Dear Comrade

Episode 1. Senior Comrade (1)

Bad leaders ruin the government in the first term and the country in the second.

– Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister and dictator.

“Hey, Kim Kyung-soo. What would you like to do if you became president?”

“ok? What do you mean, don’t eat.”

The person who heard the question, Kyung-soo Kim, took his eyes off the rice bowl in front of the researcher and turned to his friend who was sitting in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, his rice bowl seemed almost untouched.

“Literally. President, no, not even president. Prime Minister, king, tyrant, or some third world dictator. So, if you have power, what would you like to do first?”

“Hey, Lee Jung-hwan. Wasn’t it beef? What president are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Opponent Kim Kyung-soo did not respond very seriously, but Jung-hwan did not care about his reaction and continued the story he wanted to tell.

“No, it’s not a very unreasonable premise, is it? I think everyone at least once imagines wanting to become a dictator who can do whatever they want… Especially when you see something like that on a fictional day on TV, you think, ‘If I do it, I’ll do better than that’, everyone.”

When Jeonghwan pointed his finger at the TV, Kyungsoo’s gaze followed that finger towards the TV.

As the messy meeting room of the National Assembly was being broadcast, the banner at the bottom of the screen passed one after another with subtitles indicating the current situation.

– The National Assembly, the longest period of idling in history, the ruling and opposition parties still can’t reach an agreement…

– Representative of the ruling party ‘Aren’t you ashamed to see the people, let’s open the National Assembly and deliberate on the budget bill’ Opposition representative ‘The government that destroyed the economy, the people’s luck is absurd… We will judge it in the next general election’

“Haha… Well, I’m frustrated too, but there’s nothing I can do about it. That’s democracy I wonder if the distribution and checks of power are the strength and essence of democracy. The guy who even went to Seoul National University doesn’t know that.”

“Oh, of course, I know that, too, but these days, it’s not about the distribution and checking of power… but because it seems to have changed into division and collusion. Look at that.”

Looking at the screen showing the noon news in the distance, Jeonghwan muttered.

Soon, the screen was switched to a screen showing the meeting of the opposition and opposition lawmakers that morning with the announcer’s narration.

– At the meeting of the ruling and opposition parties this morning, both parties only confirmed differences in their positions. The discussion that started with a promise to respect each other soon turned into a battlefield between the castle and the castle. Leaders of the opposition and opposition parties criticized each other, and there were personal attacks, vulgar language, and low-level abusive language. In the second half, there was violence and even physical fights between each other, so let’s take a look at it now.

‘Hey, you left-wing XX bastards! what’s up What if I took power? On a fictional day, I don’t think about my country, and I use social media to politicize my image. Because of you, this Republic of Korea will be destroyed! How this country was established! X-like bastards…’

‘Rep. Park! Oh, let’s cover it up a bit! So, don’t you hear that the party on that side is the scumbag party, the scoundrel party, and the kkondae party? You guys also didn’t do anything good during the previous administration, and their actions are…’

‘Happy? hey! This senator! In the last presidential election, when you were with the current president, you did everything you could to illegally work for your family, to evade taxes, and to advertise in black. If you stick to the image of the president like that, do you think anything will fall on you?’

‘hey! Senator Park! are you done talking You said that you were persecuted because you were not a true person during the previous administration, and then you said that it’s time to take over the power from us. Good job, you migratory bird!’

“Auntie! Turn on other news here!”

Even though he said that, Kyungsoo seemed to be annoyed as well, so he loudly asked the aunt of the restaurant to return the channel.

“Ugh, anyway, those legislators in Gukhae… Yeah Jeonghwan-ah, well, these days, the political board is a political board, and our workplace is a place that cannot be far from such a political board, so I understand it emotionally… You are all You know, it’s not easy to become president even if it’s difficult. What do you see every day inside and outside the research institute…”

“Hey, the reason that the uproar in the National Assembly right now is also because of the economic outlook for the first half of this year, the domestic team of our researcher….

When Jeonghwan said so and gave a cynical smile, Kyungsoo shook his head as if tired of just thinking about it.

“Don’t talk. From people who lined up in Yeouido, to people who wanted to push out statistics and facts… There are stories of senior researchers being divided into two groups, swearing, and even fistfighting. It’s a place where the elites of Korea gather, but I’m embarrassed…”

“It’s bullshit. We were not in a position to insult the National Assembly.”

As Jeonghwan muttered bitterly, Kyungsoo could not respond this time.

Korea Development Institute (KDI), established in 1971, has left a huge footprint in the history of Korean development and economy and has earned a reputation as a world-class think tank.

Of course, it is another bitter reality that a think tank, a research institute that should be the most free from political logic, is in a way the most subordinated to politics.

“Anyway… yes! Let’s say that Junghwan entered the Blue House after winning the presidential election with some difficulty as you said. So what then? Can the president run the country as he pleases?”

“……It’s not like that.”

“Is that so? Now is not the time for the fifth ballot…. You have to look out for the National Assembly, pay attention to public opinion polls, and manage your own support base… If you make a mistake and even raise an impeachment bill in the National Assembly and pass it, you could be kicked out of your seat. “

“…………”

“Besides, the president of South Korea cannot be re-elected. I have to watch shobu within 5 years, so there are certain things that even talented people can do. But realistically, will the country change within 5 years? After all, it is difficult for the United States or Japan to be re-elected. I don’t know if it’s a neighborhood where something like ‘Dear our leader’s comrade’ like them over there works.”

At Kyungsoo’s point, this time Junghwan turned his head to watch the TV.

The noon news was also coming out on the channel that had just been changed at Kyungsoo’s request, but this time it wasn’t very good news.

– Next news. Today, the Korean Central News Agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated the technicians for the new missile launch. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Service analyzed that the missile is one of the tests that are getting closer to the ability to hit Japan and the United States through the East Sea.

– Our dear comrade Kim Jong-un told the Kwangmyongsong rocket launch development workers that ‘we must further develop technology in the future to achieve the three goals of self-sufficiency and self-sufficiency!

Along with the exaggerated accent typical of Chosun Central Broadcasting’s announcer Ri Chun-hee, TV showed a young, fat North Korean leader with gray haired party officials behind him observing the missile launch with his binoculars in his eyes.

Seeing this, Jeonghwan shook his head with a blank expression on his face.

“Damn, what kind of merit did he have in his previous life to get such good fortune? At least in terms of ability and intelligence, a guy who is less than a tenth of mine picked the sperm lottery well… Looking back, he said, “Isn’t it a modern-day king?”

“Only the North Koreans are pitiful, they won’t be able to eat this common stir-fried pork as much as they want… And looking at the data recently, the food production is expected to be greatly reduced due to an unprecedented drought. The team leader reflects that and analyzes it. I heard that the government is reviewing aid to North Korea.”

“Sometimes when that town promises to make people eat meat soup with rice…. I guarantee that even if I was born in that place, I’m sure I’ll do it 10 times, no, 100 times better. If I let you dictatorship for just 40, no, 30 years…”

“Wake up, mamma. And dictatorship is difficult, isn’t it? We need to get rid of the enemies around us and take power, and we need to monitor whether any of our subordinates think otherwise. You have to be careful that the US doesn’t come to deliver democracy… If you make a mistake, you’ll end up with Romania Ceausescu over there in Eastern Europe.”

At Kyungsoo, who had eaten all the white rice and was drinking even the yogurt that came with it, Jeonghwan felt a strange resentment and spat out a word.

“…Maybe not necessarily.”

“okay? How could it not be?”

“You can rule the country well, gain popularity with the people, and then be respected and transfer to a democratic system. In other words, come down when you clap.”

“………………………….”

After keeping silence for a while, Kyungsoo looked at him and then smiled and grabbed his belly button.

“Pu ha ha ha…! hey! do you think that is possible Normally, I thought he had a cool side, but now I see that he is an idealist, Lee Jung-hwan, are you?”

“Well, if you look in history, there are no such cases…”

“The opposite is much more of a problem! Do you know how scary power is? It’s human nature to want to eat alone until you die once you catch it!”

“Hey, it’s rare that there are leaders with integrity, but it’s not that they don’t exist…”

“Just looking at this Republic of Korea right now, where have the powerful ever descended on their own feet? Even if you don’t have greed, your close associates will gently twist you and sharpen their knives while waiting for you to leave. Would such a happy ending be easy? It is the nature of human affairs to not let go of power until death, even for self-protection. You know?”

“……But if there is support from the people…”

“Ah, if you have such public support, you will want to eat it for a longer time. And stagnant water is said to rot, and after a little bit more, if corruption and absurdity accumulate later, it will collapse. Just look at China right now. They say collective leadership and Chinese-style democracy, but in the end, Xi Jinping is doing it all by himself. Where is the law that says you shouldn’t be like that? Do you want to bet with me?”

As if keeping pace with Kyung-soo’s words, the TV moved on to international news and reported the current state of China.

– At the recent Chinese Communist Party Congress, President Xi Jinping abolished the limitation on reappointment as president. Experts estimate that this has opened the way for President Xi Jinping’s lifelong dictatorship within the Communist Party.

“Look at that. Power is a monster, so once you grab it, you can’t let go. It’s not because I don’t like you, it’s because I’m just a human. I don’t know if there’s another existence like an iron man like that of Plato’s grandfather over there…”

“I am an iron man…”

Kyung-soo, who felt some sadness in the corner of Jeong-hwan’s muttering alone, looked at Jeong-hwan with a slightly sorry expression, wondering if he had teased him too badly.

“Hey… is Jeonghwan doing it because of your father?”

“……”

“I’m sorry if that is the case. I don’t know anything….don’t worry too much. I…..”

“done. It’s not like that, man. Lunchtime is over. I go first.”

“Hey, Lee Jung-hwan…! hey! Junghwan-ah!”

Jeonghwan ignored Kyungsoo’s voice calling him from behind and got up and went out of the restaurant.

‘Cause I got stabbed

‘Maybe my father was also one of those people who just couldn’t get close to power.’

Junghwan’s family has been a civil servant since his grandfather.

His grandfather was a person of 6.25 merit, and he was the head of the industrial department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry during the days of President Yoon Bo-seon, and his father was also a deputy director of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Jeonghwan followed suit, graduating from the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, and was working here at the Korea Economic Research Institute.

If you listen up to this point, it may sound like the life of an elite family who studied well with the power of genes and lived in the same place for generations, but Satan arose in Jeonghwan’s father’s generation.

– The real power lies in the political arena, no matter how high-ranking civil servants are, when they retire, they’re just neighborhood dudes. Jung Hwan-ah. Grandpa didn’t know that, but this father doesn’t want to die while living as a civil servant like the government officials. First the National Assembly, then the Minister, and finally the Blue House!

Jung-hwan’s father was afflicted with what is commonly referred to as a ‘political disease’.

As his retirement drew near, his father, who had lined up lines in Yeouido with his personal connections during his time as a civil servant, was soon nominated and ran for the National Assembly.

have you been elected?

If elected, would you call it a political career or a political soldier?

On the political side, Yeouido was a battlefield that was hard to guess for a father who had only worked as a civil servant all his life.

Jung-hwan’s father, who almost poured his money on election funds and suffered a loss three times in a row, was found dead in a local motel room with a briquette burning.

Even now, years after his father’s death, Jung-hwan did not understand why his father wanted to enter politics so much.

‘Hey, you were usually a person with strong self-esteem. It was an elite consciousness, and the idea of the people of choice was strong.’

I didn’t know it when I was a student when I was a poor student to support my mother and get a scholarship because of a poor family after losing my father, but it wasn’t that my father didn’t understand me as I worked in a place that could be called an official family.

He was a person with a strong sense of pride and authority as a high-ranking official who had direct influence over the overall state of the country, the Republic of Korea.

It must have been unbearable for such a father to live as a high-ranking public official and then suddenly become an ordinary civilian, as he felt that his own existence was falling apart.

In addition, the secret dissatisfaction about the fact that there is nothing better than him and that the lawmakers who fight every day have a greater influence than themselves in running state affairs must also have played a part.

My father must have thought the same thing Junghwan did.

And at some point, the thought took hold of him and he couldn’t escape.

– Even if I do, I’ll do better than that!

Looking back up to this point, my friend Kyungsoo seemed to be right, saying that power really is an iron man or a monster that cannot overcome the temptation of the old saying.

Right now, the three generations of the Kim family in the upper neighborhood cannot let go of that good power and live by sucking the blood of the people.

Junghwan, who felt like an idiot, ran out of the seat without much thought when his thoughts were organized so far, and touched his forehead.

“Ah, I’m like this in elementary school…”

However, he decided to go back to work as a researcher first, because he had to go back again.

There is still a lot of work to be finished today, and Kyungsoo will see you again tomorrow anyway.

However, one thought remained in Jeonghwan’s head as he was walking as a researcher.

‘Who won’t let me be a dictator… Even if I scratch the genetic lottery well… If I trust and leave it to you for just 30 years, I’m confident that even a North Korean-level backward country can make a SSS-level advanced and prosperous country.’

– ……..The North Korean economy is effectively functioning dependent on a self-sustaining pseudo-market called Jangmadang, and the North Korean authorities also tolerated the occurrence of such black markets and provided funds to maintain the regime through bribes, etc. appears to be earning This is evidence that North Korea is finally accepting capitalism, at least partially, after 70 years of communist experimentation.

“Ah-oh……”

Jeonghwan took his painful eyes off the monitor and looked around.

It was already past 10 p.m. and all the lab staff had left work, and there was no one except him.

Thought it was time to take a break because no one was watching, Jeonghwan lowered the window and reviewed the researcher’s intranet mail inbox.

While flipping through the reminders from a senior researcher asking about the progress of the research, the announcement of the British training schedule, and the latest data update from the National Statistical Office, Jung Hwan found an e-mail with a strange subject line.

– I convey the call of the nation and the people to the comrades who are the leaders of the great republic.

‘What’s this?’

I thought it was spam mail for about 0.5 seconds, but this is the researcher’s internal network.

So, it’s a story that someone inside the researcher sent…

“Kim Kyung-soo, this child has another strange idea…”

Do you want to play some weird prank while watching North Korean news during the day?

Or an apology for accidentally stabbing Junghwan’s painful wound?

Whatever it was, only one was sent by a colleague and researcher from the university.

There is no way that Kyungsoo, a classmate who was famous for his good personality and pleasantness since college days, planted something like a virus and sent it.

Recalling his mistake of being sensitive all of a sudden during the day, Jeonghwan unknowingly sighed and opened the mail.

“Hey, it’s only you. child.”

crackle.

Paah…..!!!

Immediately after applying force to his finger resting on the left mouse button, a strong flash of light erupted from the monitor.

And Junghwan just lost consciousness .