＜ Gaiden: Reunification of Japan (4) >
before the storm.
That was the atmosphere of downtown Tokyo.
Already through broadcasting, South Korea concluded that the Korean peninsula would be invaded by Japan again if unification was achieved, and in the worst case, it was prepared to block unification even by taking military action, and that the five-party talks to negotiate this It was known to all that it was scheduled.
And the Japanese military, citizens, and embassies of each country.
Everyone was so nervous that they couldn’t take their eyes off the TV.
***
“The Japanese have no right to discuss unification! It was they themselves who divided them! They made wars, and they invaded us. And the first thing Toyotomi Hideyoshi did when he unified Japan hundreds of years ago was the invasion of Korea. Personally, I can assure you that the first thing Japan does after declaring unification is to conscript millions of soldiers and land them in Busan.”
“The Japanese government has no intention of doing that…”
“Right now, more than half of the far-right nationalists in your cabinet are talking nonsense over territorial issues or glorifying militarism! It’s the militarists themselves that keep you divided!”
“Never. I wouldn’t deny that there are some of them, but you know everything you know, it’s just an election message…”
“under! It’s proven, your mouth is clear evidence that your people miss the days of the Japanese Empire, and if you really love peace and don’t want to invade, you should have defeated them right away! The fact that you voted for such people and voted for them is proof that your people themselves are desperate thieves to plunder the Korean people!”
The sadly old president ran all the way to see where his strength came from, and the prime minister was sweating.
If we do not persuade this nobleman like Byeok Chang-ho somehow, Koreans will be left with a sea of blood, and unification will be lost.
Of course, the current reaction showed the perception of Japan of the older generation in Korea.
“If there is a guarantee that you will not be ambitious abroad, there is no reason for us to care whether you unite or not. How the hell are you going to believe that when we come out and hear you say you’re never going to swallow us up again? Did you know that Koreans have sundubu in their heads, not brains? Will you blindly believe what you guys say?”
The president of the United States, who saw the attitude of the Korean side as sharp as a hedgehog with a thorn, intervened with a burn. In fact, he understands only the Japanese prime minister who can speak Korean, but the Korean interpreter frantically lowered the level of his speech.
“Let me suggest a compromise. The Korean side needs a security guarantee that a unified Japan will not return to the former Japanese empire and reveal its territorial ambitions for Korea, no matter what, and the Japanese side is not willing to do so in the first place, but does the Korean side say that it cannot be trusted? Then, if a treaty is signed and Japan commits aggression, the US and Russia will immediately intervene…”
“I can’t believe it. Whether a treaty is signed or not, I’ve seen countless times such treaties being broken according to the political logic of the great powers. Trust mere guarantees? Haven’t you guys been able to invalidate unfavorable treaties by changing international law if necessary? If Japan seems to listen to you better, and if Korea seems to benefit from being eaten by Japan, then you will always push Japan’s back and annex Korea.”
“……”
No matter how much the content was refined, the treaty itself guaranteed by the United States and Russia could not be lowered to a level that could not be trusted. It was clearly a diplomatic insult.
Of course, I’m not asking if I can refute it. because it really has been There has never been a case of involuntary annexation of a country with a status comparable to that of Korea, but small countries have been treated like change.
‘What kind of bullshit is the old man’s stubbornness.’
The age difference between the prime minister of eastern Japan and the president of South Korea is less than 30 years. West Japan was also over 10 years old, and he was 20 years older than the US president, so the president of Korea was the eldest in this position, both in name and reality.
“Let me come up with a compromise again. Then, dismantle the Japanese army, Japan will not use more than the police force, and deliver or destroy all armored equipment, warships, artillery, and armed aircraft over 500 tons to Korea, and prohibit future introductions. A way to provide…”
“Why should we spend our money to protect Japan?”
“…on the condition that Japan pays all of the stationing expenses and other incidental expenses in Korea. Haven’t the Korean military been stationed in Japan for quite some time in the past? It was during the Japanese Civil War.”
At that time, the U.S. paid all of Korea’s labor and stationing costs and provided weapons. The operational rights were effectively owned by the US Military Advisory Group.
At that time, both the U.S. Senate and Senate did not approve of the war, so the war was fought as a de facto mercenary.
However, this time, they agreed to allow unification on the condition that Japan pays all the maintenance costs.
“……”
“If Japan tries to do something, the South Korean side can use force. If the Prime Minister of Russia…”
The prime minister of Russia, with his shiny bald head, opened his mouth.
“Certainly, it would be a lie if I said I had absolutely no concerns about Japan’s aggression ambitions. 100 years ago, the Russian Empire suffered great damage from the Japanese imperial aggression.”
The Prime Minister, who brought the story of the Russo-Japanese War, continued.
“But if Japan shows enough sincerity and meaningful apology for all its aggression in the past, there is no reason why it should not be accepted as part of the international order, as it did with Nazi-free Germany and Britain.”
Russia turned to the conditional approval, saying that there was no reason to stop it, rather than agreeing.
“Compensation for the damage caused to Russia during the Russo-Japanese War will be finalized within five years.”
Received directly from the East Japan side. It was desperate for them.
There are even reports in the Korean media that the prime minister said that the Japanese government should return the territories occupied by the Japanese empire even by using force. It was in the midst of a stir of public opinion.
He would grab the back of his neck as he made a sound he hadn’t even done before.
“Even if there is unification, there should be at least five years of leeway…”
“The problem is that the situation in Japan is not so plentiful. If we can’t calm this situation right away…”
“Even if there is an official announcement about unification, much of the people’s anger will subside.”
The president of South Korea, who had been silent for a long time, also opened his mouth.
“If a unified Japan attempts to invade again, the Korean side will unconditionally tear Japan apart again. Even with force, and then Japan torn apart will not end in two.”
It was blasphemous, but at the same time, it was also a word mixed with terrible trauma.
If they oppose it to the end, the Japanese will resent Korea, but it is possible to stop it once. Russia was making a big fuss in the beginning that it didn’t matter what the conclusion was, so the major allies in the Far East wouldn’t push the road ahead.
And the United States was ousted from Asia in the first place, and if Russia and Korea both refused, there was nothing the United States could do alone.
but.
At the end of the war, a boy who had lost his parents to the madness of a nation on the verge of destruction became the president of a country that regained independence after decades of passing.
Throughout his growing up period, he only heard negative things about Japan, and he did. Everyone agreed when he said that, and every time he heard it, he unconditionally agreed.
The Japanese are incredible. They are the ones who will definitely invade again if they see a gap.
It would have been if there had been a word engraved in blood-colored letters in the heart of the Koreans of the time, regardless of left and right, pro-American and pro-Russian.
Of course, there were always people who dreamed of peace and coexistence, so it was not without an attempt to reach out. However, it all ended in disastrous failure due to the misunderstanding and distrust that had piled up in each other.
Perhaps their distrust and the road to a broken coexistence were foreseen. The nationalism that was hardened by that anger made Korea what it is today, so I did not know whether he had turned away from the path of reconciliation because it seemed like he was degenerate and crippled to lose his way the moment he gave up on revenge.
resentment, and revenge. Hatred that penetrates to the bone and even to the marrow. Trauma shared by the times. It was a powerful keyword shared by all who lived in the same era, so they could not give up even if their dreamy faces were covered with blood that flowed out of ephemeral hatred and disappeared.
Everyone has done this, knowing that it is self-destructive, yet knowing deep down that the accumulated hatred will eventually turn into an irresistible monster and a huge boulder that blocks the path to reconciliation. Instead of sharing the warmth, they chose the path of despair that hurt each other forever.
But the pain they felt when they saw the blood of their parents and brothers and the tears of their sisters and children,
The bloody back of her father who was trying to protect her family, and the shadow of her younger sister, who was like a doll dumped in the garbage, who did not exist as a pure girl at that moment or after that.
I decided to put it all aside.
I decided to trust them once more.
***
Only after giving up the archipelago, the aggression, and the pre-war borders, Japan was allowed to reunify with the victims who were traumatized and stronger than themselves.
About ten years later, the Japanese Prime Minister was deposed and visited Korea with the head of the former imperial family, who was living as an ordinary citizen, knelt at the March 1st Movement memorial in Tapgol Park in Seoul and apologized with tears, surprising both countries. I was able to shake off the stigma of Nara and the grudges of the past and forge a strategic partnership.
Koreans, and even Asians, only then forgiven Japan, but all of them are trying to remember and not forget the tragic history.