Dear Comrade

Senior Comrade (2)

Episode 2. Senior Comrade (2)

In April 1985, Pyongyang’s spring had something that made people’s minds more nervous than the spring at this time of year every year.

In particular, such a change of seasons had a greater impact on the young people in full swing, and the students of Kim Il-sung University, which is the most prestigious university in North Korea, were no exception.

However, there was only one exception, one who was imprisoned in Pyongyang’s National Library and People’s University Learning Center every day.

“Comrade, are you here today? These days, I see them every day, and there are young comrades who are passionate about their studies like my comrade. Take a good look.”

The first place this ‘comrade’ went to was the new book reading room, leaving behind the encouragement rather than the encouragement of the staff, who did not know whether he was praising the party or flattering the general.

An early access to foreign books before censorship was applied was one of the few outlets for news outside of North Korea.

Of course, as internal ideological control has been strengthened since the 1990s, all the few windows have been blocked, but none of the people sitting in this learning center now know about it.

Right now, except for Lee Jung-hwan and no, Kim Jeong-hwan, who reads and piles up materials and books in various reading rooms, including the New Book Reading Room.

‘About one month from today…’

Jeonghwan muttered in his heart as he checked the date of the Rodong Sinmun or, no, the Rodong Sinmun, kept in the library.

Just one month as of today.

In 2019, Lee Jung-hwan, a researcher at the Korea Development Institute, was reincarnated as Kim Jung-hwan, an undergraduate at Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang in 1985.

At first, this unbelievable reality only made me laugh, and I thought for a moment that all of this was like a hidden camera like the Truman Show, but fortunately, Junghwan had something to point out as the cause of this phenomenon.

‘Is it because of that email too?’

When he saw the e-mail from the recipient, ‘Great leader comrade’, who had been tormented by overtime work, and he had no memory of it after that, it was evident that he had been called… of some sort.

I don’t know exactly who or what he called him, but one thing is certain.

Lee Jung-hwan, no, who should now be called Kim Jung-hwan was born again to lead this Korean People’s Republic, not the Republic of Korea.

Even back in time!

‘But even so, Bukhani… No, North Korea, the starting difficulty is too high, isn’t it? Well… if it’s for my purpose of running a dictatorship, it’s probably the most ideal situation…’

Jeonghwan looked out the window, feeling a little irritated inside, but once again realizing this opportunity that had fallen to him.

The spacious boulevard, pedestrians walking around in achromatic clothes that give off a uniform feel, even considering that it was in the 1980s, and some familiar yet strangely exotic buildings with Joseon-style tiles on top of modern buildings.

It was the closest city that I had only seen on TV or newspapers, but in a sense, the most distant city for Koreans, Pyongyang.

Based on the knowledge he had in the last episode of his life, that is, when he was living as Lee Jung-hwan, Pyongyang was a region where only the core classes in North Korea gave residence permits.

Although such information has been accessed through lectures and documents at universities and the Korea Development Institute, the impression you get when you see and feel it in person is different from that when you see it in print.

“Okay, it’s worth a try.”

Jeonghwan smiled confidently as he looked down from the window of the Great People’s Study Hall over the panoramic view of Pyongyang, a city where only the elect could live.

Of course, when he becomes a leader, he will be transformed into a state-of-the-art and splendidly hard-to-find figure.

It is still in the fog about who and what has left him in the monarchy in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, back in time 30 years, but I wanted to say thank you to that existence, Jeonghwan.

Although the starting difficulty is a bit difficult, the point is that the starting point is set at the closest position to power.

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Not just talking about physical distance, but in a political sense.

Kim Jung-hwan, not Lee Jung-hwan, who is now Jung-hwan, was a key member of the executive class, who lived in Pyongyang and could attend Kim Il-sung University.

However, it was only a superficial status that only the classmates and professors who attended Kim Il-sung University with him, or Kim University for short, knew, and in fact, he was a much greater status.

He, no, the biological father of Kim Jung-hwan, from whom he will now live a new life, was the living god of the Korean People’s Republic, the head of the enemy country, according to the South Korean expression, and, to borrow the North Korean expression, the eternal leader and leader, Kim Il-sung.

‘Let’s summarize the situation once again, I am not Lee Jung-hwan, but Kim Jeong-hwan, and my biological father is Kim Il-sung, the leader of the Korean People’s Republic.’

Jeonghwan paused for a moment to accumulate knowledge that would serve as his strength and foundation in Pyongyang, his hometown, not his hometown.

‘I still can’t quite believe it. When I first opened my eyes, I was surprised when I saw an unfamiliar ceiling, but later on, when I heard the identity of my ‘father’, it was new blood compared to what I realized.’

The first thing Junghwan saw after reincarnation was the ceiling of an unfamiliar house, not his own narrow house located in Sejong, Chungcheong Province.

I woke up blankly, looked around for a few seconds, and was drawn to the voice of ‘mother’ calling for breakfast, and sat down at a table I had never seen before, before asking the question, ‘Where the hell are you and who are you?’, the mother’s voice reached his throat. The question that came up was immediately blocked.

“The chief said that he was delighted to hear from your professor comrade, that it was wonderful, hey. Still, among the children, you are said to be the most brilliant. But why are you looking so sad? Your face is also pure white… Where does it hurt?”

“………………”

It took him another few days to get over his shock, fear, and embarrassment and to understand his current situation.

And the information he found out as a result of guiding the answer by pretending to be Taeyeon to his ‘mother’, the first guide he met when he came to this other world, was as follows.

– One of the many women of his mother, Kim Il-sung, and the mother who gave birth to Kim Jeong-hwan is named Kim Myung-ae.

– She, who worked as an interpreter for the Workers’ Party of Korea, accidentally caught the eyes of Kim Il-sung and gave birth to herself, and now lives in an apartment and a pension in a district of Pyongyang without shortage.

– As with most other Kim Il-sung’s governments and illegitimate children, she and her existence are externally confidential, and only the dean knows who she is, even within Kim Dae. Most people, including professors, simply know him as the child of one of the party’s high-ranking officials.

– Although he and his mother had few encounters with Kim Il-sung, Kim Il-sung rejoiced many times over the intelligence of himself and Kim Jung-hwan, and he is making outstanding achievements in Kim Dae, where North Korea’s best talents gather.

‘If I was going to reincarnate, everything would have been easier if I had been born as Kim Jong-il… Haha, but somehow, I was reincarnated as a North Korean version of a gold spoon.

Although it is a bit disappointing that there is no one here to call friends, it might be better to not have one if you think about the path you should take anyway.

It is still unknown what kind of power he was reincarnated in this North Korea, even 30 years ago, but he had to seize power to survive.

And in the process, it was after Junghwan convinced himself that he could not help it even if there was blood in the process and made up his own mind.

‘Kyungsu, did you say it’s impossible if you’re not an iron man? Show me that it’s wrong. It will take decades to prove it, but…’

But, as in any era, power is like the sun, freezing to death if too far away, and burning to death if too close.

Especially in places like North Korea, the risk was even greater.

‘The present North Korea is 1985… Then, in terms of timing, now Kim Il-sung is dying out, and now it is time for his son, Kim Jong-il, to begin to seize power.’

Jeonghwan did not stop shaking his head while reading newspapers and books while solving a mountain of tasks for Kim Dae.

The year 1985 may have been a meaningless year for the Korean people who would have lived without interest in history, but the date of 1985 inspired a lot of inspiration for Jeong Hwan, who has a good memory and is well versed in the history of Korea’s economic development and international relations because of his job.

And the conclusion he came to was:

‘You came back just in time.’

1985 was a turbulent year.

In Korea, the Kukje Group is disbanded, the New Core department store opens for the first time, and the Chinese navy’s torpedo boats are in exile.

In North Korea, China’s Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang visited North Korea, held an inter-Korean Red Cross meeting in Pyongyang, and the UN expressed its opposition to the inter-Korean cross-recognition.

And if you look around the world, it’s also the year that Gorbachev took office as Soviet Secretary-General, the Plaza Agreement was signed, and Microsoft released Windows 1.0 in North America.

‘I came at a time that is neither too early nor too late. Now the rest is up to me.’

1985 was a turbulent year for both South and North Korea and other countries around the world as the Cold War came to an end and Jeonghwan was at one of the centers of that hurricane blowing.

But for North Korea, and for Jeong-hwan, now the illegitimate son of Kim Il-sung, what makes this 1985 important is that Kim Il-sung still maintains some degree of influence as a symbolic leader, while actual power passes to his son Kim Jong-il.

‘If he came earlier than this, he would have had to fight numerous competitors under Kim Il-sung, and if he came later, Kim Jong-il’s dictatorship would have been consolidated and there would have been no room to insert a needle.’

Junghwan fried the abacus inside and looked out the window again.

Before long, the sun passed the apex of the sky and began to fall gradually, and the students who filled the study hall began to return home one by one.

But Jeonghwan was still sitting in his seat, not knowing how to leave.

“The Soviet and American system competition and the Cold War are now heading towards victory for the United States, and the military is still in power in South Korea, or South Korea. The gap in national power between the two Koreas started to reverse in the 1980s, and the North also felt a sense of crisis, and began to build buildings for propaganda such as Neung-Lao Stadium. You’d better use this.’

But for now, Junghwan thought that surviving was the first priority.

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Now, even if Kim Il-sung is still alive in North Korea, it was a period of power change in which Kim Jong-il was overtaking the place.

If you make a mistake, your life and the lives of your mother Kim Myung-ae, let alone power, will be in jeopardy.

Judging from the many materials he has encountered both inside and outside the institute, Kim Jong-il was never a merciful person to his rivals.

Even if that competitor is his own blood.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll have to make my own first…’

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No one can do everything alone.

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No matter how smart Junghwan was, and even if he knew the future more than 30 years in advance, securing talents who would be his hands, feet, eyes and ears was an urgent priority.

‘If there is money and power, or even the possibility of having it, people will flock to it. And there will be many talented people in North Korea. The problem is the leader who crushes all the possibilities they have.’

The human factor was the most unpredictable but at the same time the factor with the greatest potential.

With that in mind, Jeonghwan slowly left the reading room, where people began to leave, and headed towards the front door of the university study hall.

And before leaving the learning center completely, his mind was full of thoughts about what and who should be lured as bait.

Until he saw a man waiting for him at the front door.

“Comrade Jeonghwan. Have you finished studying? Then stop getting in the car.”

I stopped at those words and looked at the slender woman who stood in front of the car and waited for my ride.

Short black hair, bright black-and-white eyes, and tall, unsuitable for a woman of this age.

The so-called ‘Pyongyang beauty’ should be called her name, Yoo Hye-rim.

I was Kim Jung-hwan’s aide, bodyguard, and watchman at the same time .