로마는 하루아침에 이루어진 것이 아니다 ~ A Republic of Korea AAR.

[Khor]

It would be great as an AAR.
Make America Great Again!

 

[marlfox216]

sounds like a cool idea

 

[RV-Ye]

Thanks for all your replies and support for the project I have in mind.
When the time has come I'll eventually ask you to help me, as there's several stuff I'd like to organize before trying the AAR and well, as I already said, we also have to finish this Korean AAR.

But I want to announce something, perhaps I'll try to avoid pictures of cabinets on the diplomatic tab, I was modding some new ministers for certain European country... but I eventually ran into issues as the picture I placed for those ministers doesn't appear in-game. And it meets the same characteristics the other minister pictures have.

I get easily tired while editing those things, I find it a bit annoying and I prefer to make events. Therefore, we may not get to see pictures from the diplomatic tab or at least until I manage to solve my issues with the pictures. If you have issues with it, tell me and I'll try my best to make this work.

Anyways, I was going to write the first update for Chapter VI and I suddenly noticed that... 1955-1956 (May) wasn't as active as I thought! So, it's possible it will be shorter, like only one part or maybe two.
Because, I planned to cover only until the 1956 elections.

While having Chapter VII as a mix of domestic and external issues, anyways, you can be sure that I've already screenshots for December 1954 - May 1956, I'll take some time to upload the next chapter while I decide how to proceed.


EDIT:: Lol, I was reading about transistors and other thingies and I suddenly had an idea for the chapter. I may upload it sooner than expected.

 

[RV-Ye]

Chapter VI: From a stream it shall come. (Part I)
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams, former president of the United States.
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Gyeongmudae, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ October 17th, 1954.

President Cho was meeting with his cabinet, the State Council of the Republic of Korea. It was a meeting to discuss the current state of the country, after the quick defeat of both Laos and Cambodia and the current crisis taking place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, the government had decided to study the situation in the country. Ranging several aspects, military ones, economic ones and even scientifical progress getting done at Korea.

One of the most important issues for president Cho was improving the standard of living for the average Korean, the war had been costly and the country had spent an important amount of resources rebuilding but also fighting the corruption that prevailed in Rhee's administration. After ending the bloody and chaotic period that Rhee's policies began, the economy started to recover as those resources used in suppressing the population started to get funneled towards rebuilding projects, subsidies towards small industries and farms and actually funding the acts that Syngman Rhee approved while he lived.

Korea's economy was slowly growing, while relations with Japan weren't restored yet, there were trade links between both countries allowing them to benefit from each other. The resources and industries in the northern part of the peninsula helped Korea to gather enough wealth to begin researching new technologies, some projects were fully funded by the government while others were done by private entities with government's subsidies.

One of those was Samsung, a trading company owned by Lee Byung-chul, an ambitious man with a clear vision about the kind of company he wanted Samsung to be. His story was one of success, his trading company was one of the largest when the Korean War started and it heavily benefited from it. He chose to diversify Samsung's economic activities and that's how Cheil Jedang came to be; starting as a small sugar refinery located at Busan. However, there was more to come, after the success that Cheil Jedang proved to be, he chose to venture into the textile industry by starting Cheil Mojik: opening the largest woollen mill at Korea in the process.

Therefore, when the company announced their interest in the agricultural sector, the government was more than pleased with the idea of subsidizing it. Samsung was already seen as an important pillar for Korea's economy, it was easy to recognize that Lee Byung-chul was someone capable and having him succeed while improving Korea's agricultural production was something great for president Cho's plans.

"The Samsung Company has sent a file detailing the beginning of their research along the information about how the subsidies are getting spent," that was Chung Tae-won, the minister of agriculture, he had been the one behind the decision to support the Samsung Company on their agrarian endeavors. Insisting that their success would advance president Cho's agenda of improving the quality of life for Koreans.

The Samsung Company used the subsidies provided by the Korean government to improve their dehydration techniques, to implement an automated sterile packagaing system and to acquire enough chemicals needed as pesticides and fertilizers.
​

"The Ministry of National Defence submitted their report about the development of the new models of self-propelled artillery. Some of the heavy industries at the north of the country have been ceded to the Army in order to improve our capabilities, with American support they've begun researching a way to strengthen the chassis of the vehicles along improving the damage of the HEAT shells," president Cho said as he closed the envelope with the report.

He looked at the documents before him, it was impressive. The Republic of Korea was slowly improving herself, he could imagine the future, prosperity for every Korean and their safety assured.

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Gyeongmudae, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ February 15th, 1955.

Korean economy wasn't the best, it was still recovering from the war and slowly expanding towards her neighbours thanks to the resources available to them. As factories and industries in the northern part of the peninsula were still under government control it allowed the president to determine how would they be employed, many of them were producing military equipment that was sold to Asian countries, specially Thailand as their army started to grow in size after the Indochina War.

However, president Cho was capable of noticing an important development in the United States. While his main priority was ending poverty in Korea and rising the income, he knew there weren't many sectors that Korea had an advantage in. For example, Korea stood out for her textile industry as it had been growing thanks to government subsidies that allowed it to be more competitive. But at the end of the day, president Cho was decided to see Korea venturing into new sectors of the economy and one that caught his attention was electronics.

Electronics were seen as a different kind of manufacture industry, one that required specialized labour, but at the same time one that could bring huge benefits to Korea. That was when he decided that KEPCO, the Korean Electric Power Corporation (a state-owned industry) would start to research and develop silicon transistors. Transistors were common at the world market, however, Texas Instruments had been the first to commercialize silicon transistors and those had proved to be highly effective, more than their germanium counterparts.

President Cho felt that investing in the electronics sector would eventually prove to be a wise decision in the future, after all, Japan was the only country that could venture easily on it and it was obvious that they could come to dominate the market in Asia if there wasn't a strong trade rival in the continent. Japan was still recovering the Korean president along the ministers of the State Council knew that it wouldn't take long for Japan to regain their economic leadership in the region.

At the time, some ministers were opposed to spending money in the development of silicon transistors as they thought Korea had to exploit and invest in the sectors it already had, specially the textile industry that was growing along focusing on producing military equipment to sell. However, president Cho's decision laid a basic foundation for the future development of the country.
​

"The Infrastructure Development Act has proven to be an important success, it's solving several logistic issues we had at the country and it's helping to improve the trade within the country," Ki Seung-min said, she led the Ministry of Construction and Transportation. Being the only woman at the State Council, she was chosen by president Cho because he found her to be qualified for the spot, she had studied at the United States and she impressed president Cho after engaging in a debate with him about the Infrastructure Development Act.

The modernization of Korea's infrastructure was proving to be a success. Not only the army was getting benefits from it, the industries and companies through the country were finding easier ways to transport their products through the country and it also allowed the agricultural production to arrive in time to places where it was needed. However, the infrastructure act wasn't focused only on highways or railways, there was an important emphasis placed on improving airport facilities along the ports of the country. Most of the investment was towards the capital, Seoul, along neighboring Incheon and the northern city of Pyeongyang.

Not only were military installations improved, but civilian facilities were also a priority for president Cho's development programme. In Seoul the main focus was towards the Gimpo Air Base, the government recognized that Yeouido Airport wasn't the best for civilian purposes; therefore, converting it into a military base while allowing the Gimpo one to turn into the main civilian airport of Seoul was considered as the best option.
​

Along improving the air transportation networks, the government also spent on improving the conditions at the main ports of Korea; the port of Incheon and the port of Busan. However, not all investment was directed towards the southern part of the peninsula, the north also received important amounts of cash to improve their situation.

The government focused on improving the port of Nampo, close to Pyeongyang, along supporting some industries located there such as small smelters, glass companies or even fish processing complexes. Regarding air transportation, the government repaired and upgraded the Sunan Airfield, turning it into an important airport in the northern part of the peninsula. All of this measures proved to be important to Korea's development along the improvement in the standard of living for those getting hired in the construction projects.

President Cho's popularity was quite high, his policies were going to be a huge boon in the 1956 elections but he was still worried about getting a foreign policy success. He knew that the international stage was risky, in the previous year he watched how Laos and Cambodia were devoured by Vietnam and the world also presenced the inaction of the United States regarding the security of the Republic of China; Park Chung-hee was capitalizing on the lack of a strong foreign policy capable of protecting Korea.

Considering his desire on having a neutral Korea, it's easy to understand why he didn't place a strong emphasis on strengthening ties with the United States, instead, he chose to have a foreign policy success in a different area. It would prove to be an important decision for Korean-Japanese relations, even if they weren't restored yet.

While Korean-Japanese relations hadn't been restored yet, both countries were interested in dealing with the repatriation issue between them. After all, there was a big Korean diaspora at Japan after the end of the Second World War and the Korean organization, the Chongryon, wanted to settle the issue.
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Apologies for taking some time to post the next update, but here it is! ^^
I may take a bit longer to post the next one as this week I've got several things to do (university stuff). I also wanted to tell you all that I may have more time now, yesterday my Japanese course finished (the first one) with a nice 100%

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the update aaaand!
(If any of you is curious about the name of this chapter)

Spoiler: This chapter's title meaning.

개천에서 용 난다 – Gae-cheon-es-eo yong nan-da

Spoiler: This chapter's title meaning.

Literal translation: A dragon rises up from a small stream.

Meaning: Ancient myths relay stories about dragons rising up from the depths of the sea; therefore, it would be both unexpected and astonishing if one were to rise from a shallow stream. As such, this term is used to describe a great man or woman arising from humble beginnings.

 

[stnylan]

One has to be a little amusing Samsung is investing in agriculture whilst someone else does the electrics, given our modern-day world

 

[Specialist290]

The Asian Tigers are bounding onto the world stage with a mighty roar.

It will be interesting to see what comes of the talks with Japan over repatriating their remaining Korean population, though I can easily see things getting messy if the other dreaded "R" word (reparations) gets mentioned...

 

[Twiggierjet]

I also like how the power company is researching human genetics.

 

[RV-Ye]

I had some spare time so I chose to start a game in New World Order mod, using 1933 Scenario and starting with the Kingdom of Italy.
I don't believe it will end up being an AAR, but I wanted to show how Italy developed through the Second World War (the screenshot is from 1947).

Spoiler: Italy Ascendant

It was an amazing game, I stayed neutral through most of WW2 (it started in December 1940) and I joined by June 1945. Italian forces managed to destroy the Reich while they were still fighting the Soviet Union, in Asia the Nationalist China managed to beat Japan and they even freed Korea, after it United States launched Op. Downfall (with a bit of human help) and Japan eventually surrendered. (Every country in the Roman Alliance is a puppet of Italy)

Anyways, leaving my funny game behind... time to reply!

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One has to be a little amusing Samsung is investing in agriculture whilst someone else does the electrics, given our modern-day world

Haha, indeed, I bet it was funny to see Samsung investing and researching agriculture. But it was the best team I had available at the moment, so when I checked the picture I thought something interesting could be written about it.

Anyways, we'll get to see more of Samsung in the future.

The Asian Tigers are bounding onto the world stage with a mighty roar.

It will be interesting to see what comes of the talks with Japan over repatriating their remaining Korean population, though I can easily see things getting messy if the other dreaded "R" word (reparations) gets mentioned...

Reparations will be an important subject in the relations between both countries, however, at this point both of them recognize their link isn't strong enough to discuss something as important as that. However, we'll get to see some compromises and negotiations between Japan and Korea during this attempt to repatriate the Korean population.

I must say that the events that will be shown in the next parts of the chapter were made with some interesting percentages. There's a real chance of a breakdown in negotiations, so, let's wait for Part II to see it better.

I also like how the power company is researching human genetics.

Hahaha,I totally laughed when I realized what you talked about.
What can I say, KEPCO knows no boundaries!


EDIT:: I started editing my copy of MDS mod, as I said, the AAR idea may only start after I finish up with this one, but I'm already trying to set everything.

Spoiler: Progress of my possible next AAR

Yeah, I know that the capital of the State of Arkansas is wrong, I typed the wrong ID, hehe.

 

[Barvinok]

As someone who is learning more and more about Korean language and culture, I'm very interested in this alternate Korea. A future where Croatia is united under Korean help and guidance would feel special.

 

[RV-Ye]

Chapter VI: From a stream it shall come. (Part II)
"The condition of man … is a condition of war of everyone against everyone." - Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher.
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Gyeongmudae, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ February 25th, 1955.

Relations between the Republic of Korea and the State of Japan were nonexistent, after decades of being subject of a brutal colonization attempt by the latter, Korea wasn't ready to establish official diplomatic relations with Japan. However, an important development took place, worried about the current conditions in Asia, president Eisenhower decided that trying to normalize the situation between Korea and Japan would be good for the region and the American presence in it.

That's how the American general, the Gaijin Shogun and the Saviour of Korea, came to be an important piece for the early and unofficial period of relations with Japan. Douglas MacArthur suddenly became an important figure between both countries, after all, his benevolent but efficient occupation of Japan gained him a good reputation among the Japanese. While his brave actions and courage, along determination to beat the enemy, made him someone quite popular at Korea; he was seen as the one that made reunification possible.

President Cho Bong-am asked general MacArthur to help both countries to deal with an important issue, there was a huge number of Koreans living at Japan, they were known as the Zainichi Koreans. Japan tried to repatriate those Koreans but it was facing issues in trying to do so, after all, having no relations with Korea made it quite hard to implement. But at the same time the Korean president wasn't willing to start relations, he felt the country wasn't ready for such a big step.

"President, we have news from general MacArthur, he met with the Japanese prime minister," The aide said, while he placed some files on the desk.

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Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.
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The Japanese government felt that repatriation was an efficient way to rid the country of ethnic minorities that they regarded as incompatible with the Japanese culture. In 1949, Yoshida Shigeru (the Japanese prime minister at that time) proposed the deportation of all Zainichi Koreans to Douglas MacArthur, insisting that the country would pay for all the costs.

They were seen as a burden to the country, however, repatriation would be a tough issue as Korea wasn't willing to establish relations with Japan. It's understandable, after all, the Korean peninsula went through an awful occupation and colonization by Japan and after it, thanks to the Second World War's conclusion they eventually had to fight between themselves in the Korean War.

Having that background, we can easily understand why president Cho didn't want this talks to be seen as him forgetting all the pain Korea went through thanks to Japan. He was willing to forgive and establish relations with Japan, but he also knew that the country wasn't ready, the scars of the Japanese colonization and the Korean War were still healing; "It's too soon," as someone claimed he said to general MacArthur.

The talks began with general MacArthur meeting the Japanese prime minister, Hatoyama Ichiro, at Tokyo. At first, the prime minister was reluctant about the Korean proposal, he wanted an all or nothing kind of deal, but eventually MacArthur managed to persuade him. After all, he finally had the chance to remove the Zainichi Koreans from Japan, the community unwilling to integrate into the Japanese culture and order. After a meeting that lasted at least three hours, he eventually chose to accept the Korean proposal, however, he was very clear: "If conditions prove to be untenable for our country, we'll disengage from this."

The talks took a long time as the Japanese and Korean governments tried to get the best outcome for both countries, eventually, president Cho recognized that he had to cede in some points in order to keep Hatoyama's support to the repatriation programme.
​

Negotiations were tough, they actually took a long time just to agree on the financial aspect of the programme. Considering that PM Yoshida had offered to pay all the costs behind the repatriation of the Koreans, PM Hatoyama was willing to do it as well, however, he insisted that it should be expressed as financial support for the programme instead of some kind of compensation. He knew that president Cho was trying to get a foreign policy success and he didn't want to lose face to the Korean president.

​

The Korean position was strong, after all, Japan was willing to provide the resources needed to start the repatriation programme and even if they didn't, general MacArthur had been convinced that Japan had to finance it. After all, an important part of those Koreans had been brought to Japan in order to work in the military factories, supplying the IJA and the IJN. Eventually, it wasn't necessary to mention it on the talks as PM Hatoyama insisted to the Japanese delegation that the country was willing to support the programme.

The Zainichi Koreans faced a strong discrimination at Japan and the Korean government wasn't willing to accept it remaining for those that chose to stay. But president Cho also recognized that Japan had the upper hand, after all, pressing too much on their government would eventually break down the talks.
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The discrimination against the Koreans was strong and it usually was owed to government policies, therefore, while president Cho recognized that he couldn't press too much on PM Hatoyama, he at least tried to protect the Koreans staying at Japan. He proposed some measures for the Japanese government, after all, he couldn't enforce them upon the country.

He also tried to portray his position as a strong one. Because internally he could be criticized by the most leftist elements as outrightly obeying and favouring the Japanese government, that could be a threat to his campaign, after all, the elections would take place in May 1956. It was strange, after all, Park Chung-hee and his followers were the most quiet about the whole situation with Japan. Meanwhile, Chang Myon was still being a mess, calling for a stronger stance towards Japan while also trying to appease those with a pro-Japanese stance in his party.

​

While Japan was reluctant to modify several laws just to give better conditions to the Koreans, they accepted that some of them could be worked on. It's important to add that it wasn't PM Hatoyama's decision, general MacArthur played an important role in convinving the Japanese prime minister about it. He insisted that cordial and strong relations were an important priority, he said that forging a strong link between both countries would allow them to be in a better position to oppose the red tide that was sweeping through Asia.

The Japanese government wouldn't recognize the Zainichi Koreans as Japanese citizens, but it was willing to allow them access to medical insurance and facilities. Their unrecognized status was an obstacle for them becoming public employees, but the government also tried to easen up an important issue regarding discrimination. They didn't remove the law stating that Zainichi Koreans had to be fingerprinted, but they guaranteed the process would receive some changes in order to protect them from further discrimination while also making it more intimate. There were flaws but at least they were able to show their willingness to improve the situation between both countries.

President Cho wanted Japan to compromise on trying to negotiate for the return of the Korean citizens as well, however, more moderate advisors along general MacArthur insisted that it wasn't wise to press PM Hatoyama, after all, the talks were getting close to the end and doing so would be sabotaging the whole effort.
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PM Hatoyama felt relieved after listening that president Cho wasn't willing to mention the issue about the Koreans left at the islands that now formed part of the Soviet Union. After all, that was an issue for the Korean-Soviet relations, Japan had no responsability about it. He also knew that general MacArthur had to be behind that decision, in November 1955 he had spoken to him and he expressed his support for Japan. He was partially opposed to Cho Bong-am as he considered that unity against the Soviet Threat was more important.

​

The decision gave president Cho's popularity a weak punch, he was affected by it as he was seen as abandoning fellow Koreans to the Soviet Tyranny, but in such an unexpected way, Park Chung-hee suddenly came out supporting the president. Insisting that the Soviet Union was a country unwilling to behave with her neighbours and that negotiating with it would be impossible for both, Japan and Korea.
Eventually, having Park endorse his decision gave him a chance to deflect some criticism, but most of the support was given to the hero of Seoul.

After several months of negotiations, after numerous meetings and even some displeasurs between the Korean and Japanese delegations, it was finally over. The talks finished by December of 1955 and the final harvest was the Korean Repatriation Programme, it was the first step in the long process to reestablish relations between both countries but it was finally done.

Once again, Douglas MacArthur had proven his importance in Asia.

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Gyeongmudae, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ December 31st, 1955.

Everyone was celebrating, another year was finishing up and it was seen as a successful one. After all, several aspects of Korea improved, the economy was getting better each day, new technologies were being researched and investors were slowly getting interested in Korea's resources.

But that wasn't all of it, the people was happy and his popularity was stable once again. Koreans in Japan were slowly signing up for the programme, decided to come back to their home country. It was impressive, after months spent at the negotiation table, everything was settled. It was a small step, but it was an important one.

"General MacArthur, you've proven to be so valuable to our country. On the next year we'll debate about the requirements to award someone the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, the highest order our government awards, however, meanwhile, we want you to accept the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Grand Gwanghwa Medal," Said president Cho, it was unexpected, after all, years ago no one would have thought that general MacArthur would end up being so important for Korea's diplomacy and here he was, being praised for his achievements at the country, at Asia.

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Well, here it is!
First of all, apologies if the pictures get a bit repetitive, managing picture sizes for events isn't my thing. And second, here we reach the end of 1955, however, on the next update we'll briefly go back up to September-October just to review some of the technology development Korea went through.

I also have to say that I have enough screenshots for one or two more parts for this Chapter, after it, well. It's time for me to open up Darkest Hour and play once again, lol.
The Chapter will probably end up with the May elections, after it I'll do a quick review of events in the year so I can start making more if I need stuff to take place.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! ^^

 

[Specialist290]

An important first step in normalizing relationships between the two Asian powers. MacArthur is, of course, a natural choice for mediator as the only party that both sides can really trust.

No worries on the pictures For a chapter like this, where most of the action consists of horse-trading and boardroom deals, the most important aspect is making sure the narrative segment carries the message across clearly, and that I see no problems with.

 

[stnylan]

Some very important negotiations. It is too soon to talk of normalising relations between these two countries, but this is an important step along that road even so.

 

[RV-Ye]

Had a tough month, but, I'm close to finishing up with classes so expect next update soon.

Maybe the update frequency will still be a bit slow, as next week I start again with Japanese classes and I'm thinking about searching a summer job. (As my favourite K-Pop group will come to my country, so, yeah, I totally want to go.)

Anyways, thanks for being patient.

 

[Specialist290]

No worries Take all the time you need to get your real-world affairs squared away.

 

[stnylan]

No worries Take all the time you need to get your real-world affairs squared away.

What this man said.

 

[RV-Ye]

Chapter VI: From a stream it shall come. (Part III)
"Where there is power, there is resistance." - Michel Foucault, French philosopher.
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Gyeongmudae, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ November 18h, 1955.

The members of the State Council of the Republic of Korea were meeting with president Cho, the progress on R&D was being a huge success for the country. The government was focused mainly on military technologies in order to maintain Korea's security and independence, however, economy wasn't left behind and it the situation kept improving with each day.

After the research on silicon transistors finished by October, the government started investing in their development in order to enter the transistor market to bring more revenues to Korea. The main issue was the needed workforce, they had to be better prepared and that was the reason for the main industries opening at Seoul. The capital was more developed than other cities of the country, but president Cho hoped it wouldn't remain that way in the future, he wanted to spread development and progress through the whole nation.

Key economic advisors suggested president Cho to continue researching and developing the computer sector, they felt it was the road to the future and that Korea would benefit from going that way. Eventually, president Cho agreed and KEPCO started researching a way to improve the existing computers. They were so expensive and Korea had to focus on other issues, therefore, the government chose to link their development to military affairs in order to get American economic support.

KEPCO started working on developing advanced computers, meanwhile, other projects were being researched in the country. Most of them with a military application, most importantly, the ROK Army was training with the American forces in order to improve their combat capabilities.
​

With some government subsidies, Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Construction, had been able to establish Hyundai Heavy Industries. After Samsung managed to get government support in exchange of their research and development of useful technologies or innovations for the country, the Hyundai Group also chose to join in.

Back in 1954, Bell Labs was the first company to develop and produce SAM systems. They were considered quite useful and the Ministry of National Defence thought that through a strong air defense the country would be capable of resisting an invasion from her neighbors. The borders with the Soviet Union and China were considered easily defensible, but it was also evident that air superiority could determine a war, after all, American air support heavily pounded the KPA's supply lines back in 1950.

President Cho wanted a neutral Korea, but he was capable of understanding the dynamic of the international situation. He wished neutrality for his country, but he knew that a neutral Korea required a strong and prepared military, they would have their own shield and their own sword.

Developing the defense industry was something he considered necessary, he also thought it could be a good way to improve his popularity among the most conservative members of the population along important figures in the army. The elections were closing in and the agreement with Japan hadn't been reached yet, he feared failure as it could condemn his campaign and the progress Korea had made.

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Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.

Ki Seung-min is widely considered the responsible for expanding the range of the Infrastructure Development Act, she expanded the range of it considering that Korea needed to improve the air and naval networks in order to maximize the efficiency of transportation.
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After the Korean War, few resources had been allocated to repair airports and landing tracks, most of the resources were focused on improving, rebuilding or building new roads through the country. The same happened to naval facilities, the only exception to it was Busan, considered as the most important city of Korea. At least in an international perspective, after all, most of the aid to the country during the war had come through their port or air bases.

The Infrastructure Development Act was expanded by Ki Seung-min, the only woman in the cabinet and the one that led the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, she focused on repairing the Sunan Airfield and turning it into an important civilian airport at the north of the peninsula. Meanwhile, at the south, the Gimpo Airport was expanded, their tracks and hangars were improved and it was turned into a civilian installation as well.

The development was going slowly, after all, most of the resources were still focused on other matters. However, that wasn't the end of her influence in the IDA. By now, the biggest and most important port was at Busan, but she knew that it couldn't remain that way forever. Both, Seoul and Pyeongyang were the most important cities at the country and they would be important places for trade after Korea continued her development.

Incheon and Nampo would receive government investments in order to improve their naval facilities, it was only the beginning but it would be Korea's first step to shift focus towards the sea.
​

But improving those aspects wasn't enough for minister Ki, she also suggested the idea of unifying the radio networks as it was back under Japanese rule. However, instead of using once again the name of Kyeongseong Broadcasting Corporation, they name it as Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). That way they would dissasociate from the colonial past and they could also subjectively appeal to the Americans.

On that issue, the Ministry of National Defence quickly got involved, they also wanted to use the IDA as a way to get military radio stations. They considered that the radio had more military uses than civilian ones, however, they also recognized that the president would prefer to invest in civilian affairs and they didn't press strongly for their cause. Eventually, president Cho approved to spend on radio networks both for the military and the civilian population.

Ki Seung-min would eventually be known as the founder of the KBS, both for her actions as minister and then for her successful presidency of the KBS.
​

Another important development for the country came in March 20th, 1956.

Four years before it, president Cho had announced the first four-year economic plan, a measure that earned him scorn from conservative politicians and one that attracted attention from his American allies. Everyone was worried about him being a communist in secret, but he managed to prove that he wasn't and not only that, four years after he was heavily criticized by Chang Myon and his clique along some of the most conservative supporters Park Chung-hee had, he finally proved that he was right.

The efficient implementation of the Infrastructure Development Act along the American economic support to the country as Southeast Asia fell to communism gave his economic plan the foundations it needed. Soon; mines at the north of the peninsula were expanded, the infrastructure projects lowered the unemployment, the state-owned and private companies started to flourish thanks to government spending while international investors were slowly attracted to the peninsula. And the agrarian situation heavily improved after generous subsidies by the government along the application of the land reform.

It was far from being a prosperous and developed country, but Korea was totally better than it had been four years ago. The population was getting wealthier, slowly, of course, but poverty was diminishing every day. It would take more years, but president Cho had shown to the population the results of his economic policies and not only that, by December of 1955 he had also managed to prove the population that his government was capable of negotiating with Japan on equal footing.

No one doubted about it, president Cho was the right choice for Korean development.

President Cho's economic plan was considered an impressive success, while it had more goals in mind, most of them were met by 1956, laying down the foundations Korea would need to continue her development.

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White House, Washington D.C, United States of America. ~ May 20th, 1956.

President Eisenhower was meeting with vice president Richard Nixon along CIA director Allen Dulles. The vice president was partially angry after the results of the Korean election were known, the leftist Cho Bong-am had known his reelection in a landslide after Park Chung-hee dropped from the race.

"Allen, I thought you were going to get that general Park in office, what happened?" Nixon asked bitterly while president Eisenhower turned around to watch the CIA director answer the question.

"The CIA is pouring thousands of dollars into his party while we are also funding that organization in the north, how was it possible that Park left the presidential campaign without you knowing it?" Eisenhower was also angry at Dulles, he didn't care about who won the elections in Korea, but he didn't want to spend the government's budget on unsuccessful operations.

"Well, I guess it was obvious after the economic plan results came in by mid-March. The positive state of the economy along his success with Japan were overwhelming to his opponents, I suppose Park wants to keep strong for the next election. What I didn't expect was Chang Myon staying in the race, his party lacks support from the population and he is widely viewed as a copy of Rhee, I don't know why he is still trying to redeem his career," answered Dulles.

Everyone had been surprised when Park Chung-hee announced he would leave the presidential campaign in the first days of April, leaving president Cho to fight against Chang Myon, the unpopular politician. Eventually, when the election took place, it was such a massive landslide against Chang Myon.

However, the CIA wasn't the only one angry about it, certain member of the Hanahoe was angry at Park leaving the race and he was determined to stop president Cho from turning Korea into a communist nation. General Suk-won had his own political agenda.

After Park Chung-hee left the race it was already decided that president Cho would win reelection, even if he hadn't several historians consider he wasn't capable of beating the incumbent president.
-----------------------------------------------​

Well, here it is, the last update of this Chapter aaaaand... this means I have to open Darkest Hour and play once again.
I'm sorry for taking so much time to update and I apologize if the update is a bit shorter (I feel it is).
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it! ^^

P.S: We are getting closer to the 60's and with it, the most exciting parts of this AAR so, get ready!

 

[Specialist290]

Looks like the Miracle on the Han River is coming a little early. Korea is well on its way to becoming one of the Asian Tigers already.

And I do get the feeling that General Park is biding his time, almost like he's waiting for something to happen. I can't help but feel that amidst these heady days of prosperity, some sort of scandal is going to break -- one that would make the perfect opportunity for a man of ambition to make his move...

 

[stnylan]

Rebuilding powering ahead

 

[RV-Ye]

Hi readAARs,

If anyone's wondering about the status of the AAR, don't worry, it isn't dead.
I just got a bit burnout from constantly playing Darkest Hour and I got really bored from it, I switched to Victoria II and well, even if I had an amazing game as Persia, I got tired too.

So, I chose to take a break from history and all of that subjects.
I paid a RS3 membership and well, I've had plenty of fun grinding some skills I never thought I'd get that high, but.
I feel less tired about it so, I'll try to post the next update soon.

 

[Specialist290]

No worries It's good to take a break and shake things up every now and again; it keeps the things we love from getting stale.