The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 82

82. Even Short Skirts Are Okay

Mao Zedong’s office.

Mao Zedong, his face flushed, shouted at his wife, Jiang Qing.

“Is this your doing? Is this your doing!”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t involved.”

“You killed Sun Yuse too, didn’t you?”

“That woman was having an affair!”

“Killing not just the daughter, but the father too?”

“Like I said, I didn’t do it. Why would I kill someone who swore loyalty?”

“They even swore loyalty?”

“Yes. That person had been abroad and had some impure thoughts. I took care of it in advance. What’s the big fuss about one dead official? There are plenty of others aiming for Prime Minister and Minister positions.”

“There’s no one as skilled in diplomacy as Zhou Enlai! We’ve started something with the United States, who’s going to clean it up?”

“I’m telling you clearly, it wasn’t me. It must be someone’s scheme.”

“A scheme?”

“It’s either the Soviets or Chiang Kai-shek.”

“Chiang Kai-shek!”

“The person who makes the biggest fuss when you shake hands with the American President is that stubborn old man, Chiang Kai-shek.”

Mao Zedong slapped his knee.

“Ah, why didn’t I think of Chiang Kai-shek? I was only trying to avoid the Soviets.”

“It’s always darkest under the lamp [meaning the answer was right in front of you].”

“That Chiang Kai-shek dares to provoke me!”

* * *

Taiwan.

President Chiang Kai-shek finished the groundbreaking ceremony for a thermal power plant and got into his official car.

The President found a gift package on the seat.

“Huh? Why is this here?”

The driver replied.

“The power plant construction company presented it as a gift. They say it’s top-grade cordyceps [a type of medicinal fungus].”

For Chinese men, cordyceps was considered a longevity and stamina booster.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!

“What’s that sound? It sounds like a clock.”

At that moment, a flash erupted from the gift package, and a loud explosion occurred.

콰광! [Sound of explosion]

Whoosh~

The vehicle instantly turned into a fireball.

In the end, dirt entered the President’s eyes.

Taiwan, having lost its President, was plunged into chaos.

Advocates for independence and those for unification (One China proponents) engaged in fierce ideological battles.

* * *

The Blue House, Presidential Office [South Korean Presidential Office].

The President was on the phone with the ambassador to Taiwan.

– Mr. President, the President was killed by an explosive. The police suspect it was an assassination.

“Who’s responsible?”

– It’s still under investigation. Witnesses say the suspect who delivered the explosive was Chinese. But we don’t yet know if they were Chinese bought by the Soviets. A wanted poster with a composite sketch has been issued.

“Hmm….”

– Ah, breaking news just came in, Mr. President! The suspect was found dead from poisoning near the harbor. The appearance is Chinese.”

“Chinese….”

Suicide by cyanide was a typical method for operatives, especially when People’s Liberation Army soldiers were captured as prisoners.

They either ingested it themselves or were injected by someone else.

In such cases, the motive and the mastermind behind the crime would forever remain a mystery.

The President hung up the phone, crossed his arms, and stared out the window.

His head was swimming, and his chest felt heavy.

Hmm, Zhou Enlai dies, and President Chiang Kai-shek dies too…. What will happen to Taiwan? History is shaking uncontrollably. I can’t control it.

The butterfly effect of assassinating Zhou Enlai on the mainland was widespread.

With the accumulated replacement of new figures, history was flowing uncontrollably in an unforeseen direction.

Not only that, but the phenomenon of time compression also occurred.

A bus and train carrying high school students on a field trip collided, resulting in many casualties, and the Namyeongho ship sank, claiming over 300 lives, but it turned out to be an accident brought forward by a year.

He wondered if the President’s memory was failing, but the Beatles’ breakup, which he accurately remembered as 1970, was reported by foreign news outlets in 1969.

Domestic economic development was brought forward by 2-3 years, and now there were signs that not only domestic but also global incidents and accidents were being brought forward by 1-2 years.

“Did I stir up history too much, causing space-time to be distorted?”

It became increasingly difficult to predict events.

* * *

The ruling party headquarters.

The ruling party leader said at a leadership meeting.

“I will run for president. So, take care of forming the election cabinet yourselves.”

“Even the leader is running? If the floor leader and the chief of planning are all running, who will lead the party?”

“There are many people who want positions. I will maintain my position only until the positions are set, so keep that in mind.”

Ruling party executives announced their intentions to run for president one after another.

Even if they were eliminated from the presidential race within the party, their intention was to increase their recognition and run in the general election.

The situation was the same for the opposition party.

Party executives and local leaders were sharpening their knives to announce their candidacy.

The political situation was quickly aligning to the presidential election timeline.

* * *

State Council meeting.

As the Prime Minister’s position was vacant, the Minister of Strategy and Finance chaired the meeting.

“This time, the comprehensive population control measures have been changed. The plan to ‘have only two children and raise them well’ has been abolished by the President’s order.”

“Are you really abolishing the birth control policy?”

“Yes. The prediction that there will be a shortage of industrial manpower due to the rapid development of industry is the reason for the abolition. The President said that population is national power.”

“Didn’t you say that poverty was due to the increasing population?”

“Policy changes because circumstances change. We must prepare for the future, not just look at the present. It takes 20 years for a child to become industrial manpower after birth, so we must look 20 years ahead.”

“…….”

The birth control policy was quietly abolished, and the birth control posters that were attached to toilets, walls, and utility poles were also removed.

* * *

Seoul.

The skirts of women strolling through Myeongdong [a shopping district in Seoul] were shortened to reveal their thighs.

There was a long line in front of Dansungsa (cinema) to see ‘Madame Freedom,’ starring Kim Ji-mee.

Young men with long hair wore jeans, slung acoustic guitars, and entered beer halls.

Lee Mi-ja’s songs flowed from the record stores on the street.

Kim Chu-ja (Sergeant Kim Who Returned from Vietnam, Your Home is Far Away), Bae Ho (Painful When We Meet), Lee Mi-ja (Goose Dad, I Loved You), and Twin Folio (White Handkerchief, Wedding Cake) dominated the top of the music charts.

In the evening, the city was deserted as people stayed home to watch the drama ‘Miss’ broadcast on TBC [a TV channel].

Many nightclubs also sprang up, and the dance craze became a social problem.

During Chairman Wang’s era, there was a crackdown on morals, with constant crackdowns on men’s long hair, women’s miniskirt lengths, and nightclubs, but the current president was lenient towards culture.

The President and his entourage, disguised as undercover, were drinking bitter coffee at a cafe in Myeongdong.

“Ugh~ is this really coffee?”

Because they didn’t know the taste of coffee well at the time, they were unconditionally served coffee if it was bitter, so fake coffee brewed with cigarette butts was also rampant.

So, coffee that flowed out of the US military base was the best.

A long-haired DJ was playing records with greasy comments.

The President said, amazed.

“Oh, there’s a DJ box here. I should request a song.”

The President wrote down a song and requested it.

The DJ introduced.

“That handsome gentleman over there has requested Kim Chu-ja’s ‘Your Home is Far Away.’ Where is our loved one?”

Looking closely, the DJ was Lee Jong-hwan.

Heh heh, he was incredibly handsome and agile in his younger days.

♬ Your home is far away~ eternally far away~

Listening to the music, he asked the bodyguard.

“Hey, what do you think about opening up culture? Watching American, French, and Japanese movies and listening to songs too.”

“I’m all for it. Pop songs from the US military base are the most popular among young people. Smuggled or pirated albums can be bought for any price in Cheonggyecheon [a market district]. At first, it was the vulgar culture of the US military base, but now the Beatles and Elvis Presley are idols. Jeans, beer, and acoustic guitars are all the rage on college campuses. It would be better to legalize it.”

“Hmm, that’s right. How can we stop the culture that comes like the wind? It’s better to legalize it early and increase competitiveness.”

If you think about the future success of the Korean Wave K-pop, it wasn’t something to just suppress.

The President instructed the Minister of Culture to strictly crack down on pirated albums to protect cultural artists, gather public opinion on cultural opening, and review the opening schedule.

* * *

There was a heated debate in the National Assembly over cultural opening.

“We can’t let Western [lit. ‘big nose’] culture and Japanese culture run rampant! We must protect our half-millennium culture.”

“How are you going to stop the culture that rains down like rain? Are you going to isolate the country?”

“Have you thought about the harm that teenagers who haven’t matured yet are imitating? On the streets now, young ladies are exposing their chests and thighs and walking around without shame.”

“Are you just going to wear topknots and jeogori [traditional Korean clothing]? Culture is not something to be protected, but something to be fused to create the culture of that era. It looks like a crime because it spreads covertly. We need to legalize it and increase competitiveness.”

“What competitiveness does culture have? It’s about the spirit rotting away!”

“Are you saying we should maintain the hierarchical authoritarianism and class culture of Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] as it is?”

But popular culture was already spreading openly.

In the end, the ruling and opposition parties adopted a phased opening to minimize side effects and agreed to establish a 5-year plan for cultural opening.

* * *

The Blue House, Presidential Office.

The President spoke with Minister Jeong.

Minister Jeong was the only person he could talk to openly about his inner thoughts.

“Even in the United States, they are asking about the uncertainty of the Korean government after the 1971 term.”

“…….”

“This is a disadvantage of democratic countries. If the regime changes, the continuity of policies is cut off, so even allies only set short-term goals.”

“…….”

The issue of who would succeed President Park was not limited to domestic issues.

It depended on whether the President could change world history or not.

The President drank tea.

Minister Jeong was silent.

Minister Jeong had only recently realized that the reason why the President was trying to hand over power without choosing a three-term constitutional amendment was because it stemmed from his anguish to eradicate the aftereffects of his long-term rule before his time regression.

He felt infinite guilt and responsibility for the fact that his past mistakes were holding back the development of Korea.

Minister Jeong carefully opened his mouth.

“I only recently learned that you gave up the three-term constitutional amendment because of me in my past life. I’m sorry, Mr. President.”

The President was embarrassed.

“It’s not just President Park, but also the Lee Seung-man regime, and the accumulated harms. Someone has to liquidate the long-term dictatorship. It’s more difficult to change that habit than to fulfill the desires of my past life, so it’s a life task for me as a time regressor.”

“…….”

“Well, the reason I called Minister Jeong today is because of the North Korea project.”

“The North Korea project?”

“The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency had a secret meeting with a high-ranking North Korean official at Panmunjom [the border village between North and South Korea]. They discussed the Korean Peninsula détente [easing of strained relations].”

“Ah, finally on the Korean Peninsula too!”

“But do you know what conditions the North put forward?”

“I don’t know….”

“They want the oil from Block 7 [a disputed oil field in the Yellow Sea].”

“…….”

“I was badly hurt by the North in my past life, so I can see through the North’s intentions.”

“I don’t have high expectations for the North either.”

“The reason I’m trying to have inter-Korean exchanges is to induce change in the North. The North’s leaders and people will get a taste of what freedom is like if there are inter-Korean exchanges.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I’m currently recruiting suitable North Korean personnel. To do a regime change.”