My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 394

“What do you mean by playing games?”

“They were specifically requesting time slots when it was absolutely impossible to make time.”

Even if the Madagascar embassy is incompetent, it’s not difficult to find out the schedules of key officials. So, instead of just sending a request for a meeting, they were specifying dates and times that were impossible to meet.

The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs might not be fully aware of its officials’ schedules, so they might not realize how strange it is. But from the officials’ perspective, they’re being asked to meet during major national events, making it impossible to accept.

“Crazy! They were doing that?”

“Yes, the reason they told me to bring Yoon Tae-min here immediately today is less about cooperation and more about finding out what cards Yoon Tae-min has and blocking them.”

“Wait, what?”

At those words, Yoon Tae-min felt faint. He never expected that. But Park Do-joon wasn’t particularly surprised.

“I knew it.”

“You knew it? Did you know that, Park Do-joon?”

Of course, Park Do-joon had never seen any rejection documents. But Yoon Tae-min was shocked that he knew.

“How is that possible?”

Even his own superiors didn’t know about it.

“Madagascar’s relationship with Korea isn’t as bad as you think. And the current official is a member of the current Prime Minister’s family.”

“So?”

“And if you look at the records from that time, even after being subjected to that incident while working as a diplomat, he didn’t take any action like strongly protesting to the Korean government.”

In fact, it was something he could have clearly protested without causing any problems. Being called a ‘nigger’ in a place where diplomats from other countries are present is unacceptable. Moreover, he’s of Southeast Asian descent, not even black.

“He even avoided the situation on the spot without protesting.”

“Why is that?”

“When you put all those facts together, he’s probably the type of person who knows how to separate public and private matters. And he’s probably more capable than you think.”

“Capable?”

“Yes, the current Prime Minister was furious about the bribery. And he’s also a person who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating conflicts by appropriately controlling tribal disputes in Madagascar. Would such a person send him as an ambassador to the United States just because he’s a member of his family?”

“Ah!”

If he were that kind of person, he would have exacerbated the conflicts by only favoring his own people instead of mediating between tribes.

The fact that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize itself means that he maintains a certain degree of neutrality internally.

“That type of person didn’t protest or send an official letter. That means that apart from his own pride, he knows that Madagascar is different from Korea and that he needs Korea’s help.”

So Park Do-joon realized that it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to meet because his pride was hurt.

“Korea also had such times.”

A time when they were so poor that they had to beg the United States for everything. During that time, pride was worthless to diplomats.

There was a time when they begged, pleaded, and implored to receive even one fighter jet, one gun, or one tank.

“During the Vietnam War, the United States said that Korea was going too far.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“It was because of the weapons and shell casings.”

“Weapons and shell casings?”

“Yes.”

Originally, Korea’s main weapons were old rifles based on carbines [shortened rifles]. But when they were dispatched to the Vietnam War, they were armed with automatic rifles for the first time.

Because the United States provided M16 rifles.

The main rifles used in Korea were carbine rifles or Garand rifles [a type of semi-automatic rifle]. They used semi-automatic rifles during World War II and fell in love with the M16, the first automatic rifle they encountered, and requested the United States to provide it, but the United States couldn’t provide weapons that were already scarce even for the Vietnam War.

So the Korean government started to subtly divert them. The United States replenished military supplies lost in combat, but Korea claimed that weapons were lost and requested more, diverting M16s to Korea.

“Of course, the United States knew about it. But they were the land of abundance.”

And they couldn’t help but turn a blind eye because Korea was one of the few countries that sent troops to Vietnam. The problem was that it wasn’t just guns that were being diverted. Shell casings are basically made of brass. And brass is expensive. But no country picks up shell casings dropped on the battlefield.

Except for one place. Only Korea desperately collected shell casings. The reason why people pick up shell casings at modern shooting ranges is that one bullet is a matter of life and death, but at that time, it was really to smuggle them back to Korea and use them for economic development.

So much so that the US government said it was going too far.

“Wouldn’t the diplomats have been ashamed of that? Didn’t they feel ashamed when they heard those words?”

“That’s…”

But they endured the shame because it helped the country. This was a problem that would end if they endured it. No matter how much the US government complained, they wouldn’t be able to openly publicize it.

“This is the same.”

It was a mistake, but it was a personal problem, not a problem between countries.

“Politicians try to exploit the other party’s weaknesses.”

At least they need that much intelligence to engage in political maneuvering. But would someone who has been dispatched to the United States and is being pushed by the current Prime Minister really lack that much intelligence?

“So I thought it was strange. It’s an opportunity to exploit.”

Korea is desperate. So there are many conditions they can offer. But they’re not even negotiating because their pride is hurt?

“Why didn’t…”

Yoon Tae-min looked shocked. Why didn’t the higher-ups know that?

“It’s simple. The higher-ups thought based on their own standards.”

In fact, Korea is not a country that lacks power in the global diplomatic arena. And Korean diplomats are full of elitism.

“There’s a saying: ‘A Buddha sees a Buddha, and a pig sees a pig.’ [Meaning people judge others based on their own experiences and perspectives.]”

They treat poor countries that way when their pride is hurt, so they think others will do the same.

“Hmm.”

Yoon Tae-min was speechless at Park Do-joon’s words. He never thought the situation would be like this.

“Then what should we do?”

“Well?”

Formally, as it is a diplomatic matter, the work should be carried out through the Korean Embassy in Madagascar. But they will never help Yoon Tae-min.

They want Yoon Tae-min to fail so that the rights and interests will naturally pass to them.

“We need to find another way.”

“Another way?”

“The Korean institutions in Madagascar aren’t just here.”

Park Do-joon shrugged and said.

“Honestly, from my point of view, both groups are morons.”

“So?”

“But at least the group Yoon Tae-min is in is trying to fix things. On the other hand, the other group prioritizes their own interests regardless of whether the country collapses or not, so I can’t see them in a good light.”

Joo Yong-ho flinched at those words. He was a member of the opposite group.

“Joo Yong-ho, what other Korean groups are residing in Madagascar?”

“Well, that’s…”

Joo Yong-ho started to think. Now that things have come to this, he realized that the only way for him to survive is to switch lines.

“There’s the King Sejong Institute [a South Korean public institution established to promote Korean language and culture internationally].”

“The King Sejong Institute… Can we arrange a meeting through them?”

“It’s possible.”

It’s not a diplomatic area, but the King Sejong Institute is a powerful group in Madagascar. Especially in cultural exchange, they are active as the main force, so it will be possible to arrange a meeting through them.

“Then let’s do it through them. And let’s go straight to the hotel. Let’s not go through the embassy.”

“What? But accommodation is already prepared.”

“I know. But we shouldn’t use it.”

Park Do-joon looked at Yoon Tae-min and asked.

“Yoon Tae-min, are you good at lying?”

“Lying?”

“Politics is a series of lies. You have to be good at it to be good at diplomacy.”

“Well…”

In fact, that’s not wrong, and his superior said something similar. That’s why Yoon Tae-min went to acting school to prepare.

“But I’ve never done it directly in the diplomatic field.”

“Then it’s time to do it for the first time.”

Park Do-joon smiled and said.

“Sometimes lies are also weapons. Hehehe.”

# Justification and Bait

“Is this… safe?”

“No, it’s probably very dangerous.”

Park Do-joon looked around and said.

“Shouldn’t we go to a safer hotel…?”

Even if Madagascar is poor, it doesn’t mean there are no safe hotels. But the hotel Park Do-joon booked is not a safe hotel, but a mid-sized one. It’s not perfectly safe, but it’s not a very dangerous place at the same time.

“Of course, we can do that, but then the lie we’re going to tell will be exposed.”

“Ugh!”

“Bear with it.”

“But the facilities…”

If it were at least a Korean motel, it would be fine, but this place is called a hotel, but it’s actually a Korean inn-level space. There is a bed, but the sheets on the bed have been yellowed for a long time.

“We have no choice. We have to show that we are different.”

“Hoo~.”

At those words, Yoon Tae-min took a deep breath and sat down.

“But will what you said be possible?”

“Did I say that? Everyone judges based on their own standards. And that goes for diplomats too.”

“You said he was capable before?”

“Apart from being capable, the information about the environment in which he lived is completely different. Was his name ‘Rodney Tsai’?”

“Yes.”

He is an incredibly young age for a diplomat. If you don’t consider the fact that his family is the Prime Minister, it would have been virtually impossible for him to be dispatched as an ambassador to the United States.

“But that age is not an age where he doesn’t know the world.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Madagascar has been experiencing tribal conflicts for a long time, and there have been massacres between them. And there have been coups in the meantime.”

“So?”

“His family elder was even nominated for the Nobel Prize for controlling that well. Then think about Rodney Tsai’s childhood.”

“Well?”

Park Do-joon frowned at those words. You need to be able to think about these things to take a favorable position in diplomatic work.

“Survival was probably a huge problem.”

“Survival?”

“Yes, his childhood would have been a time of war. There are no civil wars like in other African countries, but Madagascar is not a country that has grown stably and smoothly. To such a person, the conflict or struggle between the two groups and the fight for rights and interests will be felt not simply as a matter of profit, but as a matter of survival.”