George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 179

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“In Japan, a House of Representatives election is imminent, China is grappling with an unprecedented surge of epidemics, Russia is embroiled in terrorism and a full-scale war, and our ally, the United States, has suffered a devastating fire.”

Republic of Korea, National Intelligence Service.

“Geez. Has it really been that long since the Cold War ended? Things are really heating up. Are we entering a hot war now?”

He said, rising from his seat. The shin he’d been kicked on by the director during the fighter jet visit still throbbed.

“Hey, what the hell are you mumbling about?”

“Wow, your respect for your seniors is truly touching, isn’t it? Back in the day, I would have straightened you out.”

“Come on, senior, don’t be such an old fogey. Don’t you have any interesting stories to tell?”

This kind of banter and familiarity was possible because the two were close, like brothers, both in and out of the office.

“Oh, really? Look at this guy, casually trying to pry into state secrets? Are you a commie?”

“A commie? Your face is the one that’s red, senior.”

“Min-hwan. It’s me, your brother.”

Min-hwan replied sarcastically, “Yes, yes,” and handed him a coffee. The senior took a sip and frowned deeply. It was probably the deepest frown he’d made all year. The most intense frown of his life was undoubtedly during the U.S. presidential fighter jet visit incident.

The NIS hadn’t felt this grim since its founding, it seemed. It was truly awful. He could only hope that such crazy incidents wouldn’t happen again.

Anyway, what was important now was the coffee.

“This isn’t the right taste!”

“Seriously, this guy complains even when I make it for him. What’s wrong with it?”

“I told you to put a lot of *프림* [coffee creamer] in it.”

He held up two fingers and flicked them. It meant two spoonfuls, but he wasn’t talking about teaspoons; he meant large spoons, the kind used for eating rice.

“Geez, are you trying to keel over from high blood pressure at your age?”

“Ha, says the guy who smokes a pack of cigarettes in one sitting. You’re worried about *your* health?”

“I’m still young, so it’s okay.”

‘Is that so?’

He crumpled the paper cup with a crunch and tossed it toward the trash can in the corner of the break room. The paper cup bounced once and landed perfectly inside.

“What? You said you didn’t like it, but when did you finish it?”

“Because the coffee is innocent.”

Of course, after coffee came cigarettes. The strong tar and nicotine of Marlboro filled his lungs, stimulating his central nervous system.

“Ugh, how can you smoke that stuff? It’s too strong for me. It feels like it’ll ruin my throat.”

“A youngster who doesn’t appreciate the taste of Reds should just go away.”

With each exhale of smoke, the lock the country had placed on his mouth seemed to loosen. He was ready to talk.

“So, what story should I tell you?”

“Anything appropriate. Just nothing that would put me in danger.”

Upon hearing that, he savored his cigarette until half of it was burned, and then, as if he had made a decision, he opened his mouth with a subtle smile, seemingly amused by Min-hwan’s impatient expression.

“Okay. How about a story about America?”

“America? Did they catch the arsonist from the big fire?”

“Of course not. It hasn’t even been a day since they started fighting the fire, so there’s no way they’ve caught him already. If that were possible, America would have already taken over the world by now.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Min-hwan readily agreed.

“America has begun to intervene in the North Korean regime in earnest.”

If you didn’t know the details, you might say, ‘Weren’t they always?’ But surprisingly, that hadn’t been the case. They had been guiding them to rely on South Korea and the United States, but that was never a direct intervention.

“Isn’t that dangerous information for me to hear?”

“No, it’ll be in the news in a few days, so it’s enough as long as you don’t go around blabbing about it.”

“I don’t really understand, but go ahead and tell me anyway.”

“Okay. Roughly, it’s like this. Kim Jong-il’s health has deteriorated to the point where he’s on life support. Right now, the North Korean Juche [self-reliance] ideology Communist Party is only held together by Kim Jong-il’s charisma. But recently, the party has started to split into factions. Even just this much should give you a rough idea of what I’m talking about, right?”

The point is this: splitting into factions means that new parties are being formed. This also means that the one-party system that has been maintained since the Kim Il-sung era is collapsing. The factions are roughly divided into four, but they haven’t really formed clear groups like parties.

It’s hard to classify because there are too many people with a foot in both camps, but if we had to classify them, it would be as follows.

Which country is the strongest in the world right now? America. Moreover, America also has the strongest external influence. Of course, much of it is controlled by South Korea, but now that Korea also borders China and has to be mindful of the two superpowers, it’s no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Korean Peninsula is mortgaged to the United States.

I don’t want to admit it, but if South Korea didn’t have America’s nuclear umbrella, it would be difficult to survive China’s retaliation. If the land were vast, the range of strategies and tactics would be wider, but unfortunately, the Korean Peninsula is terribly narrow, making complete self-defense impossible. Unfortunately, the nation to the south is an economic powerhouse, and the one next door is a superpower. It’s a sorrow caused by being stuck in a geopolitically awkward position.

Next is China. North Korea, which has had a long history of exchange with China, naturally formed a faction that wanted to side with China. However, China’s condition hasn’t been so good lately, so its influence has shrunk in many ways. Considering that almost everyone was expected to side with China as originally planned, the current situation is quite surprising.

Next is Korea. Most of these are sincere nationalists. Kim Jong-il’s ‘Let’s do it among Koreans!’ policy saw the light. The person who proclaimed it is now receiving intensive care in a hospital ward, staring at the fluorescent lights, but anyway, this faction has the most members.

Of course, there was also Japan. If you were to pick the most *개새끼* [son of a bitch] country in North Korea besides the United States, it would always be Japan. This sentiment is similar in South Korea, but even stronger in North Korea. Anyway, Japan was an economic powerhouse, and since there were some personal connections established during the long negotiation process, this faction naturally emerged.

Russia was surprisingly unpopular, because Putin neglected North Korea after taking office. Originally, there wasn’t much intention to neglect it, but as the Russian government decided to focus all its capabilities on stabilizing the unstable Russian economy and Chechnya, it decided to reduce its attention to overseas affairs except for what was absolutely necessary.

And of course, all party members shared at least two or more factions. In fact, it was questionable whether this should even be called a faction.

Considering that these divisions are not clear-cut and that factions are divided according to people’s connections, this is similar to China’s *关系* [guanxi – personal connections/relationships]. However, the difference is that *关系* operates within China, while this is related to overseas connections.

“Don’t you have anything lighter than that?”

“There’s also the latest story about the North Korean and American presidents.”

“What is it?”

He finished his cigarette, taking his time, and then, as if his secret sadism was satisfied by Min-hwan’s dissatisfied expression, he smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“Well, recently, the American president was so impressed by the inter-Korean collaboration that they even made an agreement to jointly produce children’s animations that North Korea had been broadcasting.”

“That fighter jet?”

“Yeah, that fighter jet [referring to the US President’s nickname].”

“Why?”

“How would I know? I heard they’re broadcasting something for kids on late-night TV.”

“No, more than that, inter-Korean collaboration? Was there something like that?”

“It’s an animation with a blue penguin wearing a pilot’s helmet, and I honestly don’t know much about it. I’m just watching because the higher-ups are doing it.”

“I couldn’t have imagined it in the past. That.”

When he was young, most of the media he could access was all about ‘I hate communists.’ Now, they’re collaborating with those communists to make and broadcast children’s animations. It’s truly something to see after living in the world for so long.

“Our country is one thing, but what North Korean children’s animation caught that fighter jet’s eye? What on earth?”

“The name is…”

He struggled with a look as if he was about to remember the name of the work, but then gave up and decided to describe the content.

“Some fox? Yeah, he liked one of the fox characters in that work so much that he asked them to increase its screen time?”

And he added, ‘I’d have to look at the report to know the details.’ The analysis team speculated that it was to present North Korea with the most peaceful project possible, but what does it matter anyway? If we unify soon, that project will become South Korean autonomy.

Isn’t this youngster looking at me with a suspicious expression?

“No, why do you know so much?”

“Our VIP [Very Important Person, referring to the President] wants to know everything, what can I do?”

“Still, is it necessary to report even that?”

“Then should I say, ‘Ah! Mr. President! Although you told me to find out how many steps the fighter jet took and how many hours it sleeps a day, I thought the interests were not worth paying attention to, so I unilaterally omitted it from the report!’ Then the President will say, ‘Ah! I see! Haha! Hoho! You’re doing a really good job. Wow, this is totally a Taegeuk Medal [South Korea’s highest order of merit]!’ Right?”

“Is it that serious?”

“It’s real, man. Do you even know how many guys are lurking near the White House?”

The senior kindly showed him with hand signals how many people were lurking. Min-hwan didn’t want to know that information at all.

“I thought it would be okay since the VIP changed.”

“The former VIP emphasized it to the death, what can I do? If they tell me to do it, I have to do it.”

“But is it okay for you to tell me this?”

Min-hwan finally said what he had wanted to say since earlier. There are two famous sayings that even a child knows.

Knowing is power. Not knowing is a blessing. They are truly contrasting sayings, but if you work in a profession that deals with information that hurts you if you know it, you would rather not know it than know it. Do you know how difficult it is to try not to turn the last shred of patriotism you had for your country into hatred and disgust for your country?

This was not just a problem in this country. Regardless of East, West, ancient, or modern, this profession is originally such a profession. Of course, there are people whose way of thinking is that they can do anything for their country, but at least he could not become such a figure.

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“Really?”

Min-hwan couldn’t help but be suspicious of his senior’s suddenly changed attitude. He had known this senior for nearly 20 years, and this was clearly the attitude he had when he was trying to screw Min-hwan over. Even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after 5 years, and 20 years is enough time to grasp everything from bad habits to behavioral principles.

“Of course. Because you’ll be assigned to this team starting tomorrow.”

“Yes? How can an assignment be made like that? What about the handover?”

“On top of that, there’s even a promotion as soon as the team assignment is over. This is truly something to celebrate!”

He said that and gave Min-hwan enthusiastic applause.

“Senior?”

What kind of nonsense is this? Of course, a promotion isn’t bad. However, there are plenty of promotions in the world that are unsettling.

“This means that you will soon be dispatched to the United States. What are you doing? Go home early today and pack your bags.”

The next day, Min-hwan realized that his senior’s story was by no means a joke.