George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 58

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“Dokdo?”

The sudden emergence of the Dokdo issue was truly unexpected for both Korea and Japan, especially for Japan. They were happy to support the incorporation of the Senkaku Islands, but why did Dokdo suddenly pop up?

Japan’s desire for Dokdo began in the medieval period. The Japanese are particularly fond of marine mammals like whales and sea lions, so they had coveted Dokdo, a habitat for sea lions, for quite some time. In 1905, they even occupied Dokdo under the guise of sea lion hunting. Of course, the purpose wasn’t solely sea lions, but that was the apparent reason.

In any case, until the fall of the Korean Empire in the 20th century, the *Seungjeongwon Ilgi* [Diaries of the Royal Secretariat] constantly mentioned Japanese fishermen fishing near Ulleungdo and Dokdo, so the beginning of this dispute could be traced back to the medieval period.

Turning the clock to modern times, Japan’s ambition to seize Dokdo under the leadership of the Japanese government began to emerge clearly in the Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement. In 1998, Japan unilaterally terminated the Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement concluded in 1965. This was influenced by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, revised in 1982.

The International Law of the Sea is, simply put, like a ‘comprehensive gift set’ that covers the rights to handle and investigate the sea and all its resources, ecosystem conservation, technological development, and so on. Because laws like ‘expanding sea jurisdiction from 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles’ included in international law were like perfectly packaged snacks for Japan.

Anyway, although it was unilaterally terminated, it wasn’t without any basis, and Korea, coinciding with the IMF crisis [1997 Asian Financial Crisis] and a change of government, was completely disoriented. They tried their best to reject Japan’s demands, but Korea, with its significantly lacking diplomatic and administrative power due to the IMF, ended up signing the humiliating New Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement.

The problem was that, unfortunately for Korea, Dokdo was smack dab in the middle of the Korea-Japan intermediate zone, and based on this, Japan slowly began to create logic to swallow Dokdo.

“Truly a frustrating situation.”

“Why are you explaining it in such detail?”

As Bush’s long speech ended on Air Force One, soulless applause flowed from the Chief of Staff’s hands.

“I’m going to speak frankly because I think the Chief of Staff now fully understands my style.”

“What do you mean?”

“You must have realized by now. Even though it seems like I’m acting recklessly, I actually prioritize ethics in everything I do.”

‘Huh?’

Whether to give a standing ovation for acknowledging that he acts recklessly, to be moved by the fact that he considers ethics first, or to faint from the fact that he knew all that and still treated people that way, the Chief of Staff couldn’t quite figure it out. Bush left him in his confusion and continued,

“A righteous nation aims for righteous diplomacy. Don’t you think? At least they try to appear righteous on the surface, but I think such nations will collapse in the future, unable to overcome the karma they’ve built up.”

Of course, Bush wasn’t entirely comfortable inside while saying that. Because Bush himself was the epitome of hypocrisy.

Kim Gap-hwan didn’t just spend all his time watching the news. Naturally, he did everything he wanted to do within the limits of his savings and bank account. It’s just that the news occupied an overwhelming proportion.

Among the things he wanted to do was reading web novels.

In any case, the trend in 2019 was ‘cider’ [a slang term for satisfying revenge or resolution] that scratched the readers’ itchy spots, which, when unpacked, was extreme selfishness. Of course, there were novels that weren’t like that, but due to the backlash against the healing craze and the emphasis on the efforts of the privileged that had swept through the early 2000s, the word ‘cider’ transcended a simple buzzword and evolved into a trend, becoming a basic framework for all novel platforms.

Anyway, Kim Gap-hwan would sometimes have thoughts like this while reading such novels.

‘Is it possible for an ordinary person to live so extremely selfishly just because they came back from the dead?’

Coming back from the dead wasn’t something to be dismissed, but just as there’s a saying that personality doesn’t change even if you come back from the dead, the question was whether it was possible for a person to suddenly change so drastically.

Kim Gap-hwan was originally this kind of person. He was very straightforward in everything he did, and he was a person who freely uncovered and pointed out the flaws that others hid under the name of etiquette. Of course, such human types are difficult to be welcomed in society.

Furthermore, Kim Gap-hwan wasn’t ‘extremely’ selfish like the protagonists of novels. In other words, he wasn’t the kind of person who could directly slit the throat of an acquaintance, saying, ‘Please die for my money and honor!’ like the protagonists of other novels.

However, that didn’t mean that Bush wasn’t a selfish person. It’s just that his way of thinking was slightly twisted. He was a person who thought that even carrying out his own will was selfish. The scope of his selfishness was extremely broad, and this was due to Kim Gap-hwan’s innate rebellious nature.

If someone asked Bush, ‘Is volunteer work also a selfish act?’ Bush would confidently say, ‘Of course!’ Because he was thinking, ‘In the end, volunteer work is also done to feel satisfaction and joy from volunteering! Therefore, it is truly a selfish act!’

It was a statement that would make a sincere volunteer so dumbfounded that they would ascend to heaven, but what could be done since he was born that way? He was definitely abnormal.

Thus, Bush himself was aware that he was full of selfishness and that his actions were causing trouble. However, as he had been since his Kim Gap-hwan days, he was sorry, but he didn’t bother to try to fix it.

Getting back to the point, the reason he bothered to touch Dokdo wasn’t so much because Kim Gap-hwan, who had become one with Bush, had Korean nationality, but because he felt extremely unpleasant. If Japan takes the Senkaku Islands based on effective control, and then claims that Dokdo is Japanese territory, wouldn’t it be impossible to know what’s what?

‘Practical diplomacy? Screw it all.’

“I’m going to try to make the world as righteous as possible. Just like a hero in a comic book.”

“A president must also consider the national interest as much as possible.”

“I am. The United States leading East Asian hegemony! Strengthening the ROK-US-Japan alliance by resolving the bad feelings between Korea and Japan!”

“…That’s true.”

Frankly, as the Chief of Staff, who didn’t have enough knowledge to fully grasp the relationship between Korea and Japan, it was difficult to agree, but if you want to appease enemies, the best way is to eliminate the seeds of hatred one by one, rather than forcing them to shake hands.

‘I don’t know how long that will take. It’s probably impossible within my term. Actually, the fact that I’ve been doing so well so far is, in a way, luck. Luck.’

It wasn’t that luck didn’t play a part for Bush at all. At least, there had never been a disaster that could be called a breakdown due to Bush’s judgment. He had been choosing options that made the United States richer and stronger with everything he did. Of course, Bush himself had a meticulous calculation made by mixing George W. Bush’s knowledge and Kim Gap-hwan’s knowledge in detail, but how could a third-rate life suddenly sit in the seat of the President of the United States and do everything perfectly?

Bush was deliberately pushing his subordinates hard. Just as the original George W. Bush realized his shortcomings and relied on his aides and vice president, Bush was delegating as much of the practical work as possible to his subordinates.

Thanks to this, the amount of reports was terribly large, forming a mountain, but the knowledge that George W. Bush had, which came to mind almost forcibly while looking through the mountain of documents, was very valuable.

‘So, I’m setting the direction as much as possible, or taking a hard line in diplomacy with the backing of a superpower.’

However, in the case of the fighter jet visit, he really just wanted to ride the fighter jet. After seeing the reports that came up after that, showing how the whole world pulsated with that one fighter jet visit, he was determined to ride it again if there was another opportunity.

A man who had decided to live the way he wanted became the head of the most powerful country in the history of the Earth. That kind of person vowed to become the ‘most powerful president’ that no one could dare to challenge, so this was why the humans on Earth had to be on their toes.

However, only Bush knew whether the most powerful president was powerful in terms of military force or power.

“Mr. President. We will soon reach Japanese airspace. By the way, are you really okay? You haven’t slept at all for about 48 hours.”

What power did the Chief of Staff have to stop the President when he said he wouldn’t sleep even if he died? He wanted to point out the decrease in efficiency due to the increase in fatigue, but he didn’t even have the time to argue because his work ability increased strangely as he saved sleep.

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t sleep. More than anything, if the work piles up again, wouldn’t a mountain of documents greet me when I get back?”

‘Damn it, I can’t introduce the electronicization of all documents.’

Most of the documents that came to the President were top secret, and since computers were introduced into all national administrations on Earth, the most dangerous secrets were always handled only on paper. At least paper can’t be hacked.

You couldn’t rest assured even if you used an internal server. There might be traitors or spies in the administration.

And people don’t die just because they don’t sleep. He had an unusually healthy body, so he didn’t get tired easily even at the age of fifty.

‘Is it because I only eat expensive things?’

“But I’m still tired.”

When he was looking at the documents, his brow furrowed regardless of Bush’s will.

“Black coffee or espresso. Which one would you like?”

“Espresso.”

Bush’s brain was craving caffeine.

* * *

“Therefore, Japan recognizes Korea’s territorial claim to Dokdo.”

“Korea recognizes Japan’s territorial claim to the Senkaku Islands.”

Surprisingly, the Japanese cabinet led by Koizumi readily gave up Dokdo. That’s because Japan’s foreign policy strategy was soft power, and ‘following in the footsteps of the United States!’ Moreover, they had taken the Senkaku Islands with the help of the United States and received Korea’s support, so there was no need to provoke the United States by touching Dokdo.

Having to give up Dokdo was like a terrible nightmare, but the next administration could overturn it in the future. Even the Kuril Islands are doing that right now, aren’t they?

However, Koizumi, whose nature was not to be robbed with his eyes open, was determined to poke and prod here and there, but he had to refrain from speaking at the trilateral talks.

This was the same for South Korean President Kim Ji-hoon. In fact, he was even more dumbfounded than Koizumi because it had happened so suddenly. Of course, after seeing Japan take the Senkaku Islands, there was an opinion in the Blue House [the South Korean presidential residence] that Korea should also ask the United States to resolve this, but the United States was adhering to a grand strategy of not taking sides with either Japan or Korea, so they believed that the possibility of resolving it was very slim even if they asked for help.

But in the midst of all this, the United States took the lead and said, ‘Dokdo is Korean territory!’ and even created a trilateral meeting to nail it down, so they were more bewildered than grateful.

Anyway, that’s why these two, who have a mountain of questions they want to ask, are holding back their words.

“I’m so glad it ended peacefully.”

‘What the hell is going on? Did China really say they wouldn’t pay back their bonds?’

‘Damn it. Could it be that a nuclear weapon was launched? No, that can’t be. Then why would I be here? I would have returned to the United States right away.’

Bush’s ‘face’ was not peaceful at all, which was completely different from the words that came out of his mouth. Bush’s face, who hadn’t slept for more than 48 hours, looked like he could kill someone right now.

Drooping black dark circles. Long and thin eyes slit to the side. A tail hovering between a blank expression and anger.

Anyone could see that George Bush was now making an expression that he would make when he had to make a decision to save the country. If you were to find the most similar expression among celebrities, it was most similar to the blank expression that Vladimir Putin shows when he is angry.

The man who was always grinning with a good-natured smile was making an expression like a criminal before committing murder.

Of course, the Chief of Staff recommended makeup to hide these dark circles on Air Force One, but Bush refused. He had a vague aversion to makeup.

“Ah! Peace! How wonderful is it?”

Bush himself was very happy that the plan he had set up was proceeding without a hitch, so he got up from his seat and proceeded to shake hands, but in contrast to him, Kim Ji-hoon and Koizumi’s expressions were gradually changing seriously.

When a person smiles, shouldn’t the corners of their mouth go up, but also have a change in their expression as a whole? How can a human only move their mouth when they smile?

Kim Ji-hoon and Koizumi were smiling on the outside, but they were trembling on the inside because they didn’t know what was going on.

And Bush was determined never to drink espresso from a mug again.