George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 220

< Episode 219 >

An American spy satellite orbits the Earth. At the North Korean observatory in South Korea, large-scale vibrations and numerous weapon firings were detected. Artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and mortars, along with machine guns and rifles, unleashed a torrent of fire. The machines, their triggers pulled, fulfilled their purpose, validating their existence through operation.

However, the rockets and missiles laden with explosives, and the lead bullets ejected from various firearms, never reached South Korean soil. Instead, they flew mercilessly towards the crowds gathered in Pyongyang. It’s often said that artillery strikes in wartime turn people into minced meat, but such gruesome scenes were either deemed too graphic for television or deliberately toned down, as there was no need for such explicit depictions.

The reality is far more unsettling. When a person is struck by sufficiently advanced modern weaponry, they essentially evaporate. This isn’t a literal evaporation into steam or smoke, but that’s how it appears from close range. A comrade, moments before engaged in normal conversation, vanishes as if by magic. While movies might depict flying body parts, in reality, there’s nothing left to find. Just emptiness.

“Go! Go!”

Yet, even with the sophistication of modern weaponry, sheer numbers remain a formidable force. They advanced into Pyongyang, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades. The two groups, numbering hundreds of thousands, seemingly united in purpose, surged towards Pyongyang.

Lost and disoriented in the chaos, unable to distinguish friend from foe, they pressed forward despite the relentless machine-gun fire from bunkers and makeshift positions. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of attackers, they gradually began to reach the defensive lines, one or two at a time. Guns are powerful tools, but they are also delicate instruments.

“Th, this!”

Firing continuously without pause, the gun parts began to strain, and fatigue accumulated rapidly. Machine guns require barrel replacements after a certain number of rounds, but that was impossible in the heat of battle. Consequently, jams occurred, and each jam allowed one or two individuals to reach the enemy position.

Thus, the ‘People’s Wave,’ a disregard for life itself, proved sufficient to breach Pyongyang’s defenses. It was a stark demonstration of the consequences of turning brainwashed individuals, willing to die, against you. As the front lines devolved into hand-to-hand combat, soldiers plunged bayonets into the emaciated bellies of the people, while the crowd thrust sharp farming tools into the trained abdomens of the elite soldiers.

It wasn’t just the numbers; many in the crowd possessed firearms, and machine gunners frequently fell victim to snipers firing from concealed locations. No matter how much you try to suppress an area, it’s meaningless if the quantity of attackers exceeds the firepower.

However, the defense wasn’t a single line, and the crowd’s advance stalled at a certain point. The Hanyang defense forces reached a stalemate due to the overwhelming numbers.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.’

The somewhat relaxed combat readiness posture rapidly shifted. The momentarily lax military discipline was tightened again, and soldiers and officers had to fall back into that subtle atmosphere. They had to continue the conversation full of anxiety, excitement, and dissatisfaction with calming their unstable emotional state within themselves.

‘I can do it. I can do it. I don’t know what I can do, but I can do it anyway.’

It resembled the behavior of a ‘madman,’ as people say, but consider the circumstances. How could one remain sane in wartime? The days when war possessed a certain romanticism, the era of World Wars 1 and 2, were long gone. The times when killing was packaged as a glorious act of self-sacrifice for the country, and ignorant recruits proudly embraced it as something honorable, were over.

Now, everyone understood the repugnant nature of war and the futility faced by soldiers who had only their lives to lose, unlike governments with much more at stake. The sole reason they didn’t flee was because their beloved parents, siblings, and families resided in this land.

Turning away from the military and looking at the bustling city. A kind of apocalypse was unfolding in Seoul, the largest city in Korea. Even the most heinous people in Seoul couldn’t even dream of looting and were all running away somewhere.

Overseas, to the subway, to air-raid shelters, to the mountains, or to the basement of their homes. Looting is ultimately about profiting from the chaos, but no matter how much profit you make, it’s meaningless if you die, isn’t it? In Korea, from the youngest child to the oldest, everyone knew very well what happens when war breaks out.

Seoul will burn. The only survivors will be those who entered the few air-raid shelters, and major facilities will be mercilessly trampled.

Of course, after that, the ROK [Republic of Korea] army coming from the rear and the US military whose bases were attacked will be dispatched and recover Seoul in an instant, so it can be seen very positively from a tactical point of view, but that was only a positive thing from a tactical point of view, and the civilians who were trapped in Seoul and were bound to die were not positive at all.

The people who clearly remembered the Korean War could not trust the government’s announcements and flocked to airports, ports, and highways to escape. It was a deep scar left by the era of Syngman Rhee that would never be erased.

On the other hand, people living in the provinces were a little different. Since they were a bit far from North Korea, their reason was still quite intact, and their thinking was not completely paralyzed. In addition, there was a vague expectation that the ROK army would somehow take care of it. Still, the rich, who had a lot to lose, or those who were based on survivalism, were all running away on their own.

However, sensational internet articles that created a sense of crisis fueled anxiety even in people with such intact reason. For example, articles such as ‘North Korea’s artillery burned Panmunjom’ or ‘A miserable failure of a bizarre operation! All-out war has begun!’

These articles had no photos or the composite was so obvious that anyone could immediately recognize that these articles were flimsy, fabricated false articles without an inch of truth, but the anxiety of possibly dying made them move their feet before thinking twice.

And those who could distinguish it also moved. Really strangely, the reasons were the same. What stimulated them was the scar of the Syngman Rhee era. Moreover, the fact that ‘North Korea fired on a large scale’ was an undeniable fact that even the Ministry of National Defense admitted. They thought that war would break out in Korea soon. Even if it doesn’t actually happen, isn’t there a one in a million chance? What if war really breaks out?

Therefore, only a very small number of people stayed at home or at work and acted as usual, as recommended by the state. However, in the minds of the Korean people in various places, there was one question that did not leave.

‘Why isn’t there a fire?’

But that was it. There was a vague expectation that war would not break out, but there were few people foolish enough to rely on that expectation. When madness swallowed reason and made it impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood, the Republic of Korea was on the verge of ruin without even fighting.

“Arrest them all!”

It would have really happened if the president hadn’t decided to temporarily suppress the media. The president was very angry. Before the gray frost settled on his head, he was passionate and full of energy in everything and often got angry, but after he had eaten enough age, no one had ever seen him get genuinely angry.

And today was the day of wrath.

“Are you guys holding a ritual for the country to collapse, you bastards.”

Of course, he didn’t say it outright, but at least that’s what the president’s statement implied. There was an anecdote that he said that outright in the president’s office later.

“You guys, this is media oppression!”

“Hey, the media is a place to deliver accurate information to the public. What are you doing? Arrest them all!”

Warrants were issued, and numerous reporters were arrested on charges of creating social chaos and anxiety, and spreading and fabricating false information. They resisted vehemently, claiming they were publishing articles as usual, but it was futile. After the police, fully armed for the first time since the military regime, stormed into broadcasting stations and newspaper companies, there was nothing they could do.

After a very small resistance that could not be seen as obstruction of official duties passed, a search and seizure began. Everything from warrant issuance, warrant arrest, detention, and detention center imprisonment proceeded at the most unusual speed since the establishment of a proper democratic government. It would have been absolutely impossible under normal circumstances, but the government, which had its eyes turned after eating too much *엿 [yeot, a Korean taffy-like candy, implying they were blinded by greed or anger]*, the amount of damage to large corporations caused by false articles. And the emergency situation that North Korea might start a war at any time made it possible.

However, when it comes to the ultimate right and wrong, the current government should hold Syngman Rhee responsible for creating a national sentiment to escape overseas on a national scale with just a small change, but isn’t it impossible to blame the gunsmith for making the gun and trigger a long time ago? Of course, this doesn’t erase the sins he committed, but anyway, since it’s impossible to hold a dead person responsible, the government’s anger had to be met head-on by the corrupt media.

Fortunately or unfortunately, not all media outlets put out fake articles, so there were a few large media outlets that survived, and they quickly organized these facts and issued corrections. It was very funny that the media that didn’t put out misinformation was correcting the reports of other media, but that’s how things went anyway.

“Hmm, terrible.”

This is what Bush heard. However, he seemed to know that this was no longer the Republic of Korea he knew. All troops stationed in Nampo, as well as on the Korean Peninsula, were to act on their own judgment in the event of an emergency. So perhaps he didn’t have to worry about the Korean Peninsula being engulfed in war.

So Bush decided to solve what was in front of him right now.

“So is this person the one who can explain this document?”

A rather young-looking man was constantly sweating profusely. Perhaps it was because of the tension of standing in front of the president. Depending on the president’s judgment and words, his path to success would be permanently blocked or wide open, so it was not strange that he was shaking so much.

“He is the best person to explain it among the people left now. As you know, all of our manpower is currently being diverted to Super SARS. However, he did not write the document, so it would be easier to think of him as a kind of commentator.”