Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Third Among the Great Powers (2)
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Irrespective of the urgently unfolding international situation, inside the Republic of Korea, preparations for the next era were rushing forward.
"Electronics!"
"Yes, Chairman."
"Make sure the technical training trip to America next week is fully prepared."
"Of course."
Major corporations were actively sending their employees to study abroad in advanced nations like Britain and America, in line with the Korean government's policies.
And it didn't stop there.
Small and medium-sized enterprises were also receiving government subsidies to send talent overseas if they met the conditions.
This prompted some skepticism from the Finance Ministry.
"Do we really need to spend taxpayer money to send people abroad to study?"
His Excellency's response to that was this.
"The most valuable resource in this country, Korea, is its people. Isn't it only natural to invest in developing such precious assets?"
From the start, the Lee Seong-jun regime's catchphrase had been national enlightenment and raising education levels.
Under the banners of technological nation-building and advanced power status, the Lee Seong-jun regime aggressively imported technology from overseas.
If relations were good, they sent students abroad; if not, they bought the tech outright; and if that failed, they sent spies to steal it.
This allowed Korea to maintain the foundation it had acquired from Germany while holding its position chasing Britain and America.
And these efforts weren't without results.
"Our homegrown television, made by Korean hands—'Chukji.' Please give it your love."
"Clear, pure sound. Joy Radio. It will make your life happier."
"Because it's Korean, it can be the best. The modern automobile masterpiece, Jun. Inquire now."
Korean companies were churning out products that could compete in the West like mad.
Most of these goods crossed the Pacific to America and Europe.
"Not taking the Indian Ocean-Mediterranean route?"
That area had Israel's powder keg in the Middle East and Italy, which seemed ready to blow at any moment.
Whenever possible, Korea exported to the European market via the Pacific and the Panama Canal.
Of course, they sold a hefty amount to the Soviet market too.
Luxury items like cars and TVs didn't sell well there, so they pushed other products instead.
"The taste His Excellency bestowed—Eighteen Flavors Lunchbox. Pick and enjoy from 18 flavors."
"Sugar for your brain. Sweet Jeong, Choco Pie."
To the Soviets, they mainly offloaded light industrial goods and food products.
With feet in both camps, Korea's export taxes kept climbing.
GNP shot up at a terrifying rate whenever you blinked.
In 1949, per capita GNP in Korea broke through $4,500.
It was just under half of America's national income, but that was still incredibly encouraging.
Considering the explosive growth of the American economy, closing the gap at all was a monumental achievement.
Korea's growth was enough to rival Britain's plunge after its colonial war defeat.
Now, to anyone looking, Korea was indisputably the world's number three power.
Koreans felt infinite pride in this reality.
"Look at the achievements of Korea under His Excellency's leadership. Has our Korean race ever been this mighty since Dangun?"
Even the militarists who had criticized Lee Seong-jun for failing to expand territory shut their mouths tight by this point.
"Even if we had gobbled up that land, we'd just end up with bellies bursting like Britain or France."
"His Excellency was right."
The militarist high that had once dominated Korea gradually lost its grip.
The Lee Seong-jun regime took care from the education system onward to ensure the new generation never tasted that militarist drug.
"Describe wars briefly and succinctly, and detail the damages?"
"And for the Korean War, wipe out any mention of the gains we got."
We couldn't give the impression that revenge paid off.
"But democracy education? Won't that undermine His Excellency? If the West stirs up talk of democratization for no reason, it'll just be a hassle."
"Forget those needless worries. Do you know His Excellency's approval rating? Over 85%. Even in some mayfly-like liberal democracy, he'd win four terms."
Thanks to policies like this in the Lee Seong-jun regime's textbooks, the new generation received an education utterly different from before.
History education stripped of Western-style democracy and militarism was the prime example.
The Lee Seong-jun regime didn't forget to erase all mentions of the Muban from history textbooks.
From the start, His Excellency believed the Muban were better off not existing in Korea at all.
In reality, the upper echelons of the Korean Empire viewed the Muban very poorly.
"Treasonous bastards from a treasonous faction."
That's why Muban officers, without special connections, couldn't rise to general.
They weren't appointed to high public offices either, and companies shunned them.
"Why use those guys? It'll just make His Excellency uncomfortable—what good comes from it?"
With the country run this way, the Muban felt they simply couldn't survive under the Lee Seong-jun regime.
The ones who couldn't take it anymore chose emigration.
If they couldn't fight Lee Seong-jun, leaving was the answer.
Most of these emigrated Muban settled in China or Japan.
Going to America or Europe just meant getting treated like common yellow monkeys, so it was the natural choice.
Among them, Chinese warlords treated them especially well.
"Oh, a high-ranking officer who made colonel in the Korean Empire?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Welcome. We heartily welcome you, sir."
The Muban were instantly hired as combat officers by warlords shedding bloody tears against the Communists.
"But isn't this a bit much? Working under those Chink bastards."
"Chink money isn't money? We gotta put food on the table first, right?"
And so the Muban picked up arms under the Chinese warlords they once despised.
It was a laughable turn, but they had no choice if they wanted to eat.
The Lee Seong-jun regime spread these success stories to actively encourage Muban emigration.
"Go overseas. We'll issue passports. You'll get jobs too, right?"
This was how the Korean government reduced the unyielding opposition forces.
It trimmed opposition, grew the economy, and boosted approval ratings.
Across all metrics, the Lee Seong-jun regime showed a stability unbecoming a military dictatorship.
"No matter how you look at it, we should follow Lee Seong-jun's model answer."
Unintentionally, the trend of Korean-style democracy even helped Korea's exports.
"Your Excellency. Egypt has requested a policy advisory team this time."
"Select an appropriate number and send them."
Sending these advisory teams allowed Korean companies priority access in those third countries' economic growth processes.
"Thanks to you, Chairman, we're making a living."
"We Koreans have to help each other."
The Lee Seong-jun regime kept racking up victories.
However, even this seemingly stable Korea had its issues.
The successor problem.
Given Lee Seong-jun's age, talk was bound to emerge.
"Your Excellency should start thinking about the succession structure soon."
"Every time he tells us not to bring it up, it seems he's planning to choose slowly."
"Surely he isn't thinking of hereditary succession to Lady Se-eun?"
"His Excellency isn't like that. He's a man without personal ambitions."
People pondered His Excellency's intentions.
What on earth was His Excellency thinking?
In truth, His Excellency had plenty of worries about the succession too.
*
I agonized a lot over the next presidential candidate.
They were all so mediocre that the thought suddenly struck me.
'Why not pick a really young one and run him through all the army, navy, and air force academies?'
It was Franco's successor training method, but worth considering.
Maybe there was a promising kid among the really young ones.
Or I could make one myself.
Thinking it over, that seemed viable too.
From the outset, the so-called talents in this Korea were either steeped in militarism or treated civilian control like dog chew toys.
We'd purified a lot lately, but their rotten foundations made it impossible to predict what they'd do with power.
So, the calculation was that starting from a blank slate would be better.
"It'd be good to establish an educational institution to produce future leaders for the nation. Have Secretary Im prepare it well."
I issued orders to create a secondary education institution to raise elites who would lead the Empire in the future.
Select the nation's top talents nationwide, observe their daily lives, weed out those with personality flaws, and we'd end up with decent ones.
Of course, considering their age and status after training, handing them power directly would be a stretch.
Even giving them another 20 years wouldn't change that.
But I'd thought of that too.
'If it really doesn't work out, make him the husband of my only daughter, Se-eun.'
Legitimacy could be reinforced with my bloodline.
However, there was a mountain to climb for that.
My wife.
Would she accept the idea of a political marriage for our daughter Se-eun, for the future of the Korean Empire?
She usually went along with whatever I said, but kids were another matter—no guarantees.
'Not something to bring up now anyway.'
I decided to raise the topic after Se-eun grew up a bit.
For now, I didn't want to shatter the sweet atmosphere with my wife.
Selfish, maybe, but that's how human hearts work.
I was human too.
I needed somewhere to lean.
For me, that was my wife.
We fell asleep and woke together every day, made love, talked.
I couldn't help feeling deep emotions for her.
"Prime Minister. What are you thinking so hard about? It's dinnertime."
My wife said with a fresh smile.
Already that time?
Lost in succession thoughts, time flew by unnoticed.
Sometimes the thought crossed my mind.
What if my wife had given me a son instead of a daughter?
Then I might have passed power to my own flesh and blood.
I shook my head at the idea.
No, even so, a repeat of the Kim Joseon dynasty wouldn't do.
Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un.
They served as constant negative examples, reminding me never to degenerate like that.
In that sense, those three porkers were grateful to me.
They were like talismans warding off my corruption.
So, no hereditary succession for me.
"Why is our Prime Minister so passionate today?"
I'd resolved against following the Kim Joseon path, but gazing into my wife's large, vivid hazel eyes always shook my convictions.
Did I really need to hand my entire legacy to some stranger without blood ties?
Couldn't I give it all to the child she and I made?
It was the empire I'd built with my blood and sweat.
Such desires fueled my passion toward her.
If only she'd bear me one heir.
Truth be told, there were cases of successful democratization under father-son succession.
Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo were a prime example.
Of course, that worked because Chiang Ching-kuo was at least enlightened.
No guarantees my child would be.
'Yeah, handing the empire to my bloodline probably isn't the way.'
After pouring all my desires into her, my thoughts were clearer than ever.
The fleeting dream of hereditary rule vanished from my mind.
But I sensed it intuitively.
Such desires would endlessly test my convictions from here on.
So, before I ever yielded to them, I had to step down from power.
I renewed my resolve to review my retirement plans once more.