The Rising Sun and the Swastika

BOOM!

Because the Rising Sun Flag was so massive, the time it took to split down the middle felt agonizingly long. The sound of the fabric tearing echoed through the stadium, a visceral, fiery scene burned permanently into the minds of the spectators. It was a moment he had been dying to execute.

Back in his days as a Dirt Spoon laborer, he had seen countless iconic scenes in various media. Yoon-gi had been particularly captivated by the imagery of the Rising Sun Flag being torn in two. He had harbored a vague, distant dream of doing it on a national scale one day. And now, the Olympics had provided the perfect stage.

The Korean spectators erupted in a deafening roar of enthusiasm. My god, could anyone have predicted an opening ceremony like this? The elderly, who had lived through the Japanese colonial era, stood up from their seats, tears streaming down their faces as they clapped. The Chinese spectators were just as fervent. However, the Western spectators were all wearing expressions of utter confusion. The Asians were going wild, but they had absolutely no idea what was happening.

But the performance wasn't over yet.

Riiiip!

A new flag appeared. It was none other than the Hakenkreuz—the Nazi flag, the symbol of Germany during World War II. As soon as it appeared, the expressions of the Westerners stiffened. But soon, they began to look intrigued. After all, they had just witnessed the "Rising Sun Flag being cut" in the first act. It was only natural for them to wonder, "What’s in the second act?"

WHOOSH!

An American boy appeared holding a torch and touched it to the Nazi flag.

FWOOOOOSH!

In an instant, the Nazi flag was reduced to ashes. It was a specially made flag designed to burn rapidly, ensuring no stray embers would scatter elsewhere.

Just like the first time, the Westerners began to cheer wildly. If the Rising Sun Flag was the symbol of a "son of a bitch" to Koreans and Chinese, the Nazi flag was the ultimate symbol of evil to the West. This was exactly what Reagan had secured the West German Chancellor's agreement on. Though, it was closer to a forced agreement than a voluntary one.

The West German Chancellor, cornered by Reagan’s trap, had no choice but to agree. Thanks to that, Yoon-gi was able to fulfill one of his wishes.

'If I had only cut the Rising Sun Flag, I wouldn't have gotten such a universal response.'

He was right. This was a place where spectators from all over the world had gathered. If he had held an event that only resonated with a few, it would have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been easy to invite complaints. Furthermore, if he had only cut the Rising Sun Flag, he would have faced accusations of using the Olympics for "political purposes."

But now? By dealing with the flags of two war-criminal nations, he had gained a kind of justification: "This Olympics is a festival of the victorious nations!" Of course, West Germany wasn't a victorious nation, but it was enough to say, "We have changed!"

And there was one more effect this first show brought that exceeded his imagination: 'Now, countless people around the world will know that the Rising Sun Flag is on the same level as the Nazi war flag.'

Yoon-gi chuckled and headed to the dressing room to change his clothes.

"CHIKUSHOOOOOOOO—!!!"

The Prime Minister was literally turning beet red, exploding with rage, and the ministers were shouting with the same expression. The Rising Sun Flag had been split vertically. And at the Olympic opening ceremony, no less. This had struck the reverse scale of the Japanese Prime Ministers so effectively that the conference room was ablaze, to the point where it was hard to hear a single coherent word for a while. And even when coherent words began to be heard, there was no coherent logic.

They were still trapped in their own self-importance. Ultimately, they settled on "demanding a Japan-Korea summit."

When we have some relationship with Japan, we refer to it as "Han-Il" (Korea-Japan). And Japan refers to it as "Il-Han" (Japan-Korea). Then what about when Korea, China, and Japan are involved? Korea says "Han-Jung-Il" (Korea-China-Japan), China says "Jung-Han-Il" (China-Korea-Japan), and Japan says "Il-Jung-Han" (Japan-China-Korea). In short, the fact that it changes depending on the subject is a perfect example of the relationship between Korea and Japan.

As such, there was no reason for a Korea-Japan summit to happen often. Even in the late 2010s, Korea-US summits happened every few months, while a Korea-Japan summit was hard to hold even once a year. Yet, in this situation, Japan had sent a very arrogant communication to Korea "demanding a Japan-Korea summit."

"Yeah, screw that~"

At YS’s expression, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠both N and Yoon-gi giggled. Now was the time to focus all efforts on the Olympics, a national event. The newspapers were reporting the daily Olympic results, so there was no reason to waste space by holding a summit with Japan. Moreover, it was a very arrogant sentence that didn't "request" a summit, but "demanded" one. Therefore, N, like YS, had no intention of responding to the demand for a summit.

"The Japanese bastards must still think it's the colonial era."

Even N was shaking his head in disgust.

"They probably do think that. Back in World War II, they weren't even in the top 10 globally, yet they treated the Joseon people like bugs. But now, they are the world's second-largest economy. It’s obvious what they’re thinking."

"You're right," Yoon-gi said, listening to their conversation. "Well, it's a summit we're not going to respond to anyway, so what's the point of talking more about it? Let's go watch a movie."

Yoon-gi’s expression was full of confidence. That’s right. Today was the release day of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. So, Yoon-gi had invited N and YS to his "mansion under construction."

Yoon-gi’s massive mansion was currently being built in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do. He could have built it in Seoul, but he deliberately chose Yongin. Because he intended to prevent the future where Seoul’s land prices skyrocketed. 'The method to stop real estate prices from skyrocketing is very simple. The problem is that it's hard to execute. Well, for now, shall we go watch a movie?'

Yoon-gi shrugged internally and guided N and YS to Yongin.

"Whoa... a mansion you'd only see in America is being built in Korea."

Of course, it was still under construction, so a significant portion was unfinished. But since the "movie theater" was complete, N and YS entered it together. A home with a movie theater. Strictly speaking, it was a "place decorated like a movie theater," but its scale was identical to one of the MEV’s theaters, so the astonishment N and YS felt was immense.

"Ohhh..."

"Whoa..."

YS looked at Yoon-gi. "If you have children, maybe with my great-grandchild—ugh!"

N poked him in the side with his elbow, so YS realized his own lack of decorum and entered the theater quietly with a bitter smile.

And the movie began.

"Oh... I can feel the greatness from the start."

YS was genuinely impressed. From the film quality to the actors' makeup and their acting—it was flawless.

"When I watched a Korean movie five years ago, I enjoyed it, but if I watched it again now, it would be too childish to watch."

N’s sincere admiration. It was natural. Korean cinema only began to show a modern appearance in the mid-to-late 90s. Until the early 90s, it was an era where actors performed with voices like they were reading a textbook. So, it was natural for N and YS to be impressed by Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

"Did you really make this in just two months?"

At YS’s words, Yoon-gi quietly whispered the amount that went into Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

"My, my god..."

It was an amount unimaginable for the cost of shooting a single movie.

"Didn't you disclose the budget?"

At N’s words, YS shook his head. "I know that, but I didn't look because I was lazy. But hearing it directly, wow..."

N and YS, who had been talking like this, fell silent at some point and became immersed in the movie. The movie itself was so fun that the thought of talking disappeared.

And about two hours later. When the movie ended, N and YS let out long sighs, not knowing who was first.

"Hoo!"

"Hoo!"

It was proof that they had been so immersed they hadn't even been breathing properly.

"There was almost no mention of Won Gyun, more than I thought?" YS immediately looked at Yoon-gi and asked.

"Yes, I deliberately minimized Won Gyun's appearance. The purpose of this movie is 'how much damage Japan causes to Korea,' not to highlight 'what a son of a bitch Won Gyun is.'"

In fact, there are only two scenes in Admiral Yi Sun-sin where Won Gyun is mentioned.

Yoon-gi did not want the audience who watched this movie to say, "Won Gyun is a son of a bitch!" Yoon-gi wanted only one thing: [Japan was indeed a son of a bitch!]

In the movie, it described in great detail how the invading Japanese troops massacred the Joseon people. Of course, it didn't emphasize cruelty, but rather described the situation, so there was no resistance from the audience. Rather, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because the situation description was so good, the audience was truly furious. Even the foreigners who watched it at the MEV theater.

[Japanese troops are sons of bitches!]

The evaluation of foreigners who could speak a little Korean. This was the power of the bestseller author Son Min-gwan, whom Yoon-gi had created. And this immersion of foreign spectators began to create a secondary effect.

As people who visited Korea during the Olympics praised Admiral Yi Sun-sin, other foreigners went crazy. The media and the people who had seen it were all praising ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, but there was no way to watch it. Flights to Korea were already full of Olympic spectators, making reservations impossible, and if they went by ship, they could never make it in time. Thus, Admiral Yi Sun-sin was steadily preparing to spread to the world with tremendous advertising effects.

And now, it was the final stages of the Olympics. The '88 Olympics seemed to be coming to a successful close. However, in the midst of such a national event, Japan committed its sixth act of interference. It was none other than the Prime Minister's visit. The Japanese Prime Minister had appeared in Korea without even setting an appointment.

"What the fuck?"

For the first time since becoming President, N looked as if he had been possessed by YS in a public setting.