George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 38

< Episode 37 >

“I asked you to bring information, and this is what you bring?”

The President of the United States deliciously eating Gukbap [Korean rice soup] was the information the Director of the National Intelligence Service brought. He wanted to shout, but he suppressed it. Well, where else could he get this? In fact, he only expected half, so it was natural that the information he received was only half-baked.

“Still, Gukbap? Are you sure the person in this video is George Bush?”

The quality wasn’t great, so he wondered if they were mistaking someone who resembled George Bush. If the organization that brought this information wasn’t the National Intelligence Service, he would have started throwing anything he could grab and held a fun dodgeball tournament, he was so on edge.

“Should we change the luncheon to Gukbap?”

However, President Kim Ji-hoon immediately rejected that idea. He must have wanted to eat at that Gukbap place since he went all the way to that remote area. Otherwise, why would he leave behind the numerous Gukbap restaurants in the downtown area and go to such an alley? Kim Ji-hoon simply speculated that someone close to George Bush had told him that this was a Korean restaurant and insisted he try it.

“I really don’t know if this is good or bad.”

To put it nicely, it meant he was very interested in Korea, and to put it badly, it meant he would interfere a lot in Korea, or rather, the entire Korean Peninsula.

In short, President Kim Ji-hoon was sulking. He didn’t express it outwardly, but his miserable state of mind was comparable to a shipwreck with a broken sail in a storm. More than anything, even though he was the president of a pro-Western country, what difference was there between being pro-Western and being a 18th-century colony if the will of the Western world took precedence over the will of the country concerned?

He was pro-American only because of the benefits arising from the unique geopolitical situation of the Korean Peninsula, and if that uniqueness didn’t exist, there would be no need to be pro-American. In fact, Korea’s rise to this point was, in a way, thanks to making the most of the global situation.

‘Now they’re going to recoup their investment?’

President Kim Ji-hoon’s mood didn’t improve as the doors to the ROK [Republic of Korea]-U.S. summit opened.

‘Should I make it illegal to flash cameras in people’s faces?’

While President Kim Ji-hoon was feeling uncomfortable, Bush frowned deeply as soon as he entered, due to the flashing lights. He wore a half-serious smile on his face, which looked both benevolent and arrogant. It was a contradictory statement, but the reporters all thought that was the expression he had.

‘I think every time, but if I get flashed for eight years every time I go somewhere, I’ll be blind in my later years!’

Bush is a selfish person. Of course, it’s hard to believe, but because there was a conscience in his soul, he didn’t torment others gratuitously, but he wasn’t a saint who would turn the other cheek after being slapped. Even when he was Kim Gap-hwan, he was the kind of man who would immediately launch a rising kick if he was hit, regardless of settlement money or anything else. It was just that George Bush prioritized selfishness over conscience.

‘No matter what, I can’t be America’s dog.’

‘But still, it would be difficult to make flash photography illegal, right?’

In any case, according to the scheduled procedures, the presidents of the two countries shook hands with different thoughts in their minds and sat down in their respective seats. With that, the ROK-U.S. summit that both countries had been waiting for finally began.

‘I have to get the anti-terrorism know-how somehow.’

‘I have to screw North Korea somehow.’

One wanted to prevent terrorism, and the other wanted to deal with North Korea. To be precise, he wanted to destroy the nukes that North Korea was making.

“I would like to express my deep gratitude for coming as soon as I requested a meeting, despite your busy schedule with domestic affairs in the United States.”

First, he omitted the words of gratitude for coming faster than Japan, which could be a diplomatic issue between Korea and Japan, and also omitted the words that he was dumbfounded that Bush came by fighter plane.

The first reason was that ROK-Japan relations were not that bad diplomatically, even if public opinion was this year, and he didn’t want to give the United States, which wanted to do something about East Asia with Korea and Japan, a chance to do so.

Korea, with Russia right above it and China next to it, was a very fragile entity. Right now, they were holding a shield called the Western world and sharpening a sword called the ROK-U.S. alliance, so no one dared to take Korea lightly, but if the sword and shield disappeared, the end was clear. South Korea, with its trade routes cut off, was just too small a land.

The second reason was too obvious to even discuss. If such a thing came out, it would be a diplomatic discourtesy, not a joke. Of course, coming by fighter plane itself was a bigger diplomatic discourtesy.

‘That doesn’t mean I’m going to do everything the U.S. tells me to do!’

Even a mere puppy will abandon and run away from an owner who doesn’t feed it.

‘Okay, present as much as you want. I’ll squeeze that much out of you.’

“This has once again given great confidence in the ROK-U.S. alliance. The flower of peace is blooming in the Korean Peninsula. I can say that.”

The flower of peace on the Korean Peninsula. This was also a roundabout way of asking them to refrain from using North Korean language as much as possible. How long has it been since they started the policy of reconciliation and cooperation with North Korea, and they are already switching to sanctions against North Korea? That was not what President Kim Ji-hoon wanted. To be honest, he was thinking implicitly that this was all useless, but wasn’t it a promise? Even if he were to overturn it, he had to overturn it himself. It was not to be overturned by outside forces.

Of course, that would make President Kim Ji-hoon comfortable for the time being. From public opinion to the National Assembly, they would join hands and sing Arirang [a famous Korean folk song] while tearing apart President Bush, who had destroyed the North-South reconciliation line, so President Kim Ji-hoon would not be criticized right away.

But how would he be evaluated in the future? A tragic president who was swayed like a reed when the United States grabbed and wielded him? Or a loyal American poodle who moves as the United States tells him to?

‘Huh, screw them all. I will be remembered as the president who created the most stable Republic of Korea.’

The Republic of Korea was a powerful country, but it was also a weak country. Was it a castle in the sky? I don’t know who said it, but there was no word more fitting for the Republic of Korea than this. A powder keg that explodes with just one wrong step. That was the Korean Peninsula.

That’s why it’s the most stable Republic of Korea. A stable Republic of Korea was the most ideal Republic of Korea that President Kim Ji-hoon was thinking of.

“I agree with President Kim’s words.”

Again, the soul attached to George W. Bush was very selfish.

“That’s why I hope that inter-Korean relations will move forward as soon as possible.”

‘What is it? Does he want to receive the Nobel Peace Prize or something?’

However, President Kim Ji-hoon smiled at himself. He scoffed at the thought, saying that there could be no more absurd fantasy than that.

Looking at the way he was doing things, he would rather go to war than try to resolve it through words. Of course, according to the former profile file, he was closer to the latter, but George Bush, whom President Kim Ji-hoon had seen with his own eyes, was a warmonger.

However, President Kim Ji-hoon was a truly experienced president. Isn’t that right? He guessed the answer ‘Ta-da!’

‘Wow, if we can solve the North Korean problem, this is totally Nobel Peace Prize material, isn’t it?’

“I couldn’t help but admire the way you respond to terrorism, and the way you prevent and manage terrorists in advance. So, how about your country’s excellent anti-terrorism law? Can’t we bring it to Korea?”

President Kim Ji-hoon finally brought up the main point. Korea’s business was to introduce the U.S.’s anti-terrorism know-how. In fact, it was closer to pouring an insane amount of budget and fully demonstrating the power of capitalism. Korea couldn’t spend money like the United States, but as a substitute, the land was very small. The fact that the land is small meant that the area to be covered was also small, and therefore the budget was relatively incomparably smaller.

“Of course. Our United States is willing to provide anti-terrorism know-how to all countries that request it, not just Korea.”

This was also a jab at Europe, which had refused help until the end. Small and large terrorist attacks were still occurring in Europe. Thanks to the significant increase in the number of guards and police patrolling near cultural properties, large-scale cultural property destruction never happened again, but other areas were still vulnerable.

‘Heh heh, you European bastards. Let’s see how far you can go.’

“Also, by reaffirming the strength of the ROK-U.S. alliance at this meeting, we have once again confirmed Korea’s will to defend the Korean Peninsula. The ROK-U.S. alliance has deep ties ranging from military to trade, so it is important not only to Korea but also to the United States. The ROK-U.S. alliance is the beginning and end of East Asian security.”

In other words, ‘Isn’t it time to stop being so wary?’ It was so obvious that they were being wary that Bush was half out of his mind. It also meant, ‘What’s the problem?’

‘Yeah, the ROK-U.S. alliance. That’s the leash you’re wearing, right?’

Of course, words are like a spectrum, and even the same words and the same words can change their meaning depending on the observer. And this truth did not change in this place either.

“If U.S. President George W. Bush truly thinks about ‘peace on the Korean Peninsula,’ I believe that the ROK-U.S. alliance will be strong forever.”

‘Still, I got the practical benefits.’

He was the first to get the U.S.’s promise to transfer know-how. That alone was a great achievement.

“That’s right. I hope that the three leaders of the United States, Korea, and North Korea will have a meeting at Panmunjom [the Joint Security Area between North and South Korea] if the opportunity arises. That’s because I truly think about peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

‘What the hell is this?’

Who was it that brought three aircraft carrier fleets comparable to a country’s military power and even flew in on a fighter plane, and now he’s talking about peace?

‘So, does that mean the aircraft carrier fleet won’t be entering Korea?’

They couldn’t be sure because the U.S. side kept avoiding answering about the entry and giving ambiguous answers.

“If North Korea has the will, I will have a meeting at Panmunjom tomorrow.”

Bush’s declaration, which was like a nuclear bomb made solely according to his mood, caused the reporters to forget even their duty of pressing the camera shutter and fall into silence for a moment, until a flash that someone reflexively set off started a storm of flashes.

‘Is this guy serious?’

The fact that he was in a hurry to hide the absurd expression that was trying to break through the diplomatic mask that President Kim Ji-hoon had created would later be revealed to the world in President Kim Ji-hoon’s autobiography.