Empire of the Ring

France’s Mistral portable surface-to-air missile weighed only 40 kilograms, making it an anti-aircraft weapon that could be operated while carrying a small number of tactical vehicles.

It came as a scare for many pilots flying fighter jets and helicopters as the missile threatened them at speeds above Mach 2.6 after liftoff.

In the past, the South Korean government’s purchase of the French weapon had been marred because the French government provided the wrong version of the Mistral missile.

The French government’s response to the Korean government’s protest was also terrible since it said that the government could not get involved in the affairs of private companies.

In addition, the French government did not keep its promise to return Korean cultural heritage—Jikji—which was the oldest book printed by the world-first movable metal-type invented in Korea that was stored in the National Library of France, after the librarian stopped it with full force. The French government’s reason was that it could not ignore an individual’s will.

There had been many other unpleasant incidents like this with the French government, so other countries were very cautious when making a contract with France.

Kabak who had been listening to Youngho’s explanation was lost for words as he was dumbfounded.

It was not sure where France’s arrogance of breaking deals between countries came from, but this time, Youngho was determined to show Kazakhstan’s power.

“There has been a case of Israel against France. Israel was disadvantaged by the French government, so it sent intelligence personnel to steal the French fighter’s blueprint.”

“Your Highness, if they’re playing with that kind of prank, then we’ll have to take their technology, too. And yet, I wonder why you still want to do business with France.”

“It’s diversity. If we are biased in the international community, our place will be shaken. France is a great power and has a high voice in the international community. Maintaining a good relationship with France will be beneficial for Kazakhstan’s national interest, so I want to make ties under the name of resource diplomacy.”

“I see what you mean by that. Then, we must show Kazakhstan’s tenacity this time.”

Kazakhstan had persistently survived despite the harsh given environment.

They sometimes took belligerent character and sometimes were just vulnerable nomads to endure thousands of years to survive tenaciously. Youngho was curious about how the French people would react to the Kazakh people’s tenacity.

“I’m thinking about bringing some alcohol to this evening’s dinner for the president?”

“You don’t mean to put out vodka, right? If you do that, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“It’s like a reward for inviting us. I was going to bring Zeynep Wine and the vodka we produced in the factory in Krasnoyarsk.”

“I don’t know how many French officials are going to drink strong drinks at the official dinner table.”

“They’re high-esteemed people. They wouldn’t want to lose to us.”

Kabak smiled as Youngho mentioned about a drinking match.

“I wonder how much vodka they’ll be able to drink since they’re wine drinkers.”

“Don’t you think it’ll be a great news story after drinking heavily?”

Journalists would be happy if the Kazakh team created a good story for them.

They would treat the Kazakh delegation team differently from then on.

***

While Youngho and other Cabinet ministers were busy for resource diplomacy, Fatima and Zeynep were having a blast.

They had been visiting various shops in Paris, where all the world’s famous goods were gathered. As it became inconvenient to go around due to security problems, they even disguised themselves and went on a pilgrimage to department stores.

It was tiring for Youngho since the two always showed what they bought from shopping for him at night.

“Oppa, I thought I’d choose your clothes, but there were none for your body type. I’ll find one next time.”

Zeynep was excited as a little girl.

“I’m a standard type. Any outfit looks good on me so just bring it.”

“Oh, you really don’t know about yourself.”

“Hey, I was told that I have a Western body type in Korea.”

“And you believed that? That kind of compliment is just the lip service of the salespeople.”

Zeynep probably had no time to pick clothes for Youngho for being too busy to pick her own.

“By the way, Oppa. Why don’t you open an Arirang Hotel in France?”

The land price of Paris was a little expensive. Most of the best places were owned by foreigners, so it was hard to find a good site.

“Why do you want an Arirang Hotel here?”

“You have to be in Paris to be a global hotel chain. Also, it’ll be good for friendship with France.”

Listening to her, Youngho was convinced that it was a good idea to have the finest Arirang Hotel in Paris, the center of Europe.

This was because it had a symbolic meaning regardless of profit. The hotel run by the royal family would soon become famous, so there would be no damage.

“Is this for the friendship with France or your personal greed? Tell the truth, then I’ll consider it.”

“Whoa, Your Highness. I’m just giving you an earnest advice for Kazakhstan’s future. Do you really think that I’m doing this because I don’t have a hotel room to go to in Paris?”

“Do you mean it? So you’re saying you don’t care about the hotel at all?”

“Fatima, look! Your husband doubts me, too.”

Fatima answered to Zeynep.

“It seems like he has grown a victim mentality because other nations are being greedy for the resources of Kazakhstan. Try to understand with a big heart, Zeynep.”

The two sisters were busy making fun of Youngho. Now they turned him into someone with paranoia.

“Do you have any site in mind for the hotel building?”

“…”

Zeynep was stunned for a moment when Youngho gave in so easily.

She then displayed a satisfied look on her face. Now, she would have an excuse to come to Paris.

“Oppa! Are you sure you’re going to build it for me?”

“It’s not yours. Why are you saying it like it’s yours?”

“Hohoho… I guess I got too excited that my tongue slipped. It’s really for the friendship between the two countries, Your Highness.”

“How can I stay still when Zeynep is so concerned about Kazakhstan? I should build a nice hotel and make it a landmark in Paris.”

“Oh, stop flattering me. It just popped up in my mind. If you’re going to build it, please make it look antique-like like the one in Baku.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to make it modern-like?”

“It’s because of the pride of Kazakhstan. You know how others still see us as an uncivilized, nomadic country. I think we should show class.”

That was how most of the European countries saw Central Asia.

Since they saw Central Asia as a place where nomadic people were, TV documentaries usually showed only such a side of Central Asia, not global cities like Almaty.

It was necessary to correct such misconceptions on Central Asia now.

***

When Youngho said that he wanted to build the Arirang Hotel in Paris with the royal fund, Cabinet ministers were as happy as Zeynep.

The reason why they liked the news was that the Kazakh royal family-owned hotel in Paris, which was the center of Europe, would be a symbol for Kazakhstan. It would also improve the image of Kazakhstan to many tourists.

Kazakhstan had not been working hard to improve its national image to the global community; it was still being considered as a backward place.

French people paid little attention to the Kazakh royal family’s visit to France now. However, if a British royal family visited, they would have reacted differently.

Including Youngho, all of the ministers had complicated feelings about that.

Although there was not much they could do with the state fund, they believed that the Kazakh royal family’s fund could build dozens of hotels in Paris.

They all looked at Youngho with some anticipation.

“Your Highness, it’s going to cost you a lot of money to build a hotel. Is it necessary to build one?”

“What are you talking about? I was offended that French officials seemed to ignore us. It’s rather a great opportunity. When our people’s income rises, they will travel to Paris frequently, right? Think of how proud they would be to see our royal hotel.”

“I think the Minister of Energy makes sense. In the international community, money is justice.”

“I’ve heard that power is justice, but it’s my first time to hear money is justice.”

“We have to promote Kazakhstan to improve our nation’s image.”

“Yes, we also have to highlight the fact that we are a constitutional monarchy. Our country is the only one that founded a new dynasty in the 21st century, right? It’s something to be proud of.”

As the discussion seemed to go on forever, Youngho interrupted them.

“Let’s stop now and check on the task at hand.”

“Your Highness, what you say is more important than building a hotel in Paris to symbolize Kazakhstan? The resources negotiations are in the final stages, so we can leave it up to related officials.”

When the Trade Minister asked Youngho to talk more about the hotel project, even Eriksson stood by to help.

“Your Highness, it’s the right time to buy the site. It’s the winter offseason, so the land price in Paris has dropped a lot, and there are plenty of sites in the market.”

“Really? I’ve heard that most decent land is owned by foreigners these days.”

“The decline in oil prices has probably given us lots of vacant land and buildings that the rich Middle Easterners had. I’ll check it out.”

“Would you do that? It would be great to buy one on this trip.”