The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 12



< In Hawaii (4) – Edit – >

When I heard the name Syngman Rhee my brain started spinning quickly.

Two memories came to mind automatically.

‘That’s the guy who got into George Washington University.’

The first thing that came to mind was the memory that Prince Ui Lee Kang had.

Lee Kang was introduced to Syngman Rhee by Kim Kyu-sik in the past.

Since they had actually met in person Lee Kang vaguely remembered Lee Seung-man’s face.

I only knew what it looked like but I couldn’t remember its name.

That’s why I never even imagined that the genius attending George Washington University was Syngman Rhee.

‘It seems that Lee Kang the original owner of the body was not impressed by Lee Seung-man.’

I recalled another memory.

It was a memory from when I was living as a modern person.

‘Syngman Rhee is the first president of the Republic of Korea.’

I don’t know much about Korean history but I know a little about a man named Syngman Rhee.

Because I as a second-generation Korean-American gave a presentation on the subject when I took a world history class in the United States.

‘I had to research the independence process of countries that were colonies from the 1940s to the 1950s. My memories from back then were a great help.’

American education is not just about memorization.

The proportion of presentation classes in which students voluntarily participated was quite high.

Since I also completed my education in the United States I had to do quite a bit of this kind of advanced learning.

After choosing a country I had to briefly explain it to the other students.

In that process I naturally chose Korea.

It was only natural that I chose Korea my roots since it was the country where my parents were born.

‘I thought Syngman Rhee graduated from Princeton… but wasn’t he? He went to George Washington University.’

hmm.

Did you transfer?

If not is your highest level of education Princeton University?

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I don’t remember the exact details because I studied it when I was very young.

‘Does it matter which university you go to? Syngman Rhee is Syngman Rhee.’

Well anyway.

I greeted Syngman Rhee by patting his shoulder.

“Nice to meet you. By the way your face looks familiar. Are we old friends?”

In response to my question Syngman Rhee only smiled faintly.

At that moment Kim Kyu-sik who was standing next to him intervened.

“Your Majesty I met this young man once on the campus of George Washington University. Don’t you remember? It was winter.”

As soon as Kim Kyu-sik finished speaking everyone around him looked surprised.

Lim Jeong-su the temporary vice-president of the Synthetic Association who had been standing next to me looked at Syngman Rhee and me alternately and asked me.

“Your Majesty. Do you know this young man?”

I nodded and responded positively.

Then the expressions on the faces of the people around them also changed drastically.

Everyone started looking at Syngman Rhee with envious expressions at the fact that I had met him once.

Lim Jeong-su looked at Syngman Rhee with a pleased expression as if he found him somehow impressive.

But the face of Jeong Myeong-won another deputy representative who was nearby quickly darkened.

‘The two vice-presidents… are reacting differently? I should check them out.’

When attention was focused on him the corners of Syngman Rhee’s mouth went up slightly.

But soon he maintained a calm expression and scratched his head.

I continued to observe Syngman Rhee’s behavior and told people around me stories of my encounters with him.

“Hearing that reminds me of something. We met once before through Woo Sa (Kim Kyu-sik). As you know Virginia where I lived and Washington D.C. aren’t they close?”

Although it is said to be close in reality it is as far as the distance between Seoul and Busan.

But since the United States is such a large country it could be said that this was relatively close.

Perhaps that’s why the audience listening to my story simply nodded without offering any objections.

“It snowed a lot back then. Do you remember back then Usa?”

“I remember. Wasn’t there chaos when the snow came up to my waist?”

“Ah… yes. Because of my heavy snowfall I could only meet this young man briefly.”

I touched my forehead and explained the situation to the people around me.

“The ride back to Virginia was hell. The train was delayed for days because of the snow on the tracks and it was a total mess.”

I shared past memories with Syngman Rhee recalling memories from before.

The conversation continued like that for about five minutes.

‘How strange.’

During my brief conversation with Syngman Rhee I was able to find one difference between him and the Korean community in Hawaii.

Interest seemed to be deliberately avoiding the word ‘small person’.

‘Politicians are inherently narcissistic… and it shows here too.’

I recalled memories of my time as a modern person and recalled information about Syngman Rhee.

‘He is a person whose reputation is polarized.’

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He was an independence activist but didn’t he turn into a dictator in his later years?

As I mentioned earlier my world history class required me to research the independence processes of countries that had been colonies in the 1950s.

I was able to listen to other students’ presentations and strangely enough I was able to find one thing in common.

Countries that had just gained independence from the great powers had sadly failed to develop democracy and their political systems changed to military dictatorships.

‘It happened all over the world.’

Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia.

Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

Sukarno of Indonesia.

etc.

It was very common for people who led the fight for independence to become power-hungry and turn into dictators over time.

‘He probably thought he was the only one who could lead this country.’

Or.

It is said that a position makes a person so it is possible that once you have the authority you become obsessed with power.

Or it could change like that due to a sense of compensation.

‘Is it right for me?’

America is a country built on the values ​​of ‘democracy’ and ‘capitalism.’

That is why I persistently analyzed how other countries accepted this value.

Because it is an issue that the United States is very interested in.

‘Syngman Rhee…’

A man with two faces.

I continued the conversation recalling Syngman Rhee’s information.

“Usagi here has talked quite a bit about you. He said you have a very promising future… After talking to you I think I understand why Usagi has been praising you so much.”

The corners of Syngman Rhee’s mouth went up even more at my repeated compliments.

At the same time the expressions on the faces of some people who disliked Syngman Rhee darkened.

“By the way why are you in Hawaii? Even if you leave now you’ll have quite a bit of time left.”

It’ll take at least two weeks to get to San Francisco.

From there if you want to take the transcontinental train to the East you’ll have to travel just as far as you did to San Francisco.

He pointed out that it would be too late even if you go now so what are you doing?

“Even if I skip the withdrawal period… it’s obvious that I’ll be late…”

I pretended to be concerned about Syngman Rhee but in reality I wanted to know why he remained here.

I continued to ask questions to get to know his true feelings.

Then Syngman Rhee started to fight back.

“I thought meeting Your Majesty was more urgent than attending class so I decided to stay here for a while.”

You stayed here to meet me?

You want me to believe that?

‘What do you want to do by meeting me?’

Aren’t we actually talking right now?

Even if I were to say that this was a process of getting to know Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee would gain nothing from it.

When I try to dig up more information.

Jeong Myeong-won who had been looking at Syngman Rhee with disapproval began to open his mouth.

“Perhaps you have stayed here to see His Majesty as you are a member of the same royal family?”

“royal household?”

I showed a tilted head behavior.

If it’s royal then it means I’m related to him…

Because there was no such information in Lee Kang’s memory.

At my reaction Jeong Myeong-won glanced at Syngman Rhee and continued talking.

“Yes. Lee Ja said that he was a descendant of Prince Yangnyeong and that the blood of King Taejo the founder of Joseon flowed in his blood.”

Then Syngman Rhee looked back and forth between me and Jeong Myeong-won with a slightly embarrassed expression.

As I stared at Syngman Rhee with eyes demanding an explanation Syngman Rhee answered me in a calm voice.

“Everyone asked about my family tree so I just stated the facts. I think Mr. Jeong Myeong-won misunderstood this a little.”

Accordingly Lim Jeong-su who was appointed as the temporary vice-chairman of the Synthetic Association along with Jeong Myeong-won listened to Syngman Rhee’s words.

“That’s right. Don’t worry too much about it. It’s nothing right?”

At this Jeong Myeong-won took a half step forward staring intently at me.

“Well my thoughts are different. When I introduce myself to Westerners I call myself ‘Prince Lee.’ Can you say that’s a big deal?”

“Listen. Why are you saying such nonsense? Are you trying to frame me?”

Syngman Rhee glared at Jeong Myeong-won and became angry.

I looked at those two and quietly crossed my arms.

‘He was acting like a prince? Was it really like this in the history of the Yuan Dynasty?’

her….

That’s funny.

Well it could be possible for Syngman Rhee who had political sense to do that.

If you’re like me you probably know how valuable royalty is in America.

Even if I were Syngman Rhee I would have secretly said that.

‘You acted like a prince claiming to be of a distant royal lineage?’

Should I just soak it all in this time?

hmm….

It’s ambiguous to do that.

Although impersonating a prince is a serious crime it is something that only applies in Joseon.

Moreover Syngman Rhee was now denying Jeong Myeong-won’s accusation.

If we forcefully cling to our teeth without any evidence we may end up causing conflict in the unified Korean community.

‘Hmm. I wish I knew more about Korean history.’

I am a second generation Korean-American not a Korean.

That’s why I don’t know much about Syngman Rhee.

When doing school work.

All I did was investigate the process of independence and the introduction of democracy in countries that were colonies from the 1940s to the 1950s.

‘It’s still difficult to judge.’

Is interest a useful thing?

Or is he poisonous to me?

There is too little information.

So I’m going to be cautious but I’ll try to get over it for now.

‘But I must warn you.’

Because there is only one prince me.

I couldn’t stand by and watch someone else pretend to be a prince.

Because this person could threaten my position in the future.

“It looks like there was a mistake while translating your self-introduction into English.”

I put my hand on Syngman Rhee’s shoulder with a broad and generous expression.

“But be careful in the future. If there’s a misunderstanding between us won’t you just end up blushing?”

I am the real ‘prince’ and Syngman Rhee is just a sidekick.

It means that my word is absolute at least in stories related to the royal family.

“You have to answer.”

Control your facial expressions.

It’s ending at this point but you shouldn’t make such a crooked expression.

Syngman Rhee kept his mouth shut for a moment then seemed to accept my order.

“Yes I will do so.”

“Okay. Okay… Everyone get some face. Since I’ve finished it let’s not fight about this story anymore. Let’s end this good day with a smile.”

I looked at Syngman Rhee and fell into thought for a moment.

I recalculated whether it would be a useful chess piece to me or a threat to me in the future.

‘I’m not sure but…’

One thing for sure I was confident.

It won’t be that easy to get away with it.

* * *

The event in the square has ended.

Because I met Syngman Rhee and achieved my goal.

Dalgrak- Dalgrak-

After spending two more days in Hawaii I headed to the port to fly to San Francisco.

“majesty.”

The people who were with him were Kim Kyu-sik and Rhee Syngman.

Kim Kyu-sik came to see me off.

Syngman Rhee was moving along with them leaving Hawaii and heading east.

“Okay. What do you want to say?”

Kim Kyu-sik asked me quite politely.

“I heard you are leaving Hawaii.”

“Yes. You said you’re staying to help unify the Korean community?”

Kim Kyu-sik nodded and asked me.

“Wouldn’t it be okay for you to stay in Hawaii a little longer?”

When I made a face asking why he was recommending it Kim Kyu-sik quickly continued speaking.

“Haven’t you been working so hard since you came to this wonderful place? Why don’t you take a break for a few days and then head to San Francisco? That would be better for your mental health.”

“….”

“Take a walk along the beach and feel the sea breeze. People are not machines.”

Despite Kim Kyu-sik’s advice I did not respond and just kept my mouth shut.

Syngman Rhee who was watching the scene said something to me.

“Your Majesty there are many eyes watching so you must be careful.”

As Syngman Rhee said there are many Koreans in Hawaii.

Even if all the Koreans in the New World were gathered in one place they would not be as numerous as the Koreans in Hawaii.

‘Why would they come all the way to Hawaii a land far away?’

Because life is difficult.

But I’m talking nonsense around them?

‘It may have been like that in the past but…’

Lee Kang who has a round body is originally a generous person.

When he sees a pretty woman he goes up to her and starts to flirt with her.

Spend some money at the resort.

Kim Kyu-sik must have known Lee Kang’s original personality very well which is why he made this suggestion to me.

But I had to show a different side.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. How can I take a break here when my fellow countrymen are working so hard?”

“I’m sorry brother. I was short-sighted.”

It wasn’t just a rejection for image management reasons.

Actually I felt uneasy.

It’s not my fault that the Koreans have to work so hard but I feel guilty about it.

‘If I were possessed by their bodies… I would have lived the same life as them for a while.’

In this day and age.

I thought it was really low that I was born Asian.

When I saw them I knew there was a basement under the floor.

‘I need to make money quickly so I need to support them.’

I want to quickly pay off the debt that has piled up in my heart.

‘By the way your political sense is really top notch….’

I internally evaluated Syngman Rhee and vowed once again to keep a close eye on him.

I looked at Syngman Rhee as I boarded the ship to San Francisco.

“Woo-nam (Lee Seung-man). Why aren’t you getting on?”

Seungman we need to talk on the boat.

I want to know a lot about you.

But why are you delaying so much?

“I’m going.”

At my words Syngman Rhee came running in a hurry to my call.

< In Hawaii (4) – Edit – > End