1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 343



Only Noblemtl

343 – Joint Statement

Chairman Park spoke as he toured the beautifully landscaped front yard of the White House.

“It’s great that America has so many trees. I hope that whoever becomes the next president of Korea will plant more trees on the mountains. Half of the mountains in Korea are bare mountains with no trees at all.”

The keynote speech was seen as an indirect indication of Chairman Park’s intention to run for presidency, as he was aware that he was very interested in the greening business.

But Kennedy asked, “Did you not read between the lines?”

“Do you need a loan for reforestation?”

Chairman Park smiled at those words.

“If we want to succeed in reforestation in Korea, we need to do more than just plant trees.”

“Then how should we solve it?”

Kennedy showed genuine curiosity.

“First of all, the reason why the mountains of Korea are devastated is because people cut down too many trees to use them for fuel. If we stop that, many people will freeze to death in the winter. There will be no fuel for cooking either.

No. We can’t just stop cutting down trees under such circumstances.”

“Korea’s greening business is ultimately a fuel problem.”

“Yes. We can solve this problem by providing fuel to replace wood. Fortunately, Korea has a lot of anthracite coal. But the problem is that we don’t have the money to mine it.”

“The world’s problems ultimately come back to money.”

Kennedy laughed.

“Before all the trees in Korea disappear, we need to mine anthracite coal and supply briquettes, but the price is the problem.”

“Is lowering the price of briquettes the key?”

“Yes. If you can buy coal briquettes with the money you earn from working at a tree plantation for a day rather than going to the mountains and secretly cutting down trees to sell them, then you will be successful.”

When Chairman Park chuckled, Kennedy smiled as well.

“I was going to tell them to take the trees from the US, but that wouldn’t work. I think providing coal aid would be a better way to save Korea’s trees.”

Kennedy, who had been ignorant of Korea, seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of the situation in Korea through the unexpected tree story.

The keynote speech also agreed that trees should be planted on the mountain.

One of the things that struck me when I first returned to the 1950s was the surrounding landscape.

Having lived through a time of successful reforestation, I had a hard time adjusting to the desolate landscape when I returned to the past.

In particular, the mountains around Seoul, especially those around the train tracks, were all bare and bare.

People today would say that it was a lie, but if you add a little bit of a lie, the landscape would be like a desert without a single blade of grass, enough to make a Western movie.

This was because Japan had been cutting down trees in Korea for military supplies at the end of the Pacific War, and because the Korean War had swept away all the trees in the mountains.

Even after the war, saplings were used as fuel by the common people, and trees were not given a chance to grow.

When I looked back, the mountains and the land were all yellow.

They say that if there are no trees on the mountain, grass won’t grow, but it was hard to see grass.

As soon as the weeds grew, they were cut down to be used as feed for livestock, and even the charcoal and fallen leaves were taken away by people to be used as kindling in the kitchen.

This situation was even worse in rural areas.

This was because people with no other way to make money would cut down trees and take them to the city to sell in order to survive.

In Seoul, there were still more houses that burned wood than briquettes.

The situation in Seoul was relatively better because the police were cracking down on theft.

When you go to the countryside, the whole place is a red-yellow world.

What Gijo realized as he recovered from the damage caused by two major typhoons was that it was not water that devastated the countryside, but soil that flowed down from the mountains.

The water drained naturally over time. However, there were no trees on the mountain, so the massive amount of soil that flowed down covered the farmland, and there was no answer.

The crops were completely covered in thick mud and were beyond recovery.

Then the farmers would be in debt to private lenders and would end up on the streets after just a few floods.

One of the reasons why rural areas could not escape poverty was the lack of trees on the mountains.

When there were no trees on the mountain, flood damage increased and crops failed. When crops failed, farmers went up to the mountain to cut down trees and sell them to the city, and then the vicious cycle of landslides pouring down from the mountain repeated itself.

The Syngman Rhee government was also aware of the situation and promoted afforestation projects, but they ended up being pilot projects and failed to achieve nationwide afforestation.

Chairman Park, who had been talking about the afforestation project, told Kennedy that he had made up his mind.

“I will send the Director of Central Intelligence to the United States.”

At this, Kennedy smiled brightly and wrapped one arm around Chairman Park’s shoulder and said,

“Let’s go in and draft the joint statement. It will probably take at least two hours to call the press and announce it.”

The two turned toward the White House.

The atmosphere of pushing as if trying to obtain a surrender document from the defeated country disappeared in an instant and was replaced by an atmosphere of consultation among allies.

The keynote was that the pressure Kennedy put on Chairman Park was a calculated negotiating strategy.

As the leaders of the two countries entered the room smiling brightly, working-level officials from both countries looked relieved.

Both sides immediately began drafting a joint statement.

It took over an hour to polish the statement.

Chairman Park and his delegation were careful with each and every word.

I was so careful that if I made a single mistake in using a word, it seemed like the country would be ruined.

Finally, in the evening, reporters were gathered at the White House and the joint statement from the two leaders began to be released.

Chairman Park announced first.

“… South Korea and the United States have coordinated very detailed schedules regarding South Korea’s politics, security, and economy, and agreed to announce specific schedules in the near future… … .”

Chairman Park’s statement omitted any mention of a constitutional amendment for a four-year term presidency or an early general election.

It was all implied in the words, “fine-tuned scheduling.”

After Chairman Park finished his speech, Kennedy prepared to read the statement.

Before issuing his statement, Kennedy praised Chairman Park, saying that Korea was moving closer to democracy and that Korea would grow into the best democracy in East Asia.

“… Accordingly, the U.S. government promises not to spare any support for the construction of nuclear power plants and the development of Korean industry as soon as the situation in Korea stabilizes.”

When the special economic support was announced, the entire Korean delegation was moved.

Kennedy made a series of statements supporting Chairman Park.

“As the head of Korea’s strongest ally, I would like to say a few words to the Korean people. Korea’s top priority is stability, and for stability, we must trust Chairman Park’s promise and continue the process toward a democratic nation.

We hope you will participate actively.”

“The U.S. government has infinite trust in the current Korean government, and has no doubt that the current government will serve as a strong bridge toward becoming a mature democratic nation.”

“Accordingly, if an attempt is made to overthrow the current government in Korea, the United States will not sit idly by and, in the worst case, will terminate PL480.”

Instead of using the term military government, Kennedy used the purified term present government.

In the process, he put forth an extremely hard-line measure to suspend PL480 if the military takes action against Chairman Park’s early transfer of power to a civilian government.

PL480 is the Korea-U.S. Surplus Agricultural Products Agreement, which was to supply U.S. surplus agricultural products to Korea in accordance with U.S. Public Law 480, Subchapter 1.

Cutting it off would have been like starving most Koreans to death.

It was a warning not to engage in frivolous talk, as overthrowing the current military regime would only lead to starvation.

When Kennedy recognized the current military government and threatened to use any last resort against its allies, the entourage cheered in silence.

He was thrilled that the regime not only received support from the United States, but also received recognition from the United States.

Won Chung-yeon, who was standing next to Kijo, kept touching his nose.

Journalists who confirmed the United States’ intention to provide large-scale economic support to South Korea seemed to sense that something had been agreed upon between the two countries.

American reporters began to pepper Chairman Park with questions.

It was Kennedy who organized the reporters.

“Chairman Park will hold a press conference at the National Press Club tomorrow. Please ask specific questions there.”

With those words, Kennedy left the room together with Chairman Park.

Keynote Speaker Park quickly left the briefing room following him.

Kijo thought as he watched Chairman Park’s back as he left the briefing room.

If he truly carried out a coup to save the country, he should accept any humiliation or political disadvantage.

* * *

After announcing the second joint statement, Chairman Park said goodbye to Kennedy and headed straight to the U.S. State Department.

After visiting the USAID office again that I had met in the morning and asking Director Hamilton for support for Korea, I went to the embassy’s residence.

A banquet was held at the ambassador’s residence.

Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of Commerce Hodges, and Secretary of Defense McNamara, whom I had met in the morning, were there.

And former U.S. ambassadors to Korea and former commanders of the U.S. 8th Army were invited.

Not only General Van Fleet, but also General Magruder, who had persuaded Yun Bo-seon to suppress Park Chung-hee’s coup by force, was there.

It was a close-knit group of people who could exert influence in Korea.

At the scene, Chairman Park once again urged support for Korea.

Those who had received a request for support from Chairman Park in the morning were invited to the Korean embassy’s residence that night and received the same request again.

After the dinner, Chairman of the National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Yoo Yang-soo called the delegation together for a meeting.

The keynote was so exhausting that it almost tasted like honey, but he had no choice but to follow.

At that time, it was Chairman Park’s one word that saved the exhausted crew.

“The meeting should be held early tomorrow morning.”

After saying that, Chairman Park entered the room first.

Kijo returned to the hotel and this time he took a shower first.

My head started spinning as I relaxed in the hot water.

After finishing his shower, Kijo talked with his roommate, Lee Young-hee.

Lee Young-hee asked as if she couldn’t believe the press release the public relations director had given her.

“Is the US really going to build a nuclear power plant in Korea?”

The keynote speaker nodded.

“You wouldn’t have done this for free, would you? What did Korea agree to do in return? Did it agree to send troops to Vietnam instead of the United States?”

Lee Young-hee asked sharply.

Kijo answered with a smile.

“We decided to practice democracy.”

“Democracy?”

Lee Young-hee blinked and asked at the keynote speech.

“Chairman Park, who took power through a coup, said he would implement democracy?”

“Yes, if we don’t have democracy, will we have communism?”

When Kijo spoke as if joking, Lee Young-hee looked at Kijo with her mouth wide open.

Lying in bed, Kijo was tormented by Lee Young-hee’s barrage of questions.

I asked persistently what was discussed at the second meeting, but Keyzoo refused to give a single word of detail.

Instead, he said that Chairman Park was very interested in the reforestation project.

Kijo, who was lying in bed talking, fell into deep sleep.

While answering Lee Young-hee’s question, Kijo fell asleep without realizing it.

Lee Young-hee laughed in bewilderment at the sight of Kijo falling asleep while answering.

“Well, I must have been too much for someone who didn’t even get two hours of sleep last night… … .”

Lee Young-hee sat at her desk, writing an article about the results of her visit to the United States, adding one last line.

『What impressed me during this visit to the U.S. was the dedication of the Korean delegation. They would leave the hotel at dawn without even having time to wash and would often come back late at night and fall asleep.』

Lee Young-hee read the last sentence several times and then erased it with an eraser, perhaps because she thought it was too sentimental.

* * *

The next morning, Kijo woke up at 5 a.m., washed up, and moved to the ambassador’s residence with his entourage.

November 16th was also a busy day.

The summit is over, but the keynote speech had great significance for the schedule on the 16th.

It was a day to save the Public Relations Director Won Chung-yeon and to meet the benefactor who provided the strategy for Korea’s economic development.