Empire of the Ring

Several Korean scientists living in Germany had asked for migration to Kazakhstan.

Seeing the recent dispute with China, they wanted to offer a small helping hand to Kazakhstan.

Originally, they were planning to go back to Korea, but were hesitant to return home due to cultural differences between Korean and Germany and decided to move to Kazakhstan.

The reason why they decided to come to Kazakhstan was that they saw hope when Youngho, a Korean, joined Central Asia and expanded his reach to the Caucasus.

Another reason was that the relationship between Kazakhstan and Germany was stronger than other countries.

They believed that if so many ethnicities lived well together without inconvenience in Kazakhstan, they would also adapt to Kazakhstan with ease.

The scientists who were willing to settle down in Kazakhstan were distinguished in various fields, including new materials, physics, and chemistry.

When Korean residents in Germany suddenly showed interest in coming to Kazakhstan, Youngho asked the Intelligence Department to investigate them.

Although they would be of great help, he did not understand why they were making such a choice to live in hardships. This was because Kazakhstan was not such an attractive place for capable scientists who had been living well in an advanced country like Germany.

“Was Kazakhstan such a charming place?”

“No brainer. Most immigrants think it has a huge potential to grow big. That’s how those Korean German scientists feel, too. They said that they want to focus their capabilities on developing Kazakhstan, which is in its infancy.”

Park Jong-il answered after finding out the purpose of the Korean German scientists.

“You said they were descendants of those who went to Germany as workers, right?”

“Listening to them, they suffered a lot in childhood. They said that they sent small salaries to Korea and covered their school expenses with the money they worked part-time during weekends and holidays.”

Their parents were miners and nurses, who were considered a lower class in Germany. Because of their parents’ hard work in a foreign land Germany which was far away from home, they were able to study and make it as scientists.

“I heard that most of the first generation parents in Germany went back to Korea.”

“Yes, they went back home, but I think the second generation Koreans lived in Germany because it was their hometown.”

The scientists who wanted to come to Kazakhstan were children of workers who went to Germany as miners or nurses in the 1960s.

Miners and nurses who left for Germany in the early 1960s were in the middle class or class of literacy at that time.

Even though anyone who had never crossed the school gate could dig inside a mine, anyone who was to go to Germany was demanded a minimum degree of education on the condition.

The reason was that the Korean government wanted to present Korea as a highly educated country so as not to undermine its national prestige.

It was like the last pride of an underdeveloped country.

As a result, intelligent college graduates were registered to work as miners, and those who went out as workers borrowed money and wore suits and ties to get on the plane.

Due to the economic conditions of Korea at that time, it was impossible for people to be educated in a secondary school if they were not rich or if they were very smart.

It was almost a luxury for ordinary people who were busy filling their stomachs after the Korean War to send their children to school.

Likewise, most nurses had well-off parents.

At that time, women were considered overeducated even after they graduated from elementary school.

Nurses with their own expertise in Korea which was underdeveloped at the time chose to go to Germany rather than stay, and going to Germany was like being chosen because not everyone was able to go abroad.

Also, Korea’s poor economic situation, in which people could not make money despite having expertise, drove them to Germany.

If they could sacrifice themselves for the livelihood of their families, they were willing to work abroad.

“It’s nice to hear that people who have established their names in their field of career want to come, but I’m not sure if they’ll get used to this place.”

“We have to treat them properly. Either give them a teaching position at the Royal College a research position at a research institute.”

“I’ll have to think of ways to apply their knowledge. It’s a waste of time to leave world-class scholars in schools and research institutes…”

“There aren’t many students who are willing to learn from them, so that’s a problem, too. The natural sciences aren’t very popular.”

As Kazakhstan was a developing country, people had a tendency to look down on basic science that did not seem to help real life directly. The people of Kazakhstan liked practicality, and even students majoring in related studies did not like to learn basic science in depth as with only learning basic science could not keep up with advanced countries. Besides, it was the time of war against China, so who would care about basic science? It was a shame since such knowledge was the shortcut to becoming an advanced country.

***

The Arirang royal territory was busy preparing for the immigration of the Korean scientists from Germany for a while.

The importance of the basic science field had been highlighted, and the heads of government research institutes had visited the royal territory for a while.

Although it was chaotic in and out of the country, the atmosphere of the Federal Kingdom of Kazakhstan was still dynamic.

Conflicts with China never caused abnormalities in the function of the country or made everyday life uncomfortable.

There was also a sense of security that it would not lead to an all-out war, and neither the royal family nor the government made much fuss.

The country was able to deal with it as usual because it was always prepared for it.

Meanwhile, armed independence struggles were still taking place in Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet, gunfire had stopped at the border of Kazakhstan and the Indian Ocean.

The National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China was still going on, so Kazakhstan was still paying close attention to its results.

The leaders of Kazakhstan were mapping out exit strategies in case newly elected Central Military Commission members were moderates, not close aides of the current Chinese regime.

Military experts said that China’s bid to target Central Asia would result in enormous sacrifices, as Kazakhstan would be impregnable if it blocked only a few border areas.

That meant an all-out war was not easy.

Even if troops climbed the Tian Shan Mountains breathlessly and crossed the border, all there would be waiting for them was death.

Kazakhstan’s national defense was strong and solid.

Kazakhstan’s military, which was thought to be weak, turned out to be a well-sharpened sword, had shocked the Chinese military.

Not only that, but the Chinese government was also struggling in Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet.

Although it was known that the number of Chinese soldiers and armed police deployed in Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet would be higher than that of locals, they were still not preventing terrorism properly.

For China, a more urgent task than fighting against Kazakhstan was to prevent independence struggles.

At this rate, Tibetan and Uyghur independence would take place with ease.

The continuation of the war against Kazakhstan was unlikely for China.

In the conference room of Kazakhstan’s government complex, there was a war of words between the pro-war party, which wanted to continue this atmosphere, and the pro-peace party, which wanted to use China’s internal situation to find an exit at an appropriate time.

Youngho, who was watching the Cabinet members’ opinions without saying anything, raised his hand to calm the crowd.

“I’ve heard your opinions well. I don’t want to continue the war because I like war. We launched excessive attacks on the sea to make China never look down on us again. So how did the result come out? I think you’ve seen China flinch.”

It was an event that gave a lesson that attack was the best defense.

Ministers were all silent because they were so well aware of that.

“Your Royal Highness. If the war situation is favorable, would you cross the border?”

It was a question from Cabinet members belonging to the pro-peace party.

“I don’t want to do anything that we can’t handle. Beyond our borders are Uyghurs and Tibetans. What can we expect from them? I’d like to help them achieve their independence, but our military will not cross the Tian Shan Mountains and the Pamir Plateau.”

If the regular forces crossed over and fought with the Chinese forces, it would imply an all-out war. Also, Youngho had no intention of taking over Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet’s territory. He only needed them to stand alone and strong as a buffer zone between China and Kazakhstan.

When it got quiet in the room, Youngho poured out his heart to Cabinet ministers without filtration.

Emphasizing that it was time to go back to the original intentions, he persuaded them to keep pushing ahead again.

He stressed that Kazakhstan was able to win consecutive victories not because it was strong, but because of China’s pride only, and that Kazakhstan would be severely damaged if the fighting continued in the future.

The reality was that China could fully digest a long-term war, with its size of troops and capital, but Kazakhstan could not.

Now was the time to build up strength.

In order to do so, the foundation should be strong and the whole society should be developed evenly.

Only then could Kazakhstan overcome China.

It must increase the population, nurture talent, and foster the defense industry.

He ended his speech by saying that now was an opportunity to narrow the gap with China when it is shaken by the trade war against the U.S.

At the end of Youngho’s talk, the ministers responded with a standing ovation.

This was because they agreed to the criticism and order made by the Duke.

Kazakhstan gained a lot from the recent conflict.

It served as an occasion for the people to unite as one, which was soon expressed in pride for the nation.

That was the patriotism to take the lead in protecting the country.

Patriotism soon emerged as a social order, and social order soon led to a mature civic consciousness.

Mature civic awareness had also affected the entire industry.

People recognized that working their best in their field was loving their country.

It was shown by productivity improvement and product quality.

Now, if it was made in Kazakhstan, it was recognized as a cheap and sturdy product by both Central Asian and Caucasian countries. The only problem was poor designs that were not aesthetic. However, if there was no inconvenience in daily life, such a level of the flaw could be overcome.

Since when had Central Asia been such a rich place?

It was a place where people would still have to live a nomadic life if there were no underground resources.

In a way, it was no exaggeration to say that all this was due to China.

People could stay alert because there was a strong enemy around.

In order to continue such an atmosphere, reminding people of where Kazakhstan was located geopolitically was necessary.

They had won only a few battles because if they got carried away with such pride, the country would be eaten by China someday.

The only way out of China’s direct threat was the independence of Uyghurs and Tibetans.