The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 63

Reverting to President as a Chaebol Owner 1967-63

63. Ryukyu Kingdom

America.

The chairman of the election commission announced:

“In the results of the Electoral College selection for the 37th presidential election in the 50 states of America, candidate Robert F. Kennedy has won 2/3 of the seats and has been elected president!”

Wow!

As the election victory was confirmed, Kennedy’s election camp celebrated by scattering confetti and sounding fanfares.

Kennedy delivered his presidential victory speech on a stage surrounded by transparent bulletproof barriers.

“The world is changing rapidly. As Asia industrializes, the landscape of ideology is also fluctuating. As a superpower of the free world, the United States will take another leap towards building a great world history.”

Wow~

“Kennedy! Kennedy!”

* * *

The President’s office.

A call came in from the ambassador to Japan.

“Your Excellency, it seems there is a secret agreement between Japan and the United States.”

“A secret agreement? What is it about?”

“It seems to be about the return of Okinawa.”

“Okinawa! I knew it….”

“According to Self-Defense Forces intelligence, nuclear weapons and some U.S. troops are being withdrawn from Okinawa, and they are planning troop movement for the Self-Defense Forces to garrison.”

“Hmm, the fact that the withdrawal of nuclear weapons has been mentioned means that a very specific secret agreement has been made. It’s proceeding more urgently than I thought. If we stay still, we’ll be in big trouble.”

“…….”

The President looked at the calendar.

He had to hurry before attending the U.S. presidential inauguration in three months.

The President summoned the Minister of Culture.

“You called, Your Excellency!”

“I need to visit Okinawa.”

“You mean Okinawa, Japan?”

* * *

The Minister of Culture and a man entered the President’s office.

The man, with more than half of his hair gray and wearing yellow horn-rimmed glasses, was holding a heavy bag full of documents in one hand.

“Your Excellency, this is Professor Yoon. He is a leading authority on Goryeo Dynasty [918-1392] history in Korea. I went to Okinawa with him this time and learned a lot of history I didn’t know.”

“Oh, Professor Yoon, welcome.”

Professor Yoon’s lips were pale, and his hands were trembling.

When he saw the President, he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact and bowed deeply.

“Your Excellency, it’s an honor!”

“But you seem very nervous?”

“It’s my first time at the Blue House [the executive office and official residence of the South Korean head of state]….”

“Haha, I won’t bite. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

Professor Yoon, like a time traveler who had just arrived here from the Goryeo Dynasty, treated the President as if he were paying homage to the Emperor.

Simple tea was served, and the two sat facing each other at the table.

The President asked the key question.

“Has the inscription on the Goryeo tile found in Okinawa been deciphered?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Professor Yoon took out photos of related artifacts taken at the Okinawa Museum.

It was a female tile with the inscription ‘癸酉年高麗匠人瓦匠造 (Gye-yu-nyeon Goryeo Jangin Wajangjo)’.

The inscription on this large tile, which also had a fishbone pattern, meant ‘Made by a Goryeo tile artisan in the year Gye-yu.’

“…….”

The President listened calmly to Professor Yoon’s words.

“Since the word ‘Goryeo’ is clear, it is definitely a Goryeo tile. Judging from the fact that the Goryeo artisan proudly revealed himself in the inscription on the tile used in the tomb building of the old Ryukyu Kingdom’s King, we can guess that the political status and pride of the Goryeo artisan were considerable.”

“…….”

“The problem is when exactly the specific time of ‘Gye-yu-nyeon’ is. Circumstantially, the Goryeo years that can be matched to the Gye-yu-nyeon of the tile are 1153, 1273, 1333, and 1393.”

“Hmm, Professor Yoon, which year do you think it is?”

“The most likely are 1273, when the Sambyeolcho [elite military units of the Goryeo Dynasty] were destroyed, and 1393, immediately after the founding of the Joseon Dynasty [1392-1897].”

“Why?”

“1273 is the year the Sambyeolcho were defeated on Jeju Island. At the time, the Sambyeolcho had only two options: die or be captured by the allied forces of Yeo-Mong [alliance between Goryeo and the Mongol Empire].”

The Sambyeolcho were a military private group of Goryeo that resisted the Mongol Empire to the end 800 years ago.

In 1260, in response to the Goryeo court’s attempt to return to Gaegyeong from Ganghwa Island under pressure from the Yuan Dynasty, they moved their base to Jindo in the south and Jeju Island, engaging in fierce battles for three years.

Despite repeated desperate struggles against the Mongols, the result was bitter. Historical records such as the [History of Goryeo] state that the Sambyeolcho forces of Jindo, led by Bae Jung-son, were suppressed by the Goryeo government forces and the Mongol allied forces that invaded a year later in 1271, and the remaining forces of Kim Tong-jeong, who fled to Jeju, were completely annihilated two years later.

The President asked Professor Yoon.

“What other records are there?”

“It is the claim of Japanese academia. In the , the first record of negotiations between Goryeo and the Ryukyu Kingdom appears in 1389 when Chaldo, the King of Ryukyu Kingdom, sent an envoy. Based on this, they argue that the ‘Gye-yu-nyeon’ of the tile is 1393, immediately after the founding of Joseon. This theory has been the most widely accepted so far.”

The President put a candy in his mouth, crunched it, rinsed his mouth with water, and said.

“Professor Yoon, I think differently.”

“…….”

“Okinawa is an island close enough to reach in a few days just by riding the currents from Jeju Island. Later, it is said that ‘Yuldo Kingdom,’ which Hong Gil-dong crossed over and founded in the Tale of Hong Gil-dong [a classic Korean novel], was Okinawa.”

“Ah, that’s right. Records of Joseon people drifting ashore appear frequently in Okinawa’s historical records.”

Professor Yoon flipped through the data and read.

“There is a record that ‘Moon Soon-deuk, who was shipwrecked in the waters of Heuksan Island on January 18, 1802, drifted to Okinawa on the 29th, about ten days later, and survived,’ and there is also a record that ‘Jang Han-cheol, who was shipwrecked in the waters of Jeju in December 1770, drifted to an island off the coast of the Okinawa archipelago on the 28th, just three days later.'”

“…….”

“That being said, history prioritizes empirical evidence (records, artifacts) over speculation, Your Excellency. It is written that in 1273, the allied forces of Yeo-Mong invaded Jeju Island and captured Hangpaduseong [a fortress on Jeju Island], and all the Sambyeolcho died at this time. Japan is using the official history as a basis, so it is being accepted in academia.”

The President frowned.

“Japan forged the Tumen River of the Baekdu Mountain Boundary Monument into the Duman River, and now they are forcibly interpreting history. Professor Yoon, is that country, which manipulates history and covers up and glorifies the inhumane atrocities of Japanese imperialism, truly a country that respects the history of empirical evidence?”

“…….”

The President took out a piece of memo paper.

It was knowledge he had gained by consulting historians.

“Professor Yoon, if the ‘Gye-yu-nyeon’ of the tile is 1389, the Goryeo artisan should have used the era name of the Yuan [1271-1368] or Ming Dynasty [1368-1644]. Because Goryeo was a vassal state of Yuan and Ming.”

“…….”

“But the tile only recorded the sexagenary cycle (干支, the ten celestial stems and twelve terrestrial branches). If it was the Goryeo royal family, which was a vassal state of Yuan, they should have used the era name of Yuan or Ming here as in other records, but the Sambyeolcho marked the era only with the sexagenary cycle in diplomatic documents.”

Professor Yoon exclaimed, hitting his knee as if he had gained enlightenment.

“Ah, that’s right! It’s really logical proof, Your Excellency!”

The President presented a decisive piece of evidence.

“Do you know this photo of the end tile, Professor Yoon?”

Professor Yoon grabbed his glasses, focused, and carefully examined the photo.

“Isn’t this the end tile of Shuri Castle in Okinawa?”

“Hahaha, this is the end tile excavated from the site of Yongjangseong Fortress in Jindo, which was captured by the Mongol allied forces.”

“What? Jindo?”

“They look the same, don’t they?”

“Your Excellency, that’s right!”

“Isn’t this artifact sufficient circumstantial evidence that Goryeo people fled from Jeju Island or Jindo to Okinawa?”

“That’s right. The task is only whether it’s Jindo or Jeju Island, but the record is clearly between 1271 and 1273, Your Excellency!”

“I think that the Goryeo court, which was controlled by the Mongols, concluded that the situation was over, but the Sambyeolcho did not perish in Jeju, but also fought in Okinawa. Without surrendering and without returning to Goryeo, they finally took their own path.”

“Ah. The Sambyeolcho were defeated, but they did not surrender!”

“Think about it. In Okinawa, which was only a small fishing village until the 14th century, there was no sign of any dynasty before that, but suddenly a country with a central governing system appeared. History starts from rational thinking before empirical artifacts.”

Professor Yoon stood up and bowed so deeply that his head touched his knees.

“I am truly ashamed of myself. Your Excellency, I am learning so much.”

“I also learned it from various scholars.”

The Minister of Culture, who had been watching silently from the side, was frozen like a mummy with his mouth wide open at the President’s tremendous expertise and insight.

The President asked the Minister.

“Is a special exhibition possible?”

“Of course. In particular, Mr. Teruya, the director of the museum and a local council member, has been very helpful.”

“Is Mr. Teruya a politician?”

“Yes. He is very interested in Korea and is well-versed in the history of Goryeo and Joseon.”

“Good. Bring him along too.”

“I understand, Your Excellency!”

The reason why the President is focusing on Okinawa is that the opinion of the local residents can be the biggest variable in Okinawa’s independence.

Therefore, confirming historical homogeneity with Korea was more important than anything else in the upcoming turbulent international diplomatic war.

* * *

Jeju National Museum, Jeju Island.

A special exhibition was being held under the theme of ‘Tamna [ancient kingdom on Jeju Island] and the Ryukyu Kingdom.’

The Goryeo tiles from Shuri Castle brought from Ryukyu and the Jindo Yongjangseong tiles were on display side by side.

In addition, Goryeo tiles found in the area presumed to be Hangpaduseong on Jeju Island, which had been defeated by the allied forces of Yeo-Mong, were also on display.

The media’s coverage was intense.

The director of the Jeju Museum and Professor Yoon took turns looking at the artifacts and explaining.

“The tile named ‘Gye-yu-nyeon Goryeo Jangin Wajangjo’ found in Okinawa was made by Goryeo people who went there just before the establishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and it is an important material showing the relationship between Goryeo and Ryukyu during this period.”

In the meantime, in the VIP room, the President and Mr. Teruya, a member of the Diet [Japanese legislature] and the director of the museum, were having a private conversation.

Mr. Teruya said.

“Your Excellency, I firmly believe that the Ryukyu royal family is descended from the Goryeo Sambyeolcho. The Goryeo tile artifacts are compelling, but the historical trajectory of Joseon and Okinawa is identical, like twins.”

“…….”

“When Okinawa was incorporated into Japanese territory, Joseon was annexed to Japan by the Eulsa Treaty [Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905]. When Joseon people were drafted and suffered during the Pacific War, 1/4 of Okinawa’s population died due to Japan’s sacrificial operation. Okinawa and Korea are the same even in that U.S. troops are stationed due to the war.”

“Ah, that’s really true. The more I know, the more it’s the same history.”

“I have been trying to inform Korea of this fact, and I am deeply moved that it is finally coming to light, Your Excellency.”

The President got to the point.

“What is the opinion of the people of Okinawa on separation and independence from Japan?”