The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 186

Rebel Spirit

Sweat-soaked clothes were scattered around, and the players were in disarray, many shirtless.

Before they could clean up, the President appeared.

“Ah, it’s alright. Don’t mind me, I know you’re not expecting a formal inspection, so just relax. I’m the uninvited guest here.”

The President shook hands with Coach Hiddink.

He looked much younger than during the 2002 World Cup, but his playful smile was the same.

“Mr. President, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Nice to see you, Coach Hiddink!”

“I regret that we couldn’t show you any goals.”

“Hahaha, I still have unwavering faith in our coach.”

“Thank you, Mr. President!”

The President approached him and asked in a low voice.

“You’re deliberately focusing on defense instead of scoring, aren’t you?”

“Mr. President, you noticed it was intentional?”

“I may not be good at kicking the ball, but I have an eye for the game.”

“We’ll meet the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and Italy in the semifinals. There’s no need to expose our team’s tactics. Conversely, we’ve analyzed all of their tactics. The audience may have been frustrated, but the real game isn’t the friendly evaluation match; it’s the World Cup.”

“Ah, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated! So, you’re not showing our cards. Coach Hiddink, you have a strategy. You will surely write a new legend and become a great coach.”

“Thank you for your trust, Mr. President.”

The President, a returnee, was even more curious whether Korea would reach the semifinals like in 2002.

“Coach, tell me if you need anything. I’ll give you my full support.”

“Um, there’s talk about the North Korean team joining us. Is that true, Mr. President? If we become a unified team, there will be many teamwork issues.”

“Ah, that’s why I came to see you today, Coach.”

The two of them went to a small conference room with an interpreter.

The President asked abruptly.

“Can we win if we play against North Korea?”

“Pardon? North Korea?”

North Korea was a formidable team that had defeated Italy in the 1966 England World Cup, becoming the first Asian country to win a match and reach the quarterfinals.

However, they had not achieved any significant results in international competitions since then.

Hiddink listened to the President’s explanation of the plan to form a unified North-South team, nodding and smiling.

“I understand what you mean. I will fully meet the President’s expectations.”

“Thank you for understanding!”

“I will prepare thoroughly, just like for the semi-final match. Please secure North Korea’s A-match videos.”

“Of course.”

*

A store in Pyongyang.

Pyongyang citizens were lined up in front of the store.

What they wanted to buy were South Korean groceries and clothing.

“Give me a Choco Pie!”

The Choco Pies released this year were incredibly popular in the North.

They were distributed as snacks at the Paju Industrial Complex and became the most popular item through word of mouth among North Korean workers.

“Limited to two per person.”

“It was five last time, wasn’t it?”

“Supplies are running low!”

“Give me ramen!”

“Five packs per household.”

“Give me stockings!”

With Jang Song-taek seizing power in North Korea, relations between the two Koreas were in a détente [easing of strained relations].

Similar to China, they aimed for a gradual opening of the economy. Although the items and quantities were limited, North and South Korea began trading, and reunions of separated families became regularized, with 100 families meeting every week at a special meeting place in Panmunjom [the Joint Security Area between North and South Korea] for emotional reunions.

As the results were positive, they agreed to build a large-scale hotel near the armistice line to create a meeting town where reunited families could spend two nights and three days together, and construction was in full swing.

Ultimately, the goal was free travel, like in East and West Germany.

As such, the Korean Wave [Hallyu], imitating South Korean fashion, culture, and lifestyles, was a huge trend in North Korea.

*

The Yalu River Bridge in Pyeongan Province.

The Yalu River Bridge was a bridge with an integrated railway for trains and a road for vehicles.

The Yalu River Bridge, connecting North Korea and Dandong, China, was like a lifeline for North Korea.

Goods from China could only enter the North through the Dandong Customs in China and across the Yalu River Bridge.

However, the parking lot in front of the bridge, which was crowded last year, was deserted with only two trucks parked.

The biggest source of income for the State Security Department, which had been expelled from Pyongyang and pushed to the provinces, was the so-called ‘passage tax’ collected from customs offices, airports, and seaports in the Yalu and Tumen River border areas.

Among them, the Yalu River Bridge Customs was the prime location, as most of the public goods entered through it.

Therefore, influential figures from the State Security Department flocked there.

They were increasingly dissatisfied these days.

The Director of Information Bureau 1 grumbled.

“Earnings are meager. Not even half of what they were at the beginning of the year.”

The Deputy Director said.

“Isn’t it because those bastards are trading with South Korea that we’re in this state?”

Chinese corn was half-rotten or mixed with stones. The food and necessities used by the people, not the party cadres, were the worst products.

As a result, people flocked to the armistice line customs to buy South Korean products, which were somewhat expensive but of excellent quality.

The Director put a cigarette in his mouth and said.

“It’s not just the goods. They’re imitating South Korea in everything from hairstyles to clothing. Even the leadership is bribing to become members of the inter-Korean exchange organization. All the people admire the South Korean reactionaries more than our blood-sworn ally, China. That’s the reality.”

“Director, if I may be frank, shouldn’t the State Security Department manage the armistice line since it’s not in the Pyongyang metropolitan area?”

“Those guys from the United Front Department and the Guard Command are entrenched there. They know the stakes are high, so there’s no way they’ll hand it over to us.”

The border guard commander, who was listening, said.

“It’s not just the State Security Department. Since the leadership abolished the military-first policy and shifted to a party-centric, people-centric approach, the military has also been treated like dirt. The military is using only substandard Chinese products that civilians don’t even use. We’re completely destitute. They say that North and South will have free travel in the future. If North and South freely travel, the Yalu River Bridge will rust, and our armed forces will be completely obsolete.”

“That’s actually my biggest concern. This is clearly a step towards absorption and unification.”

“I also think it’s a trick. It’s all because of Jang Song-taek, who has been bought off by South Korea. That bastard is completely selling out the country. The United Front tactic is absorption and unification by South Korea. It’s like the five traitors of Eulsa [referring to the five Korean officials who signed the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905, effectively making Korea a protectorate of Japan] all over again.”

North Korea was a collective leadership system of standing committee members centered on Premier Jang Song-taek.

Outwardly, it was a cabinet system, but it was a hybrid system where the premier wielded absolute power like a president because it was a one-party system without the dissolution of parliament.

“Director, can we just sit back and watch? Shouldn’t we prevent absorption and unification?”

“Does the garrison commander think so too?”

“Of course. There has never been a time when revolution was more urgent than now.”

“If the military cooperates, we won’t be outnumbered in terms of manpower or weapons. If China cooperates and we seize Pyongyang, that’s all we need.”

“…….”

The spirit of rebellion was rising.

*

Deng Xiaoping’s office in China.

The Foreign Minister reported.

“Trade with North Korea has decreased by one-third. They are also dependent on South Korea for crude oil, making them a blood-sworn ally in name only.”

Deng Xiaoping said.

“That Jang Song-taek said he would share our system, but instead, he’s cozying up to South Korea. How could he stab us in the back like this?”

“Not only trade, but regular reunions of separated families are expanding, and they’re even planning free travel between North and South, like in East and West Germany. At this rate, North Korea will be completely absorbed and unified by South Korea.”

“Jang Song-taek is selling North Korea to South Korea. They say our words don’t even work in Pyongyang?”

“They get angry, saying it’s interference in their internal affairs.”

“Since they’re trading with South Korea, material control won’t work either….”

“They seem to be planning to declare a North-South community at the Seoul World Cup. They may even announce free travel unexpectedly.”

“Do we have pro-China informants in Pyongyang?”

Officially, all the Chinese People’s Volunteers who participated in the Korean War had returned to their home country, but there were tens of thousands of unofficial personnel who had settled in North Korea with dual citizenship.

Some were positioned in key positions in the party and were active as Chinese informants.

Therefore, China considered North Korea, where more than 900,000 people died during the Korean War, as part of its own territory where its people lived.

“Yes, we do.”

“Contact them. We can’t just let this go. Let’s form a task force.”

“Understood, Chairman!”

China entered a regime change in North Korea.

*

Separated Family Meeting Place, VIP room.

The South Korean Minister of Sports and the North Korean Minister of Physical Culture met to discuss the World Cup unified team.

The North Korean Minister said.

“We must proclaim to the world that North and South are one through the World Cup.”

The South Korean Minister said.

“The political intention is good, but we are concerned that new players coming in with so little time left will disrupt teamwork and affect our overall strength.”

“Affect our strength? Our North Korea is a football powerhouse that was the first in Asia to reach the quarterfinals. If we combine with our side as the main axis, we will become the strongest in the world.”

There was some back and forth, but it was not an issue that could be easily resolved.

So, the South Korean Minister made a proposal that he had prepared.

“Then let’s adjust the selection of players through a single match between North and South, based on victory or defeat.”

“Through a match?”

“If the South wins, only two of the North’s reserve players will join, and if the North wins, half of the players will be used as starters.”

“Does the term ‘two reserve players’ mean that they may not be able to play in the game?”

“That’s right. We will maintain the name of the North-South unified team, but the selection of players is up to the coach.”

“Um, then what if it’s a draw?”

“We will use three of the North’s starting players.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

The North Korean Minister smiled faintly.

He knew very well that the South Korean team lost 5-0 whenever they played against foreign teams.

“I will report to the higher-ups immediately and get back to you.”

In North Korea, where victory was guaranteed, it was naturally okay.

*

The World Cup Stadium.

North and South proceeded with the match privately, without broadcasting it to avoid any aftereffects, and limited the audience to 500 people each from North and South.

It was a measure to eliminate the advantages of a home game.

The media was trying to make a fuss about it, calling it the second Gyeongseong-Pyongyang soccer match [a historical soccer rivalry between teams from Seoul (Gyeongseong) and Pyongyang], but the government earnestly dissuaded them, saying it was a simple inter-Korean friendly match and a measure to prevent the exposure of tactics.

They allowed the newspapers to predict that it was a player selection match for the North-South unified team.

The North Korean players were so proactive that they came three days in advance to train and adapt to the South Korean World Cup stadium.

The North Korean players trained like special forces, wearing sandbags, so their speed was incredible.

The North Korean players were startled when they saw the South Korean players at the stadium.

“Why are their bodies like that? Aren’t they rugby players?”

They were taller than the North Korean players and looked like rocks with muscles.

“Hey, there’s nothing to be afraid of. They beat foreigners who were two heads taller than them in the World Cup before. Football isn’t played with the body. It’s played with the feet.”

“That’s right! Let’s crush them in the name of the people today!”

Meanwhile, on the South Korean side, Coach Hiddink instructed the South Korean players.

“Today, we will focus on defense in the first half. In the second half, let’s test set pieces and tactics 12.”

“Yes, sir!”

In the cheering section, only 500 cheerleaders from North and South were cheering, separated from each other.

“Republic of Korea, fighting!”

With the North and South Korean Ministers of Sports and Physical Culture watching, the first half began with the North’s kickoff.

Beep!