Jap-Money
"Hello, I am Himura from the Nagoya Historical Society in Japan."
A historical society that existed only on paper. However, Himura had used a paper company without hesitation to fabricate his identity.
"Ah, it is truly a pleasure to meet you."
Usually, it is nearly impossible for an ordinary person to schedule a meeting with a professor. After all, the professor has no reason to meet them. But if the other party also belongs to a historical society, it is a different story. That was why Lee Gi-chang, a history professor at Sangjin University in Busan, accepted the meeting with Himura.
"I heard there were many prominent historians in Korea, so I came here immediately, but I didn't expect the meeting to be arranged so easily. I am once again grateful for your generosity, Professor."
Himura felt like he was going to vomit inside. To think he had to bow his head to a race he despised. However, thinking that he had to carry out his assigned mission, Himura kept a smile plastered on his face and continued to engage in small talk with Lee Gi-chang.
"Honestly, I was surprised. I understand that relations with Japan have cooled significantly since Korea began tearing down the Government-General of Chosen, so I was surprised you agreed to meet me."
Professor Lee Gi-chang gave a bitter smile when the slightly awkward topic came up.
"Ah, well... I suppose so."
How should he answer when a Japanese person asked something like this? In the end, Professor Lee Gi-chang just glossed over it and passed his turn. Naturally, it became Himura's turn to speak.
"To be honest, I am a bit worried. Aren't Japan and Korea neighboring countries? If anti-Japanese sentiment continues to intensify in Korea like this, it will be difficult for us to interact and move forward together."
Himura's inner thought was, 'You are all suffering because you are pointlessly clinging to the past and prioritizing anti-Japanese sentiment,' but Lee Gi-chang could never have imagined that Himura was speaking with such thoughts. Therefore, he agreed with Himura's words without much thought.
"That is not an incorrect statement. Surely, there must be a better way."
"That is why I am asking—could you perhaps help me, Professor?"
Himura grinned and began to get to the point.
"Pardon? Me...? How could I possibly help with that..."
"It is a very simple matter. The reason anti-Japanese sentiment is intensifying in Korea right now is because incorrect information about the colonial period is spreading, isn't it?"
"Incorrect... information...?"
Lee Gi-chang's brow furrowed. But Himura, timing it perfectly, pushed something toward Lee Gi-chang. A small box. Inside, there were three gold beads the size of a thumb-nail.
"Huk...!"
Lee Gi-chang swallowed hard without realizing it. Had an ordinary professor ever seen a gold bead in his life? He might not have even seen a glass marble. After all, to become a professor, one had to study like a madman and had no time to play.
"It was difficult to bring cash here, you see. If you just promise to help me, Professor, I will guarantee periodic, substantial support."
Himura couldn't bring the cash directly, but instead, he showed him a photo of a mountain of Japanese Yen. Gulp. A sound of swallowing came from Professor Lee Gi-chang's throat. The gold beads alone were worth an immense amount, and he was offering even more money.
The profession of a professor is one that is respected by people, but it doesn't pay as much as people think. As of 2017, the average annual salary of a full professor didn't even reach 100 million won. Of course, professors in engineering who could file patents or those who served as consultants had significant side income, but Lee Gi-chang was a professor without such income, so his eyes were inevitably drawn the moment he saw Himura's bait.
"Is this... really gold?"
"It is. Would you like to go to a jewelry store together?"
Professor Lee Gi-chang nodded.
'As expected, Joseon-jins are easy to bribe.'
Without even knowing the thoughts with which Himura had approached him, Professor Lee Gi-chang sold his soul for money.
Yoon-gi had not managed to seize all of South Korea's media. That was a given. The circulation of newspapers sold at MEV was 30 to 40 percent of the total. Newspapers that excluded pro-Japanese content to trade with MEV accounted for roughly 30 percent. That meant 30 to 40 percent of newspaper companies didn't have a very good relationship with MEV. Therefore, Himura visited them and used the same methods he used to bribe the professors, and they welcomed Himura's proposal with open arms.
A collaboration between professors and newspaper companies. Then, pro-Japanese—no, practically anti-Korean—articles began to pop up, incomparable to anything before.
[The current state of countries that were colonized. How blessed is Korea?]
[King Sejong's creation of Hangul, actually made by a monk? The extortion of Confucianism]
[How much did factional fighting eat away at Joseon?]
[The painful lives of Joseon people before colonial rule]
By the standards of the 80s, these articles were practically off the rails. However, the problem was that it was professors who were vouching for these articles. Because the professors were even writing columns directly praising Japan and disparaging Korea, the newspapers containing this content were gaining credibility. This was because, at the time, the title of "professor" in Korea carried immense weight in terms of trust.
By the 2010s, there were so many professors playing to the whims of the wealthy that the general public became very suspicious, but back then, a professor's word was the truth itself.
[Would an educated person lie?]
It was an era when such a saying was taken for granted. Therefore, while there was some backlash, the anti-Japanese sentiment that had flared up due to the destruction of the Government-General of Chosen began to subside slowly, very slowly, due to these articles.
The articles didn't even stop at one time.
[The problems of destroying the Government-General of Chosen, we must cool our heads.]
[The government that killed 60 years of history]
[The Government-General of Chosen, the secrets of architecture contained within]
There is a reason for the saying that money can make even ghosts work. The professors and reporters, who received an enormous amount of support, created articles and columns that were far more interesting than anything they had written before, making them highly readable.
It didn't even end there. To quell the backlash from subscribers, the newspaper companies began a massive "gift offensive." Bicycles, rice cookers, vacuum cleaners, radios, and so on. They began providing gifts that, when compared to market prices, were almost equivalent to the newspaper subscription fee to subscribers who opposed the articles. The same applied to those applying for new subscriptions.
Perhaps most people have experienced this, right? The offers that say if you subscribe to a newspaper, they will give you gift certificates. But in 1988, the anti-Korean newspaper companies were using massive giveaways to hold onto subscribers who were trying to leave and to attract new ones.
"Hahahaha! As expected of Joseon-jins. They are swayed by gifts that don't even cost 10,000 yen and change their opinions so quickly. Well, that is the kind of race they are, which is why they became a colony of our Great Empire of Japan."
At Himura's words, his subordinate, Tanaka, also laughed and nodded.
"That is correct. And isn't it a good thing for us, Japan? They are such simple people that they will soon become our colony again."
However, Himura frowned.
"No, what are you talking about? Unlike before, our Japan is the world's second-largest economy. Do you think we should make such Joseon-jins our colony? Unless they crawl to us on their own, we shouldn't be the ones stepping up to make them a colony."
Tanaka hurriedly bowed his head.
"Ah! I failed to grasp your deep meaning and made a slip of the tongue. Please forgive me."
"No, no. Tanaka, it's just that you are too generous. But remember this. Joseon-jins are, by nature, a race that only listens when they are beaten. Carrots for the good Joseon-jins who listen to us, and whips for the rest. That is the basic rule."
"Hai! I understand!"
It was a conversation where ethnic chauvinism had reached its peak. However, they were already being watched by Choi Deok-bae. Yoon-gi would soon soothe Choi Deok-bae's trembling rage. With a very certain method.
The ANSP changed its name to the National Intelligence Service (NIS). And the new NIS Director was Shin Ho-jun. Shin Ho-jun, wearing his trademark square-rimmed glasses and sporting his usual stern expression. And in front of him, most of the active ANSP agents were lined up.
"Finally, the opportunity has come to clear, at least in part, the sins we committed during the military regime."
The atmosphere in the NIS auditorium where they were gathered was truly solemn.
"We must show a different side from the previous ANSP."
Shin Ho-jun's voice was low, but it had an overwhelming, rigid power.
"The moment we show the same side as the previous ANSP, we will receive even greater criticism than we would have originally. And above all, it would be smearing the names of the President, who trusted us and gave us another chance, and the YK Group."
The NIS agents' fists tightened on their own.
"No torture!"
As Shin Ho-jun shouted, the agents all opened their mouths and followed suit.
NO TORTURE!!!
Shin Ho-jun nodded at the thunderous shout that was like a vow.
"We have absolutely no reason to torture like before. We are merely assisting the police. Furthermore, there is absolutely no reason for expanded arrests. It means we only need to catch the individuals instructed by the higher-ups."
This was a very good policy from the agents' perspective as well. Previously, when an order came down to catch an informant, they had to catch one no matter what it took. Even if they had to fabricate one. But the order that came down this time was very clear. The individuals to be caught were very neatly organized. Therefore, the agents felt very at ease.
"Then, everyone head to the police stations you were instructed to go to beforehand. You must catch them! You must never let them go!"
Shin Ho-jun's shout erupted thunderously. Following that shout, the NIS staff began to move in perfect order.
"I never thought I'd think it was a good thing I married a professor in my life."
Lee Gi-chang's wife touched the gold beads her husband had brought home, her expression beaming with joy.
"So from now on, you must revere me like the heavens. If you do that, I will treat you like a queen."
At Lee Gi-chang's feigned arrogance, his wife grinned and nodded.
"If it's a husband who brings home money this well, of course I should. It's truly fortunate that that Himura person came to you and not someone else. That's why we're living in luxury like this."
Inside the wardrobe in Lee Gi-chang's house, there was already a significant amount of Yen. Therefore, Lee Gi-chang's wife often showed off the gold beads and Yen when neighborhood women came over to visit.
[My husband is so learned that he earns money this well!]
She knew how he earned the money and what kind of columns her husband was writing, but she didn't care at all. What did it matter if he was earning money well? Even without that, they were planning to move to a bigger house soon by selling these gold beads, so Lee Gi-chang's wife told her husband to help Himura even more diligently.
Lee Gi-chang was the same. His status within the house had changed, so the truth of history didn't matter. What was important was that he was living well. If only it could stay like that.
Bang bang bang-!
[Police! Open the door! We know you're all in there!!]
Suddenly, a shout came from outside the front door. The police were not treating Lee Gi-chang as a professor, but were shouting in voices that treated him almost like a traitor, pounding on the door.