The Paper Plane of the Rising Sun
"We'll make a movie about Admiral Yi Sun-sin at YK!"
Naturally, this was news that most Koreans were already aware of. MEV Studios was, for all intents and purposes, the Hollywood of Korea. Because of this, the Korean public was genuinely excited to see what kind of film would emerge from the all-out effort being poured into the project by MEV. They were equally interested in the rumors circulating around them.
"Japan is making a movie to counter 'Admiral Yi Sun-sin'!"
Naturally, the Korean public began to take an interest in Winds of the Empire. Under normal circumstances, Korea and Japan at this time wouldn't have been well-informed about each other's domestic news. However, the newspapers that published under MEV began intentionally spreading news from Japan. Because the public was curious. Furthermore, since Japan was promoting Winds of the Empire heavily as a national project, it wasn't difficult for reporters to obtain information.
It was, quite literally, the perfect climate for public opinion. As soon as the Korean public heard the news that Japan was pouring massive amounts of tax money into Winds of the Empire, they began petitioning the government. However, Yoon-gi appeared on TV and bowed his head to the citizens.
"Respected citizens. Thanks to your support, I have received an offer from the President to cover 30 percent of the production costs with state funds. However, Admiral Yi Sun-sin is a commercial film made by a private enterprise. Therefore, I dare to accept only your warm hearts. I will do my best to show you an even more magnificent film, fueled by your encouragement."
It was a textbook response. But, this too was all part of the plan.
Koreans are a people who, once they decide to help, do so with incredible fervor. As soon as word spread that YK had refused government funding, donation campaigns began popping up everywhere.
"Let's make Admiral Yi Sun-sin a better movie!"
Then, an amount of money that defied imagination began to be raised. A staggering 30 billion won collected in just two weeks! When 30 billion won was suddenly provided as a film budget, the film staff cheered. Was it because of the money? No. Yoon-gi was already providing astronomical support. It wasn't the money; it was the interest. With enough interest to raise 30 billion won, the attention the film would receive upon release would be beyond imagination. 30 billion won is a lot, but even in simple currency value, it was nearly 100 billion won in 2010s terms. This was enough to shoot a Hollywood movie in the 2010s using only donations. Thus, the staff worked with everything they had. And Yoon-gi caught one situation where he could profit.
'That would be perfect.'
What Yoon-gi thought of was none other than disclosing the budget. Yoon-gi announced that since he had received donations, he would disclose the production costs of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Furthermore, he declared that if there were any leftover funds, he would provide theater seats for free, causing the public to go wild once again. There are many organizations that don't even properly disclose how they use donations, so Yoon-gi's decision to disclose everything without being asked was naturally met with acclaim. Thus, the ship named Admiral Yi Sun-sin was sailing smoothly toward September. On the other hand, Japan's Winds of the Empire? It was showing signs similar to Japan's pride, the Zero fighter plane.
The Prime Minister and his ministers decided to release Winds of the Empire by September 10th. That's right. They decided it. They decided it. So what? Regardless of the reason, it had to be released on September 10th. For the sake of the people? No. Because the politicians—no, because the higher-ups made that decision, it had to be released on September 10th by any means necessary. In that process, no matter what happened, no matter what problems arose, it had to be released on September 10th. This is bureaucracy. Thus, at 10:00 AM on September 10th, Winds of the Empire was indeed being released in Japanese theaters. And it was receiving tremendous interest from the Japanese public, at that.
When the movie started, the Japanese public's jaws literally dropped. Because the quality of the film was worse than that of a low-budget children's show. No, the comparison itself was a huge insult to those shows. The war scenes weren't even shot for the movie; they were a patchwork of footage from existing documentaries or other films. Furthermore, the acting. A massive amount of money had clearly been invested, but the actors' performances were truly worse than one could imagine. The reason was none other than nepotism. Actors were scouted based on connections rather than acting ability, which naturally led to wooden acting. Wooden acting. Crude props. Patchwork footage. Thus, the Japanese people watching the movie remained silent. And when the movie ended, the atmosphere at the exits was starkly divided. On one side, people were so disappointed they couldn't speak. On the other, people were so disappointed they were loudly complaining. Winds of the Empire wasn't even free.
"It's a relief that foreigners aren't watching this. If foreigners saw this movie..."
At the remark of one Japanese person leaving the theater, everyone around them nodded silently. In fact, this showed just how short-sighted the Prime Minister and his ministers' countermeasures were. Yoon-gi had confirmed two things in advance to ensure foreigners would watch Admiral Yi Sun-sin. One was that the Olympics were coming up, so many foreigners would be visiting Korea. The other was to release the film for free during the Olympics to pique their interest. But Winds of the Empire? It was a movie that only had meaning if foreigners watched it, but it was only released in Japan, and since it wasn't free, foreigners didn't bother to watch it. It was the epitome of tax waste.
"My interview money was wasted on a piece of trash like this!"
There was even a young man in his 20s venting his anger. But the next day, a rather interesting phenomenon occurred in Japan. It was none other than the defense of Winds of the Empire. People who had seen the movie had criticized it without exception. Yet, TV, newspapers, and magazines were busy praising Winds of the Empire to the skies. And the people were the same. There hadn't been a single person in the theater defending the movie, but people praising why Winds of the Empire was an excellent film began appearing all over society. And most people went along with it. If you said you saw Winds of the Empire and criticized it? At that moment, you became a target and began to be bullied. Before long, Winds of the Empire was treated like the number one movie in Japan in 1988. The theaters were even packed every day. A bizarre phenomenon where the theater was empty, but tickets were sold out. It goes without saying that the ticket prices were all being paid for with the Japanese people's tax money. Nevertheless, no one said anything. In that way, it naturally appeared to be a massive hit. It was just like the Japanese Zero fighter. A fighter plane that Japan praised so much, but in reality, was no better than a paper airplane during World War II. It was a machine that was later used for suicide attacks because there was nowhere else to use it, but even then, it couldn't actually function as a suicide weapon. The image Winds of the Empire presented was exactly the same. In the end, Japan's fifth attempt at sabotage also ended in a waste of tax money.
September 13, 1988. Yoon-gi, who had somehow managed to get his hands on a film reel of Winds of the Empire, watched it together with N and YS.
"Hahahaha!"
It was truly a fantastic comedy film. YS was clutching his stomach, even shedding tears, and N was also covering his mouth, chuckling repeatedly. The content clearly wasn't funny at all. There wasn't even anything humorous in it. But both N and YS were laughing. Because the movie itself was such a comedy.
"Honestly, is Japan such an easy country to govern? If someone had pulled a stunt like this in our country, even P would have been dragged down during his term," YS said, and N nodded.
"I agree. In Korea, even if you try to get away with something, you have to do it quietly or produce at least minimal results, but this is truly beyond imagination."
There was no need to watch the movie to the end. The conversation began after about 20 minutes. N and YS's conversation was hitting the nail on the head.
"So that must be why P and JD wanted a cabinet system so badly. Because Japan has one. Honestly, I thought Japan was a politically advanced country, but if the citizens are at that level, it's virtually no different from the Middle Ages," YS remarked with biting criticism. Indeed, P and JD had tried to introduce a cabinet system by any means necessary. Furthermore, even in the 2010s, there were those who tried to introduce a cabinet system, praising its superiority. But looking at Japan alone, one could see why a cabinet system shouldn't be introduced. Because a cabinet system is a system that makes virtual dictatorship possible.
"Honestly, I think they would have envied the citizens more than the cabinet system. To think not a single protest occurs in that situation," N said calmly, but it was a more scathing criticism. That's right. If a movie like Winds of the Empire had been released in Korea, the citizens would have risen up immediately. However, in Japan, there were no protests significant enough to reach N's ears. Perhaps there were small protests that went unnoticed. But those were just small protests that couldn't represent the opinions of the Japanese people.
"If JD had blatantly done something like that, the area around Gwanghwamun would have been packed with protesters. P and JD would have truly envied the Japanese people. They probably would have wanted to swap citizens with each other," N continued, and YS chuckled and nodded.
"Now that you mention it, that's true. It really is an easy country to govern. Come to think of it, Japan is effectively a hereditary system, isn't it?"
Indeed, Japan has a hereditary structure where if you are born as a politician's child, you become a politician yourself. Until the 1970s, politicians in Korea also struggled to pass their positions on to their children. Of course, it's true that they still strive for hereditary succession in the 2010s, but at least in Korea, 'political heredity' wasn't a common occurrence. Although, a 'hereditary succession in a sense' did happen in the 2010s.
"That's right. The more I see this, the more I realize Japan is an easy country to govern."
N wore an expression of constant admiration as he spoke. 'When I looked at Japan from afar, I thought it was a truly great country, but the closer I look, the more it feels like something is off-kilter.'
YS was having similar thoughts. 'If I hadn't joined hands with Yoon-gi, would I have been able to see Japan's true face like this? Truly, the more I'm around him, the more amazing experiences I have.'
As the two fell silent, lost in thought, Yoon-gi spoke up.
"By the way, the opening ceremony is in a week."
In Yoon-gi's history, the opening ceremony was September 20, 1988. It was pushed back just a little bit compared to the original history.
"Indeed, I feel great thinking that Japan won't be there for the opening ceremony," YS said, and Yoon-gi suddenly grinned.
"What do you mean Japan won't be there? The existence of Japan will heat up the opening ceremony quite spectacularly."
Yoon-gi had already set up a truly magnificent plan.