Dear Comrade the Leader Episode 196
“Well, I thought it would show up around this time.”
Junghwan muttered like that while reading the report posted in Room 37 about the unexpected instigator of the truck protest in the secretary’s office alone.
Even if we look at the original history, these student movements who are angry at the inequality in their country and the real gap between the rich and the poor, that is, the class that sparked the emergence of communism, are based on so-called young intellectuals who are originally wealthy and have a lot in their heads.
Che Guevara was also a medical student from a landlord family, then committed himself to communism, and it was not these young college student labor activists who led the Taisho democracies in Japan at the time when Western culture was introduced when the country was just established.
Without going far, one of the key forces that led democracy in Korea was the so-called ‘activist movement’ in the university district.
It was quite funny that the student movement was being suppressed in the university district of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which was founded thanks to the communist ideological frenzy that swept the world like that.
Jeonghwan had long anticipated the appearance of such a force and was wary of it, but when he appeared, he was surprisingly calm because it felt like something was coming.
The reason why his heart is agitated now is not because there is no way to teach these people, college students who are full of energy and ideals, that changing the world is not so easy.
It was because he had once seen himself in them.
“I once had a time like this. Were you around this age?”
Junghwan realized that he was getting old again and smiled.
He was about to turn forty this year.
As a national leader of a country, he was never too old, rather, he belonged to a very young axis, but looking back, he was already entering his 13th year in power since 1988.
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Now, the name of Lee Jung-hwan, the self of the past, was only faint like a dream in a dream, a previous life.However, he still vividly remembered what resolutions and resolutions he had made at that time and how he was serving as a comrade in North Korea, the northern land of the Korean Peninsula, where this atmosphere is unfamiliar.
“… … No, do you really remember?”
Junghwan rarely fell into conflict and hesitation for a moment.
The student movement that has just begun to rise has not yet directly challenged him as general secretary, but if left as it is, it will soon become one of the biggest threats to his system, Kim Jeong-hwan.
He will argue that labor rights should be improved at first, and then suffrage and democratization through voting, and later, dictator Jeong Hwan should come down.
Perhaps he would argue that he should take the responsibility of his father and older brother (known as) Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, as he has done so far, and bring them to trial like former military dictators in South Korea.
Because there are numerous examples of power in the East and West that it is harder to keep what you have captured than to capture it, and that it is even more difficult to come down physically after you have captured it.
So, of course, for the protection of himself and the people he cares about, Jeong Hwan must thoroughly protect the fearless children of this world so that he will never again dare to rebel against the great leader who has led this Democratic People’s Republic of Korea up to this point. It would be right to step on it.
However, in some ways, despite the fact that he had reached this very natural and reasonable conclusion earlier, a weak but clear voice was being heard from within.
It was not Kim Jung-hwan, the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, but Lee Jung-hwan, a young man in the Republic of Korea who was full of the ideal of iron man rule, and his friend Kim Kyung-soo, whose face was now pale.
can you really do it? Do you really think it’s possible?
When he felt it was difficult for him to answer this question that he could have answered ‘yes’ very naturally in the past, Junghwan frowned and pressed the pager on the desk.
“… … It is said that people get weaker with age, so it must be true.”
What do you do when you come all the way here and your determination is shaken?
The pager was a button to call Hyerim Yoo.
Right before an important decision, he was one of the two people I really wanted to see.
It seemed that I had to go to bed after work a little earlier than usual today.
Putting down the full report, Jeonghwan got up from his seat, rubbed his tired eyes, and headed to his residence.
Jung-hwan was not at all concerned about the Pyongyang university students who demanded labor rights guarantees.
He had already prepared ferocious hounds to hunt these rabbits.
* * *
“Greetings. This person here is said to be Director Kim, who works in Room 37 of our company.”
“Ah, nice to meet you, Chief Kim… … friend?”
The morning after the demonstration in Nampo entered the week.
Jang Seong-taek was called to the secretary’s office with one of his companions, but when he saw an unexpected person Jung-hwan introduced, he suddenly held out his hand first.
About the same age as Jang Seong-taek, ‘Chief Kim’, who noticed that his hair was gradually turning gray, gently grabbed his outstretched hand and waved it politely.
However, Jang Sung-taek was puzzled for a while.
Any party worker with a rank who could even step into the secretary’s office here, not anywhere else, would know about everything, because this comrade named Kim was a first-timer.
Besides, ‘Chief Kim’?
Even though the socialist word like comrade or comrade is gradually disappearing as the South Korean Seoul dialect is introduced mainly by young people these days, here in the heart of the Workers’ Party of Korea, there is still a ‘comrade’ after the rank (even high-ranking officials have a hard time adapting). It is common sense to add ‘comrade’ to me.
But not ‘Chief Kim’s comrade’, but ‘Chief Kim’?
Jang Seong-taek, who had been thinking that far, lit up his eyes as he remembered the words Jung-hwan had just mentioned when he introduced him.
Obviously, if it’s Room 37… … ?
“I heard that some secret departments that were not even in the party system were created under the direct control of the secretary’s office while moving here to the new office building. It must have been a comrade who worked there.”
“Hey, you overestimate a Korean-American like me so I don’t know where to put myself. Vice-President Jang’s reputation has been known to me from time to time, but I am very afraid and happy to see him in person today after working in such an inconspicuous place in the party.”
At first glance, he seems to have been extremely polite, but Jang Sung-taek frowned for a moment at the smooth Seoul dialect that was full of old-fashioned tea.
I was proud to be the deputy head of the organizational leadership department and a saint who dedicated his entire life to the party.
After all, just one passing word from the leader overturns the entire system, such as the official rank of the party and personnel administration.
What made him really displeased with this author, Director Kim, was that he had personally confirmed that the rumors that had been secretly circulating within the party about Room 37 and that some South Koreans who had passed through during the North-South Compromise were working at the core of the party were true.
And, following Kim’s clear Seoul dialect just before, Jung-hwan directly confirmed the suspicion and killed him.
“Chief Kim is the person I specially recruited from South Korea to crush the subversive elements that have started to increase in recent years, especially at universities, starting with this workers’ strike. How many times have you already met and worked with the current manager?”
Jang Seong-taek was startled by Jung-hwan’s words and looked back at Hyun Young-sook, the head of the propaganda and agitation department, who was summoned to the secretary’s office with him this morning.
Although she was startled that she first knew about an organization that she was not aware of, the deputy head of the organization leadership department, Hyun Young-suk, who was actually the person in charge, also seemed to be subtly uncomfortable with the person named Kim.
“… … From Chosun Central Broadcasting to Rodong Sinmun, Chief Kim… … This article has been published several times. Of course, I went out with a different name each time… … He was very good at writing.”
“As you know, South Korea has experienced many of the problems that this republic is currently experiencing. Director Kim here is a living witness who has passed that era. I have brought the experience and knowledge gained there so that it can be useful to our party.”
“… … .”
“From now on, Director Kim and some of the South Korean comrades belonging to Room 37 will be in charge of these issues, providing advice and research on our party’s response. As Deputy Director Zhang knows, sensitive issues like this require bringing in experienced professionals.”
“… … What in the world did the general secretary put in the core of our sacred Workers’ Party of Korea and use it so seriously… … .”
“As you will learn more about it later, I was a journalist. So let’s get to the point now.”
“Ah, I got it, Comrade General.”
Jang Seong-taek, who sensed that Jeong-hwan did not want to ask further questions on this matter, immediately shut his mouth.
However, there was still no dissatisfaction, what did the general secretary believe in making Ganna in South Korea work at the heart of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the party of President Kim Il-sung?
He shut his mouth right away because his position (and life) was a waste, but Jang Seong-taek sat down at the desk in the secretary’s office, vowing that he would give him a face-to-face meeting if this guy named Kim was the solution and the alternative he came up with was not really cool.
And for the first time in history (at least as far as Jang Song-thaek knows), a meeting with a South Korean was held at the Workers’ Party of Korea building in Pyongyang, in the presence of the North Korean supreme leader.
“I understand that you were pressing the company to negotiate with the demonstrators in the opinion of Vice-President Jang, and telling them to catch the instigator later, but this is a very good measure in the short term. However, in my lack of opinion, it is only a temporary tinkering, and sooner or later, riots like this one will continue to confuse society. Because these thunder-naked people, who don’t even have blood on their heads, work in groups to get one and then ask for ten or twenty.”
“… … They talk as if there is such a thing as a long-term solution, but let’s hear what it is.”
“Heh heh, it’s simple. Wait until this group of young guys expose their weaknesses.”
Hearing this, Jang Seong-taek couldn’t help but sneer as he said it was ridiculous.
It makes me angry just that he subtly devalued the solution he came up with as a short-term solution, but does that mean he only came up with an alternative?
“Look, Chief Kim, I don’t know what you did in South Korea, but now the highest dignity of the Republic is in this position. If such a middle school student’s baboons could offer their advice as an advisor… … .”
“Hey, I didn’t say to sit and wait for these mobs to expose their weaknesses on their own. Chief Jang. If there are no weaknesses, you can find them until you find something useful. I don’t know if there is such a saying in the North, but in the South there is a saying, ‘There is no one who doesn’t come out of dust’. Heh heh heh.”
‘So what are you going to do in the end?’ Jang Seong-taek wanted to ask, but seeing that the general secretary was still silent and listening, he struggled again.
And when he said that, he saw the eyes of a middle-aged man named Chief Kim shining as cold as snakes.
“The short-term solution I’m proposing is to take your time while pretending to listen to your request. Then wait for the other side to split. The young friends who are originally instigated by such young blood tend to get tired and run away. Doesn’t the ethnicity of the people of South and North Korea boil and cool quickly?”
“… … .”
“Of course, it’s not about sitting still and waiting, the people… … Hmmm, no, you should throw some snacks for the people to chew on. This means that we need a clear way to look to send the message that this strike is not a big deal and that it is a temporary happening. After all, there is nothing to believe other than the number of heads. So, when the number of heads decreases and the energy that I was excited about at the beginning runs out, later on, after blaming each other and fighting, the thirsty one will come running to negotiate.”
“It sounds like you said a lot. Anyway, let’s borrow the words used by European (European) scholars… … Are you talking about promoting the so-called ‘3S’ policy?”
When Hyun Young-suk slowly pondered what Kim said and asked another question, Director Kim nodded his head as if he was in a hurry and agreed.
“Say, yes. To be honest, people… … Well… … Anyway, I don’t know why the policy of giving people an opportunity to think that they are very fortunate to be born in this country is classified with such a vulgar frame, but the reason why the people will not fall for these unripe agitators not only this time but also in the long term My advice is that it is a good policy to enhance the competitiveness of companies and to maintain the long-term economic policy line of the general secretary as a national leader. What do you think?”
‘Like the rumor, it’s almost like a human hyena. Even hyenas often use them as long as they are well fed.’
Jeonghwan sneered inwardly as he recalled the sentence of ‘Chief Kim’ that still remains in his mind in the original history.
However, whether he personally liked Junghwan or not, it seemed clear that he could serve as a suitable tool for doing this kind of work.
Jeonghwan finally opened his mouth, thinking that he would need a lot of tools like Mr. Kim in the future to avoid getting blood on his hands.
“Looks good.”
“… … !!!”
Those words were like unspoken permission.
At Jeonghwan’s affirmation, Jang Seong-taek gave a dissatisfied expression, and Hyun Young-suk slightly pursed his lips, but Director Kim had a wrinkled smile on his face, and he hurried back to say that Jung-hwan might change his mind.
“From now on, we will renovate our room 37 so that the general secretary can focus on government affairs without having to worry about such small things as asphalt.”
“What Director Kim showed to others… … I believe you can see that insight and ability to inspire the masses here too. Now, shall we hear the detailed plan? Which of those 3S are you planning to do first?”
“Sex and screen take a little while for people to feel right now… … Filming of video is also filming, but in the former case, the standards of the Central Censorship Committee must be greatly relaxed to an unprecedented level, so even if there is an order directly from the clerk’s office, it will not be easy to accept. Then all that’s left is Sports… … .”
To Hyun Young-sook, who seems to be running a calculator already, how to smoothly introduce this unprecedented change in his head, Manager Kim smiled softly as if he was wondering what the problem was.
In fact, all the people in this room were thinking of the same event at the time sports was mentioned.
“haha… … Well, isn’t the answer fixed? There is a joint inter-Korean World Cup in 2002, and we should use it. The whole republic is in a party atmosphere, how many college students would be interested in a protest wearing their headbands?”