Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Italian Military Administration
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In the Kingdom of Southern Italy, the Korean occupation forces were known as the epitome of gentlemanly soldiers.
They could have gotten any girl from young children to middle-aged housewives to drop their skirts with just a few pieces of candy, but the Korean troops didn't even glance at Italian women.
"Mister, chocolate. Chocolate. Please give me just one chocolate."
A little Italian girl who couldn't even speak Korean trailed after a Korean soldier on street patrol, begging.
"Here, take this and go away."
"Thank you, mister."
The Korean soldier tossed some food to the girl following him as if she were a nuisance and kept walking.
If they were soldiers from any other country, they would have used the food as bait for shady schemes, but the Koreans acted like monks.
Every time the Italians saw this, they were impressed.
"Look at those guys. They don't even glance at the girls clinging to them. Korea really must be a gentlemanly country."
The Italians thought it was because the Korean military maintained strict discipline, but that wasn't the case at all.
There was a rumor circulating among the Korean troops.
"If you sleep with an Italian girl, you'll break out in all sorts of STDs. Then they'll cut your dick off. You know? Slice it right off with a knife. You'll become a eunuch. So if you don't want that miserable fate, keep your pants on."
"Are they really that dirty?"
"White people live promiscuously by nature. Oh, unmarried men and women live together and do everything under the sun."
"Man, the girls here have such sharp features and pretty faces, but no dice, I guess."
Out of fear of castration, the soldiers pretended not to notice even when beautiful Italian women threw themselves at them.
Then, back at base, they all shed tears of frustration.
Of course, the rumor that Italian girls were hotbeds of STDs was deliberate misinformation spread by the Korean military brass.
"It's a historical fact that STDs spread in war zones. It's all a white lie for your own good."
The officers who knew the truth were in a different position, but even they didn't dare lay a hand on Italian women.
"If you catch an STD, it'll tank your personnel evaluation. You want to get passed over for promotion?"
"The girls here would spread their legs for a piece of candy. What a waste. When will we get another chance like this?"
"You idiot. If you want to live just one night, go ahead."
With rumors that STD infections would affect their evaluations in the expeditionary force, most officers panicked even at the brush of a woman's finger on the street.
That's why the Italians liked the Korean troops.
Compared to Moroccan soldiers who raped Italian women at every opportunity, or British soldiers wandering the red-light districts waving pounds around, the Koreans were angels.
"Mister Joe! Fresh fish just came in—want it delivered?"
"Just six boxes, please."
Good public perception of the Korean military made civil-military relations smooth.
Colonel Eom Seok-dae, the civil affairs staff officer for the Korean 5th Army, felt the need to crack down on the local mafia to strengthen these ties further.
The reason was simple.
How wildly popular had His Excellency's "War on Crime" been?
"We need to recreate His Excellency's achievements here in Italy."
Eom Seok-dae judged that a war on the mafia would be the key to success for the Korean military's civil affairs operations.
'His Excellency will understand my thinking.'
He submitted a report to this effect to Expeditionary Force Commander Baek Dong-seok.
But then,
"Absolutely not. Don't even think about it."
Baek Dong-seok immediately voiced his opposition.
"Why is that, sir?"
The reason?
It didn't fit the big picture His Excellency had envisioned.
Baek Dong-seok decided to explain His Excellency Yi Seong-jun's vision a bit to this naive colleague.
According to His Excellency Yi Seong-jun's plan, northern Italy would be a world dominated by the reds.
The reds would start off holding most of the industrial power and population.
Then what about the south?
Lagging behind in industry and population, what could southern Italy use to stand up to the superior north?
His Excellency had said this:
Anti-communist ideology.
Anyone opposed to the reds—street thugs, whores, homeless bums—had to be united to resist the north.
But to wield this ultimate weapon, there was a condition.
They had to turn a blind eye to everything but anti-communism.
No making waves with collaborators or whatever.
Baek Dong-seok had already discussed this with the British.
They'd once said no way to fascist war criminals, but Korean promises changed with the times.
No different from the reds in that regard.
"Get it? This is His Excellency's picture. Don't go painting over it on your own."
Only then did Eom Seok-dae realize he'd nearly caused unnecessary trouble.
"S-Sorry, Your Excellency."
Through his private meeting with Baek Dong-seok, Eom Seok-dae did a complete 180 on his thinking.
'Then partnering with the mafia is the best move.'
On second thought, the mafia were "anti-fascists" and "anti-communists"—a rare position in Italy that aligned perfectly with Korea politically.
If you ignored the criminal organization prejudice, they were the group whose interests matched Korea's most.
'Good thing I didn't touch these guys.'
Eom Seok-dae first met with the most powerful Sicilian mafia.
When the Korean military approached them, the mafia initially tensed, thinking their business of siphoning supplies from the port for the black market had been exposed.
But upon hearing the cooperation proposal, their faces lit up.
If they could partner with the military, they could smuggle or do whatever they wanted.
"What can we do to help?"
"Help maintain public order. In return, we'll turn a blind eye to your businesses."
"We'll cooperate."
The mafia didn't refuse the offer.
Once the deal was struck, the mafia sent men to ports and cities everywhere to support the Korean troops.
As a bonus, the mafia even handled interpretation and negotiations for the Korean military.
"We need some land for the garrison construction—it's tricky."
"We'll take care of it. Hey, start the cleanup."
At a word from the Korean military, the mafia would magically procure land.
Teaming up with the mafia really was the best choice.
As Eom Seok-dae gradually fleshed out the blueprint for civil affairs operations in southern Italy, an order came down from the homeland.
Soon, someone from the KCIA would arrive to assist with operations.
Why was the KCIA suddenly involved in military government?
Eom Seok-dae was baffled.
A few days later, a few East Asians in suits and a few Europeans showed up at his office.
Eom Seok-dae exchanged greetings and confirmed their identities.
"We're from Geumsu Mountain. Name's Yi."
It was the KCIA.
They usually referred to themselves as Geumsu Mountain.
Realizing they were KCIA, an inexplicable intimidation set in.
Eom Seok-dae asked in a much friendlier tone.
"What can I do to assist the KCIA?"
The apparent senior agent handed over some documents.
"Giulio Natta, Daniel Bovet... We need the military's cooperation to recruit those on this list currently in the Kingdom of Southern Italy."
They were names Eom Seok-dae had never heard of.
"Are these fascist war criminals by any chance?"
He wondered if they were unsentenced fascist criminals.
"Of course not. Details are classified, so please don't ask—just cooperate."
"Understood."
Looking at the documents, they were ordinary scientists or engineers.
Why these people?
The question lingered, but he shelved it.
For a regular soldier like Eom Seok-dae, meddling in KCIA affairs was overstepping.
Eom Seok-dae passed the profiles to the mafia and requested they track them down.
A few days later, he confirmed the locations of Giulio Natta and several others.
Conveniently, several on the list had fled south from northern Italy.
"These guys are here."
When Eom Seok-dae handed over the documents, the KCIA agents vanished without so much as a thank you.
A few days later, he read in the papers that several prominent Italians had gone missing.
'Whoa, they even kidnap foreigners? That's KCIA class.'
Their audacity left him slack-jawed.
Anyway, it was none of his business.
Even after that, inexplicable shady orders kept coming from the homeland.
"Collect as many plant and animal specimens from the Italian peninsula as possible and ship them to Korean biological research institutes."
Why specimens?
"Purchase Italian cultural artifacts where possible and bring them back quietly. No skimping on costs for Roman-era relics."
And artifacts?
"Support the KCIA in retrieving blueprints from the Naples shipyard."
Now they were openly ordering theft.
Eom Seok-dae couldn't fathom what the homeland was thinking with these directives.
But he followed orders.
The homeland sent other bizarre missions too.
As the line blurred between running a military government and outright thievery, a complaint came from the British.
"We'll overlook the rest, but why keep kidnapping people?"
"I know nothing about it."
Even if he did, he had to play dumb.
Sure, a fair number of prominent figures vanished—shipbuilders, chemists, biologists, astronomers, across various fields.
About 300 went mysteriously missing, and the British knew it was Korea's doing.
But what could they do if Korea feigned ignorance?
Korea wasn't their subordinate.
Eom Seok-dae ignored the British protests and processed his paperwork.
Under Korean military rule, the Italian administration remained utterly peaceful today as well.