Two Months Is Enough, Right? (1)

"Ah, that is a truly excellent idea." The Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Prime Minister's suggestion with open arms.

"Indeed... South Korea is still a country technically at war. If we focus on that and inform other nations of the reality of Korea, many countries will surely hesitate to participate in the Olympics."

The Minister of Justice provided supporting fire. In an instant, they reached a unanimous decision to sabotage the Olympics being held in Korea.

Jap-money began to be scattered across the globe. Specifically, it was funneled into media outlets. The effects were immediate.

Simultaneously, another narrative was spreading across the world.

Naturally, Olympic teams from various countries turned their attention to Japan. In fact, many teams chose Japan, not Korea, as their training base before the start of the Olympics.

Because of this, N spoke up, his voice tinged with frustration. "Isn't this bad? It can't be good that foreigners think of our country as a dangerous place..."

Clack! The sound of something hard colliding.

"Ah, damn it!" YS stood up as if screaming, lightly hitting his knees with both fists. The reason was none other than the marbles.

"Hahaha, did I win?"

"Damn it, let's go one more round." YS pulled out a 10,000-won bill and prepared to throw his marble. That’s right. N and YS were discussing state affairs while playing marbles. Of course, Yoon-gi was watching them with a smile.

'I didn't get to see them play ddakji, but I get to see them play marbles.'

Perhaps because of the ddakji game last time, N and YS seemed to have strangely returned to their childhood, playing games they enjoyed when they were young whenever the situation allowed. It was a game they could never show anyone else.

'Well, there are people who can't eat what they like because they get teased for having a "child's palate," so I suppose this is fine.'

Playing marbles might be decent enough, but this was a tense match with 10,000 won on the line. Yoon-gi watched their match and answered N's concern.

"Whether those teams come or not, the economic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impact won't be that significant anyway. It's just a light scratch, really. So, there's no need to worry about it."

"Well... I suppose so, but I'm worried that Korea might be branded as a dangerous country abroad. That's what bothers me the most. Yes!" N cheered as YS missed his marble. A moment later, N secured another victory and sat back down. Regardless, this was the time for an important conversation.

"We're playing one more round later. You know you can't just win and run away, right?"

"Of course. But at this rate, I might be able to buy a car?"

Of course, he couldn't. Both the President and the Prime Minister were busy people; even if they played all day, there was a limit to the stakes of a 10,000-won game. It was just a man's exaggeration.

"Then, one day, I'll buy a house with your money, Excellency."

"Hoho, that’s a scary thought."

N drank his cold coffee in one gulp, and YS did the same. And finally, the serious conversation began.

"To begin with, our country has a very low proportion of tourism revenue. So, there's no reason to be surprised by this." Yoon-gi showed N the data prepared by the Chief of Staff. It was the tourism revenue of South Korea from last year.

"Hmm... 2.2 billion dollars, eh..."

As of 1987, that was roughly 1.74 trillion won. It’s an interesting fact, but in 1988, South Korea's tourism revenue would hit 3.1 billion dollars. That was roughly 2.12 trillion won as of 1988. In short, even though they enjoyed the Olympic boom, tourism revenue only increased by about 400 billion won.

"No matter how much the Olympics are held, there's a limit to the tourism revenue earned through the Olympics. Because there's a limit to the number of people who can visit Korea, right?"

Yoon-gi was right. The tourists coming to Korea for the Olympics were primarily there to watch the games, not to tour Korea. Therefore, a very simple equation was established.

Based on historical statistics, this equation meant that nearly 400 billion won would come in. 'Come to think of it, Japan sabotaged the Korean Olympics in the original history too, didn't they?'

Yoon-gi's thought was accurate. Even in the original history, Japan had done everything in its power to sabotage the Korean Olympics. It meant that efforts to make the world perceive Korea as a dangerous country through media play, just like now, had naturally taken place.

'Well, whether in the original history or now, we suffered almost no losses due to Japan's sabotage.'

The number of teams doing pre-training and the number of Olympic spectators were not comparable. In short, even though Japan sabotaged as much as they could, the tourism revenue damage Korea suffered was minimal.

"In the first place, all they spend on pre-training is accommodation and food. And it's not like all the teams went to Japan; only some of them did. How much profit could they possibly get from them?"

Even looking at tourism as a whole, it didn't account for 10 percent of the Korean government's budget, so how much would the portion related to the Olympics, and specifically some of the teams, be? Realizing this, N let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, that's a relief then."

"Japan is acting like idiots. Think about how much money they must have spent to get those articles published in the global media. Japanese politicians are truly ghosts who waste the national taxes of their people."

Yoon-gi's words were accurate. The money Japan sprayed across the world for lobbying was ultimately the Japanese people's tax money. Wasting money just to follow Japan's foolishness was the same as wasting the people's blood tax.

"Anyway, the Japanese are the same now as they were back then, acting like idiots. Even during World War II, they slapped the US with baseless confidence and then collapsed. Ah, come to think of it, isn't it helpful to us that Japan is doing that?"

At YS's precise expression, Yoon-gi smiled.

"Yes. It's a huge help to us that they're doing such foolish things. So we really don't need to worry. In the first place, there will be almost no economic profit gained through the Olympics."

"Eh? None?" YS reacted with puzzlement. This was because, in the 80s, the economic effects of the Olympics had not yet been properly illuminated. It was natural. JD was the one pushing for the Olympics, so who would write an article saying the Olympics were just a waste of money?

However, Yoon-gi knew well about the illusion of the Olympics through the newspapers he read during his days as a laborer.

"Prime Minister, if there's a delicious restaurant near your house, you'd go there often, right?"

"That's true."

"But if that delicious restaurant is in Busan, would you go there often?"

"Obviously, it would be difficult to go, right?"

"Yes, that's what the Olympics are."

"Ah!" YS nodded as if he understood immediately. In the first place, the Olympic boom refers to 'tourism revenue during the Olympic period.' And you can consider 99 percent or more of those tourists to be foreigners. But is there any reason for foreigners to come to Korea after the Olympics are over?

Just as it costs a lot of money for a Korean to travel to the US, it costs a lot of money for an American to travel to Korea. Therefore, Asia is excluded from regular travel, and other states in the US, or Canada, Mexico, or Europe are always considered.

"In the first place, JD's hosting of the Olympics wasn't a policy to revive the economy, but part of the 3S policy. Therefore, to be honest, I wanted to cancel the Olympics if I could. But I just stayed quiet because I knew that wasn't possible."

"Umm... I was also soaked in the illusion of the Olympics. To think the actual economic effect of the Olympics would be minimal..."

"Try asking an economic research institute or similar to analyze data from other countries. You'll hear surprising results." At Yoon-gi's words, YS looked at N.

"Shall we try it?"

"Hmm... I think that would be fine. Let's proceed with it."

"Understood."

Yoon-gi, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke again.

"Well, still, since the Olympics are being held anyway, shouldn't we utilize them somehow?"

The two people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who heard him looked at Yoon-gi.

"Do you have any good ideas?"

"Hoho, I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say."

Yoon-gi said something that met their expectations.

"Japan is openly saying 'Korea is a bastard' to the whole world, so we should naturally express 'Japan is a son of a bitch' openly as well."

The Prime Minister and the Ministers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had touched a person who should never be touched. Of course, they had no idea of this fact at all.

In the 2010s, there is a somewhat interesting humor on the internet regarding Bill Gates. It’s that Bill Gates says he needs to save money to buy a Lamborghini, and a few seconds later, he laughs and says, "Done!"

Then what about Yoon-gi? Of course, Yoon-gi is also capable of that. The money earned from pharmaceutical companies, the money earned from oil fields, the money earned from stocks, the money earned from MEV, the money earned from Hollywood, and so on. It's just that he lives a frugal(?) consumption life in general areas, but Yoon-gi was a billionaire beyond imagination.

Therefore, he had no intention of saving money when countering Japan's attack this time.

"Huh? You're going to film a movie related to the Imjin War?" Choi Cheol-jae, who had received a visit from Yoon-gi, looked slightly puzzled at Yoon-gi's words.

"Yes. To be precise, it's a movie about Admiral Yi Sun-sin."

"Hmm, if it's a historical drama, it seems like it would be quite good? Historical dramas are a genre that is trending anyway."

The heyday of Korean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠historical dramas was from the 80s to the early 2000s. Perhaps most people could name at least one historical drama, right? This was the time when it was common for families to gather in front of the TV at 8 PM or 9 PM just to watch a historical drama.

"It's the same this time. Select actors strictly based on acting ability, not popularity. Since the target is foreigners, their name value in Korea is completely irrelevant."

"Huh? The target is foreigners?"

"Yes. We are planning to have free screenings exclusively for foreigners who visit Korea during the Olympics."

"What? Free? Why on earth?"

Rather than answering Choi Cheol-jae's question, Yoon-gi added two more conditions.

"There are two things you need to do, Uncle. One is to complete the movie by September 20th, and the other is to strictly adhere to the historical research regarding Korea and Japan."

Conditions that were "generally" absurd popped out of Yoon-gi's mouth. Because it was currently early July.