Chapter 126: That Time I Fought a Diplomatic War in South America

TL: Skye

San Marcos's deployment to Hormuz caused quite a stir in the international community.

To be precise, Drump was the one who caused the stir.

The moment San Marcos decided to deploy its forces, Drump turned it into a cudgel to beat America's allies with.

[Even a tiny Caribbean country like San Marcos sent warships to Hormuz! So what are the G7 countries doing for world peace?! You should be ashamed of yourselves!]

Never mind that he himself was doing tremendous harm to world peace. Drump didn't care in the slightest and posted to his feed several times a day.

[Japan imports 80% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz! And you're saying you won't send even a single warship?! Learn from San Marcos!]

[Germany is the world's fourth-largest economy and has a GDP forty times larger than San Marcos! So why aren't they sending warships?!]

He relentlessly berated Japan and Germany, as well as France, Britain, and Australia.

And then... he went after Korea.

[San Marcos, led by a Korean president, deployed its forces! So what is Korea itself doing?! If Korea is truly an ally of the United States, shouldn't it show some resolve?!]

Drump had quoted Yu-jin's remarks from his press conference to pressure Korea.

The news hit Korea like a nuclear bomb.

[NBS News]

“U.S. President Drump has strongly pressured Korea through social media to deploy forces to Hormuz. In particular, he sparked controversy by mentioning San Marcos President Choi Yu-jin and saying that Korea should also show some resolve. We will discuss the matter with Professor Kim Jaehong of Hankuk University's Department of Politics and Diplomacy. Professor Kim?”

“Good afternoon. I'm Kim Jaehong.”

“Why is President Drump taking this approach?”

“To put it simply... he now has justification. His argument is, even a small country like San Marcos sent warships, so why aren't the rest of you doing the same?”

“Wasn't that only possible because the United States provided an enormous $100 billion loan and sold them retired warships at bargain prices?”

“That's correct. It would be fair to say that's exactly why the United States supported San Marcos.”

“So in the end, President Choi Yu-jin's deployment has boomeranged back on Korea.”

“You could certainly see it that way. President Choi Yu-jin handed Drump the perfect argument.”

“It may have been a rational decision from San Marcos's perspective, but it's hardly welcome from Korea's.”

“Exactly. President Drump has been pressuring Korea day after day as though he'd been waiting for this opportunity.”

“Then how should we navigate this situation?”

“There are several angles we need to consider, but for starters, we should distance ourselves from San Marcos...”

As always, the moment news about San Marcos aired, the internet heated up.

But this time, the mood was different.

The praise from before was nowhere to be found. Instead, criticism grew louder.

— Aren't we getting pressured because of San Marcos?

— Choi Yu-jin kept acting all high and mighty, and now Korea's paying the price

— Isn't he just being used by Drump?

— Isn't it the other way around? Looks like Choi Yu-jin used Drump to squeeze money out of him.

— Whatever the case, Choi Yu-jin is Drump's lackey.

— Why the hell is another country's president screwing over our country?

Not only the comment sections on major portals, but even San Ma Gallery turned icy.

Title: Be honest, Korea really is getting pressured because of His Excellency, right?

ㄴ Drump's throwing a fit telling Korea to deploy because His Excellency did

ㄴ This is a bit much, isn't it?

ㄴ What did His Excellency do wrong? Drump's the crazy one

ㄴ But it's still true that Korea's suffering because of it

ㄴ What's wrong with the board today? You guys aren't taking your anger out on His Excellency, are you?

ㄴ It's not taking our anger out on him, it's stating facts

Title: The Dark Side of Choi Yu-jin's Diplomacy

ㄴ Good for San Marcos, poison for Korea

ㄴ The price of getting too close to Drump

ㄴ Gotta admit this one. Facts are facts.

For the first time in the history of San Ma Gallery, which could practically be called the Choi Yu-jin fan club, posts criticizing him were receiving upvotes.

The atmosphere remained that way for some time.

The name Choi Yu-jin, until now the ultimate cheat code for nationalistic pride, was being used in a negative context in Korea for the first time.

But.

The world has a funny way of working.

At the exact moment he was getting cursed out, Yu-jin dropped a bomb on Korea.

A money bomb.

[San Marcos Tortilla Corporation Orders 2 Million Smartphones from Saseong Electronics in Line with Government's National IT Distribution Program!]

[Tortilla Corporation Orders 4 Container Ships and 2 Ocean Exploration Vessels from Hyunhwa Heavy Industries!]

[Korea Zinc Begins Development of San Marcos's Second Nickel Mine! Rare-Earth Exploration Underway Too!]

[San Marcos Government Launches Military Modernization Program — Offers Korean Firms Sole-Source Contracts Worth a Total of 30 Trillion Won. Seeking Full Package Including Fighter Jets, Self-Propelled Artillery, Short-Range Missiles, and More.]

[Saseong Corporation Wins Contract for Libertad's Second Airport!]

[Breaking! Exchange Rate Falls to 1,430 Won as Dollar Supply from San Marcos Boosts Market Liquidity!]

And that money bomb ended up blowing the KOSPI sky-high.

[San Marcos Tailwind Pushes KOSPI Past 6,000! New All-Time High Since Launch!]

KOSPI 6,000.

It was the moment a new chapter opened in the history of Korea's stock market.

The Korean economy was buzzing.

The people who had been cursing Choi Yu-jin that morning had gone quiet by lunchtime.

And after the market closed.

The comment sections completely flipped.

— Raise your hand if you cursed Choi Yu-jin this morning

— ...

— I apologize for insulting the man who made KOSPI 6,000

— I'm a Saseong Electronics shareholder. Please build Choi Yu-jin a statue

— I work at Hyunhwa Heavy Industries. Thank you, President Choi Yu-jin. I genuinely mean it.

— Defense stocks hit the daily upper limit lol is that 30 trillion won contract for real

— Morning: Drump's lackey → Evening: Hero who saved the Korean economy

— Is Choi Yu-jin a god? Is Choi Yu-jin a god? Is Choi Yu-jin a god? Is Choi Yu-jin a god?

— Koreans change their tune faster than anyone in the world lol

— How does it make any sense that he's saving both his own country's economy and Korea's?

— I was pissed because of Drump, but seeing KOSPI 6,000 made me forgive everything

— I'll admit it. I cursed him this morning too. But after looking at my stock account, all I feel is gratitude

— A South American president contributing more to the Korean economy than Korea's own president lol

San Ma Gallery also pulled a complete 180.

Title: Everyone Who Criticized His Excellency This Morning, Come Out

ㄴ LMAO

ㄴ I have fallen to my knees before KOSPI 6,000

ㄴ His Excellency was saving the Korean economy all along

ㄴ His Excellency really is His Excellency

Title: His Excellency's Diplomacy Skill Update

Gets $100 billion loan from U.S., deploys forces > Gets 6 retired warships for scrap-metal prices > Drump goes berserk > Korean public opinion turns against him > KOSPI 6,000

Conclusion: Gets cursed out, then solves it with money. This is diplomacy.

ㄴ LMAO he really did solve it with money

ㄴ You don't shut people up with words. You do it with money

ㄴ His Excellency's diplomacy skill tree: Get cursed at → Throw money around → Become a hero

ㄴ This cycle just keeps repeating lol

Title: San Marcos Doesn't Have a Stock Market?

ㄴ Nope lol

ㄴ I wanna invest though

ㄴ Should we petition them to make one?

ㄴ Asset management firms, please make a San Marcos ETF

Real-time searches on portal sites.

1st. [KOSPI 6000]

2nd. [Choi Yu-jin]

3rd. [San Marcos]

4th. [Saseong Electronics Stock Price]

5th. [Hyunhwa Heavy Industries Contract]

6th. [San Marcos Defense 30 Trillion Won]

7th. [Drump SNS]

8th. [Hormuz Deployment]

9th. [Caribbean Travel]

10th. [San Marcos Travel]

Eight of the top ten real-time searches were related to San Marcos.

Of course, from Europe's perspective, Yu-jin and San Marcos were still the worst kind of villains.

But in Korea, at least, public opinion had completely turned around.

And there was one country whose reaction stood in stark contrast to Korea's...

“That damned bastard! A puny little country dares make a fool of a great power?!”

China.

***

Beijing.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The atmosphere in the conference room was murderous.

Vice Minister Lan Zhiming hurled a stack of documents onto the table.

“We cannot let this stand.”

His pride had taken a serious blow.

Not only had San Marcos rejected China despite the extraordinarily favorable terms it had offered, but the country had immediately turned around and become an American lackey.

That alone had been humiliating enough.

[San Marcos Government Invites Korean Companies to Bid on 30 Trillion Won Defense Package]

The conference room fell silent.

China was one of the world's largest arms exporters.

Particularly in developing markets, it boasted an overwhelming market share by emphasizing cost-effectiveness.

Latin America had traditionally been a major market for Chinese weapons.

Yet San Marcos had chosen Korean weapons.

The odds might be slim, but what if San Marcos ever got into even a localized conflict with Venezuela? And what if it won?

It would leave a devastating stain on China's future arms exports to South American countries.

No, a war didn't even need to happen.

If San Marcos merely succeeded in modernizing its military, the country itself would become a giant advertisement for Korean weapons.

And that meant.

Someone's head could roll for the failure at any time.

Because that was the kind of country China was.

“San Marcos rejected the hand extended by a great power, accepted $100 billion from the United States, took possession of retired American warships, and built a navy equipped with the Aegis system. It has deployed forces to the Strait of Hormuz, voluntarily assuming the role of a U.S. military ally. And now it intends to arm its military with Korean-made weapons and fighter jets.”

Deputy Director Chen Hao of the Latin America Bureau looked around the conference room.

“In effect, a new American military ally has been born in the Caribbean.”

Lan Zhiming spoke.

“We'll need to send Choi Yu-jin a direct warning.”

“A warning isn't enough.”

Chen Hao spoke firmly.

“We need retaliation. Other countries are watching. If San Marcos isn't made to pay for rejecting China's hand, countries will start turning away from the Belt and Road Initiative one after another.”

The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop.

“How do you intend to make them pay?”

Chen Hao raised a finger.

“First, I intend to use the United Nations.”

Chen Hao pulled out a document.

“San Marcos has no National Assembly. At a reeducation facility called Tortilla Farm, workers, including foreigners, are effectively subjected to forced labor. One hundred eighty thousand Venezuelan workers are confined to construction sites and farms without freedom of movement.”

Chen Hao placed the document on the table.

“We intend to raise the issue of human rights. We will request that the UN Human Rights Council investigate forced labor and the dictatorial regime in San Marcos. We'll focus the international community's attention on San Marcos's darker side. Europe is already hostile toward San Marcos over the Hormuz deployment, so it shouldn't be difficult.”

The officials nodded.

“Second, we intend to wage a diplomatic war.”

“A diplomatic war?”

“Yes. We'll brand San Marcos as an American lackey and isolate it diplomatically. There happen to be many countries in Latin America that are friendly toward China, so I believe it will prove highly effective.”

Vice Minister Lan Zhiming nodded at the strategy of tightening the noose around San Marcos without striking it directly.

“That makes sense. Good. Proceed.”

“Yes, sir.”

And so, just as the enormous nation of China began extending its claws toward the tiny Caribbean country, our Yu-jin was...

“Your Excellency, when performing a downward strike, keep your center of gravity low, plant your lower body firmly, then use centrifugal force to swing through in a single motion.”

“Like this?”

Sword in hand, the one he'd received from Drump, he was receiving swordsmanship training from Isabella.

*****

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