kims orchestrated it all. They pinned blame first, vowing revenge.
But as mentioned, the breached Yalu meant crisis across the peninsula.
"C-commander! Zombies! Zombies are coming!"
"Ah! The Yalu's breached—now the Chinese scum reach here! Heavens! Why no divine punishment for these traitors?!"
Myriad undead from China—too vast even for them—crossed the river, assaulting provincial cities. Unlike South Korea's urbanization, North Korea's fringes fell fast, warlords facing annihilation.
"Damn it! Fine! We bowed to the Leader! So please—send reinforcements! Save the provinces!"
"Still talking back? You think lowly folk can negotiate with me, the Dear Leader?"
"You tyrant scum! Die! You're not even human!"
They surrendered, pledging loyalty for aid. But the response? Rejection.
The Kims wanted to crush rebellion slowly. Masters of power, they knew...
"Save them when they're broken. Rescue now, and they'll just rebel more."
They planned heroic intervention only after the undead drained them dry.
Realistically, though, that was North Korea's limit. Excuses painted them favorably, but truth: even if they saved the provinces now, they lacked power to dominate them.
Had they the strength, they'd show mercy to avert karma and grudges. Instead, they fanned resistance. Best strategy: pit undead against provinces in "barbarians controlling barbarians."
"What of South Joseon?"
"South Joseon? Ah, right—they collapsed."
More temptingly, their gaze fixed south, beyond rebellious fringes.
Better than absorbing rebels...
"Then we inherit South Joseon's rich offerings, yes?"
...invade wealthy South Korea, seizing its riches and sovereignty. With South's regime gone, North could claim legitimate unification under their lead—a devilishly thrilling prospect. Logical, even: they alone held legitimacy.
"What's South Joseon's state?"
"Warlord fragmentation, Leader."
They watched the South obsessively. At collapse, Pyongyang's troops would strike, plundering Seoul's wealth.
"Warlord chaos! As expected, South puppets finally crumble..."
"Their signboard lingers."
"But warlords rampaging means their fearsome forces are gone! Perfect chance to loot Seoul, fatten Pyongyang!"
"Splendid words, Leader."
Cadres lusted for Seoul's bounty too. To overcome the apocalypse, North needed South's wealth first—for red unification, survival.
"But a puppet state called Serabeol emerged at the edge."
"Serabeol? Ha. No one stops North Joseon. South, Serabeol—none! If we can't take all Joseon, we'll burn everything but Pyongyang!"
Unlike dying fringes, Kim Su-ho hadn't exploited Seoul's provinces. Instead, he'd forged a hero to end South Korea—birthing Serabeol.
This sudden rival? Unforgivable. The Kims vowed not to yield to anyone. Even if all but Pyongyang burned.
"Dear Leader?"
"Relay to the provincial warlords."
"What message?"
Serabeol's rise and strength prompted the Kims to doom it... no, all South Korea. Their plan:
"Don't you want to lure the undead elsewhere?"
Redirect North's undead horde south.
Forcing the South to clean their mess. Heartless, given they caused it.
"I'd pact with the devil to send these cursed undead away!"
Desperate provinces saw it as Pyongyang's olive branch. They knew better, but pain left no room for thought. To divert hellish undead? They'd bargain with Kim devils, becoming accomplices.
"Open the border south. Flood South Joseon with every undead we can't handle."
"How to lure the rest?"
Simple: "Use prisoners. One less mouth to feed, right?"
"Excellent."
North teemed with slaves ready to die for the Kims.
Monstrous policy. But in the apocalypse, exploiting some, devouring lives—that was truth for survival.