Chapter 312
Chapter 312
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Side Story 3: Hardline Nationalism
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The people valued the flashy achievements of the dictatorial regime more highly than the liberal democratic values gifted to them by Lee Seong-jun.
Lee Se-eun's high popularity stemmed from this same nostalgia.
"Democracy? What's so great about that crap?"
The public remembered only the good parts of his rule, polishing them to a shine.
They recalled only how the world trembled at a single word from Lee Seong-jun.
This sanitized memory among Koreans manifested as the rise of hardline nationalists demanding aggressive responses in foreign policy.
These hardline nationalists came forward insisting that North China be completely severed from the Republic of China and immediately incorporated into the EA.
"Turning the Yellow Sea into Daehan's inland waters is the dream of the Korean people and part of the grand vision conceived by Director Lee Seong-jun."
To the Korean government, these were absurd claims.
While incorporating North China into the EA was indeed one of the government's tasks, Pyongyang believed it would take at least twenty years to make any real progress.
Rushing into incorporation without preparation would place an enormous burden on the Korean economy.
The hardline nationalists' demands didn't stop at North China.
They wanted Korea to seize control of every domain where it could extend its influence.
"Now that Asianism is gaining traction, let's incorporate Singapore and Hong Kong into the EA and grip Asia's trade routes in one hand."
Kim Jeong-gil let such demands from these clueless hardline nationalists go in one ear and out the other.
"Ignorant thunderbolt brats."
If the government ignored them, they'd amount to nothing more than a storm in a teacup.
That was how the Korean government saw it.
This perception on the part of the Korean government was completely overturned by an incident at the National Central Museum.
"Huh? What's that guy doing? Grab him!"
A hardline nationalist who had been calling for Singapore's incorporation into the EA threw a shoe at the British ambassador attending an event at the National Central Museum.
Fortunately, the British ambassador dodged the "shoe terrorism," but that alone was enough to wound Korea's diplomacy.
"Koreans have this subtly barbaric streak, you know."
"Ah, you can tell just by looking at Lee Seong-jun."
Pyongyang was conscious of such voices from the international community.
"What a goddamn embarrassment because of these worthless scum who contribute jack squat to the national interest!"
The Korean government sentenced the terrorist who threw the shoe at the British ambassador to a heavy ten-year term.
This intense response from the government also served as a warning to the hardline nationalists.
But the hardline nationalists did not lower their voices despite the government's measures.
"Foreign policy that peeks at other countries' reactions—is this the great Daehan of today that Kim Jeong-gil talks about?"
A fair number of Koreans agreed with the hardline nationalists' rhetoric.
The hardline nationalists' voices also stirred Korea's peripheries.
"North China this, that. Those stingray bastards can't shake off their imperialist instincts from the empire days."
"They've been wearing masks all this time. Has their true nature ever changed?"
These voices somewhat tarnished the image of Asianism that Lee Seong-jun had painstakingly built.
From a grand strategic perspective, this was tantamount to muddying the waters of the Korean government's strategy to solidify Asia as its sphere of influence.
Kim Jeong-gil judged that he could no longer let these hardline nationalists be.
"Start by taking down the Daehan Herald, which serves as their mouthpiece."
Kim Jeong-gil ordered a special tax audit on the Daehan Herald, which had been parroting the nationalists' claims.
"Pardon? On what grounds, sir?"
"Contempt."
Even after the regime change, the essence of Daehan—a pseudo-dictatorship—hadn't changed.
Daehan was a country where the top leader could do anything he wanted.
From that day, the Daehan Herald faced a barrage from various agencies led by the National Tax Service.
The special tax audit was just the beginning.
"It's from the Broadcasting and Communications Commission."
The Daehan Herald was getting hammered by major agencies left and right, with no time to even print the papers.
The hardline nationalists' mouthpiece was thus crushed by the regime's brute force without even putting up a fight.
Daehan Herald President Beom Jeong-wi spat curses amid the merciless assault by the regime.
"You think you can muzzle the voice of the people like this?"
They could.
The Daehan Herald raised the white flag less than three weeks after the bombardment began.
Sales dropped to zero, while fixed costs kept piling up.
No matter how tough the Daehan Herald was, it couldn't endure such a situation.
Starting with the Daehan Herald, Kim Jeong-gil systematically targeted the hardline nationalists' mouthpieces one by one.
"If you spout nonsense that doesn't fly, we won't let it slide."
Faced with the Korean government's hardline response, the nationalists swiftly lost their platforms.
With their channels of expression blocked, they took to the streets with placards.
"Make Daehan Great Again!"
The hardline nationalists held rallies frequently to pressure the Kim Jeong-gil regime.
"You're trying illegal assemblies now?"
The Kim Jeong-gil regime refused permits based on the assembly law, and when they couldn't take it anymore and protested anyway, it deployed police for suppression operations.
Press down, trample, leave no room to breathe.
The Kim Jeong-gil regime's stance toward hardline nationalism was consistent.
Through its crackdown on the hardline nationalists, Kim Jeong-gil made it clear that Korea did not agree with their assertions.
The Korean government planned to drive the hardline nationalists to natural extinction through sustained pressure.
"But you think we're just going to sit back and watch?"
The U.S. intelligence agency CIA saw value to exploit in Korea's hardline nationalists.
Langley sought approval from Nixon and his staff for a new operation against Daehan.
"We need to amplify and nurture the voices of those Korean hardline nationalists who stuck their necks out this time."
"Why?"
"Because hidden within their ravings is the potential to dismantle Asianism."
Nixon took an interest in the idea.
"Support Korea's hawks to tear down Korean-led hegemony. Lee Seong-jun would be dumbfounded if he knew."
Washington approved Langley's operation.
Accordingly, Langley began carrying the Korean hardline nationalists' claims into foreign media.
Recycling old stories was no issue at all.
"We'll pay you for the pieces—just keep posting them."
Langley mobilized not only English-language papers in targeted Singapore and Hong Kong but also media across the Chinese sphere.
"The foreign press keeps running stories on those lunatics?"
The Korean government quickly noticed the odd reaction from the foreign media.
After all, media manipulation was Korea's specialty.
"If we leave this alone, Asianism is bound to take a hit."
Pyongyang decided to summon foreign correspondents and explain Korea's position.
"We do not agree with the extreme claims spewed by those lunatics."
When the Korean spokesman gave his explanation, the foreign reporters pulled out a few assertions from the Korean nationalists and asked about them.
"So, the talk of EA incorporating North China is baseless rumor?"
"That's correct."
Even if they intended to incorporate North China into the EA someday, it wasn't now—and it was right to say so.
The Korean government's swift firefighting enraged the Korean nationalists.
"Even giving up what's rightfully ours. The country has gone to hell since the Director stepped down."
The CIA read this nationalist fury and began spreading their claims in foreign media once more.
"This won't end at this rate. We need a different approach."
The Kim Jeong-gil regime, responding as a "democratic government," reached the limit of its patience.
"Any ideas, sir?"
"We say we're a democratic regime, but are we really?"
"No, we're not."
"Then it's time to act accordingly."
The Kim Jeong-gil regime decided to mobilize every means to counter the hardline nationalists.
First,
"Halt police oversight of the intelligence agencies."
Kim Jeong-jil began dismantling the safeguards Lee Seong-jun had put in place.
Weakening civilian control over intelligence agencies was undoubtedly a major issue, but Kim Jeong-gil prioritized dealing with the hardline nationalists.
"Loosening the leash on the intelligence agencies carries risks."
"Do you think I don't know that? But to crush those thunderbolt brats, we need the intelligence agencies' power."
As Kim Jeong-gil wished, the muzzle and shackles on the National Intelligence Service vanished within a month.
And the unleashed National Intelligence Service drew out its omnipotent authority, just like in the Yushin era.
"Ah, this is the stuff."
The National Intelligence Service launched "ruination operations" against key figures representing the hardline nationalists.
Geumsu Mountain first spread rumors about the hardline nationalists to paint them as scoundrels.
"That guy living over there? Word is he gropes girls' panties on the commuter train."
The National Intelligence Service tanked their reputations at their workplaces and among neighbors.
"If you're embarrassed, shut your mouth and go to ground."
If that didn't work, they kidnapped them to safe houses and scared them straight.
When even these "polite" methods failed, they didn't shy away from extreme measures.
"If someone won't listen to reason, make them disappear. What choice is there?"
People thought Kim Jeong-gil was a moderate, but when it came to national interests, his ruthlessness was no different from his predecessor Lee Seong-jun.
If anything, Kim Jeong-gil was even more brutal in this regard.
After all, much of the shadow work from the Lee Seong-jun era had passed through Kim Jeong-gil's hands.
Kim Jeong-gil's unleashed hounds were more than enough to completely silence the hardline nationalists.
With the Korean government's heavy-handed measures, the voices advocating hardline nationalism lost their power.
But this didn't mean Korea's hardline nationalism was completely finished.
As long as nostalgia for the glorious Lee Seong-jun era lingered, such voices could rise again at any time.
The thick, dark shadow left by the giant.
Korea was fated to confront the lingering afterimage of the Lee Seong-jun era for years to come.