October 16, 2020, 04:30

  President’s residence in the Blue House, Jongro-ku, Seoul.

  The president quietly sneaked out of his bedroom so as not to awaken his first lady, Oh Eun-ha, and went out into the garden in the front yard. Then, he put a cigarette in his mouth, even though he had quit ten years ago. The cigarette was from the secretary staff that had gone with him to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Command Center yesterday afternoon.

  In the dark garden, the cold outside air felt refreshing, and it cleared his head. The president finally lit the cigarette he had placed in his mouth and took a deep drag, then puffed out smoke while looking at the bright stars.

  “Do I bring our nation into the inferno of war during my short term, or do I just stand and watch while China takes over North Korea……” he thought.

  The president, who had no choice but to agonize over this dilemma, had come out to the garden late at night to soothe his concerns and smoke a cigarette. But, the choice was obvious. War was the only option. That was why he felt somber. He had to ask for support from his people and explain to them the reasons for war……

  “I’m scared. I’m very frightened. I will be the one who brings the war into our peninsula. I’m the embodiment of evil, trying to annihilate people through war.

  I’m a man who shakes hands with war to lengthen his term. I’m not scared of these types of criticisms. I’m only scared that sons, fathers, husbands, and many other innocent lives will be lost,” he thought.

  When thoughts like this came to his mind, the president’s eyes filled with tears. For an hour he walked back and forth and organized his thoughts.

  October 16, 2020, 09:30

  B2 Bunker, Yongsan-ku, Seoul (ROK Armed Forces Joint Command Center Strategy Briefing Room)

  Inside the sixty-square-meter strategy briefing room, all military commanders and all four Chiefs of Staff from each of the four armies were present. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that every commander from the entire military was present and that the room was completely filled with stars (the ranking symbol for generals in the Republic of Korea’s military is a star). The reason for their attendance was to devise a strategy for an attack against China, the new military power on the rise. This would be the nation’s first time attacking a foreign nation since its founding.

  Operations Planning Director of the Joint Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-general Na Tae-yoon, made the opening statement. “This operation has been dubbed ‘Rise of Goguryeo.’ Starting today, we will refer to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army as the Chinese military, so please keep this in mind. Before we establish the strategy for ‘Rise of Goguryeo,’ we will shortly brief the current situation with the Chinese military.

  “Please direct your attention to the screen. This is the intel we have on the Chinese military forces stationed in the Man-ju area and on the shores of the Ap-rok river.”


  When the screen lit up, the notated map that was shown to the president yesterday appeared.

  “I will briefly explain the intel we obtained and analyzed from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Based on their current movements, the 39th Army Group will lead the invasion, and the 16th Army Group will make the second charge via the Baek-du Mountain and Du-man River. The 40th Army Group will aid the two attacking forces along with the 38th Army Group, which is considered the most powerful unit in the Chinese military. In total, four army groups will be deployed, which is roughly the size of six corps of our own forces.”


  The Operations Planning Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pointed to the various places on the map with a laser pointer and succinctly explained the intel. “First, we will go over the 39th Army Group and its subordinate forces. The 39th Army Group and its subordinate forces, which have moved along the Ap-rok river, 70 km out from its shores, consist of mobile forces. As shown on the map, its subordinate forces are the 9th Aviation Brigade, the 116th Vehicle Infantry Division, the 117th Mechanized Infantry Division, 190th Mechanized Infantry Division, the 3rd Armored Division, and the artillery brigade and air defense brigade.”


  The 39th Army Group was nearly the size of Korea’s two military corps, the fact of which caused a stir in the audience.

  “Second, we will explain the organization of the 16th Army Group. The 16th Army Group has gathered along the Baek-du Mountain and the Du-man River, and it has the 9th Infantry Division, 32nd Infantry Division, 46th Vehicle Infantry Division, 47th Vehicle Infantry Division, 48th Infantry Brigade, 68th Infantry Brigade, 4th Armored Division, artillery brigade, air defense brigade, communications brigade, engineer brigade, and an anti-tank brigade under its command. It’s capable of invading rough plains and mountains.”


  For the next twenty minutes, a briefing on the 40th and 38th Army Groups was held, and when it was over the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came up to the podium.

  “According to our predictions, the Chinese military and its subordinate forces will be ready to deploy within fourteen days. I would like to say a few words before we devise a strategy. First, this operation, ‘Rise of Goguryeo,’ will start with a preemptive strike. Second, no matter what happens, we cannot fight within North Korea. All of our battles must be fought past the Ap-rok border, inside China. Third, there is no need to show mercy. I will take full responsibility for the operation, so any strategy is fine. Suggest any plan that is bold and unrestrained.”


  When the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stepped away from the podium, ideas poured in from various military commanders about a strategy for the “Rise of Goguryeo.” The fifty or so military commanders who spoke must have wanted to use this opportunity to avenge their ancestors, who had suffered countless invasions. They spent three days and nights devising strategies for operation “Rise of Goguryeo.”


  October 17, 2020, 04:30

  White Room on the 2nd floor of the Blue House main building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

  The president had invited various party representatives to the Blue House and was conversing with them over tea. It was slightly awkward meeting with all the party leaders before the election, but since the president had invited them, all the representatives hid their discomfort and conversed with each other.

  “I apologize for taking so long to invite you here.”


  The president, who had been talking to representatives about the South and North federal unification process and the upcoming election, set his cold cup of tea down on the table and looked at all the party members sitting across from him.

  Party Representative Lee Jae-min, who was from the opposing Harmonious Innovation Party, could read the president’s expression, as they had shared sorrows and joys together while in the same party. He asked, “Mr. President, was there something you wanted to speak to us about?”


  “I have gathered all the party representatives here to speak about an important issue.”


  Representative Goo Jin-hyuck from the United Nationalist Party immediately asked out of curiosity, “Mr. President, you sound as if you’re troubled by something. Please tell us what it is.”


  “Yes, I will. China’s current movements are suspicious.”


  “Is this about their reaction after the illegal fishing incident?”


  The party representatives all spoke lightly about the issue, as they thought it involved the trivial matter of China’s economic and diplomatic issues with the fishing boat collision.

  “Mr. President, the Chinese have always been bold like this, haven’t they? No need to fret, sir. Our nation isn’t the same nation as it was before, is it?” Representative Yoo Hyun-young, who was wearing heavy gold-framed glasses and was from the Welfare Korea Party, laughed so much while speaking that his cheeks shook.

  “It’s more than that. China has deployed and stationed five of its army groups to North Korea’s border at the Ap-rok river.”


  All four party representatives had a blank look on their faces, and some shook their heads and shifted their gazes, trying to fully assess the president’s words.

  Party Representative Lee Jae-min, who was the first to come to his senses, asked urgently, “They’ve placed military forces near the border? Are they going to attack North Korea?”


  “That’s right. Based on the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s analysis, they are preparing for war, and the NIS Department of Foreign Intelligence reported that the hardliners, with China’s President, Xi Jin Ping, at the center, have gone into wartime.”


  Representative Yoo Hyun-young leaned back in his chair, his mouth hanging open, and stared at the ceiling. “What should we do?”


  “What do you think, Mr. President?” Representative Lee Jae-min asked.

  “I’ll speak frankly. I cannot stand by and watch as China invades North Korea. We are on the brink of federal unification between South and North Korea.”


  Representative Kim Il-ho from the Unified Citizen’s Party, who had only been listening up to this point, asked, as if to get to the crux of the matter, “Does that mean war, Mr. President?”


  “I won’t deny it as a possibility. I would like to avoid war if at all possible, but if we have no choice but to go to war, then I will give my all to winning it.”


  They say a fat man is cowardly. Representative Yoo Hyun-young began to sweat profusely, and panted and moved his fat body around. “That cannot happen, Mr. President,” he opposed. “A war in the Korean peninsula? All the achievements we’ve made will turn to dust.”


  Representative Kim Il-ho from the Unified Citizen’s Party said what the president wanted to say with fiery eyes. “Then are you going to stand idly by and watch while China invades North Korea?”


  “What do you mean? I didn’t say I would just stand idle and watch……”


  The president spoke in a calm voice to Representative Yoo Hyun-young, as if he understood his meaning. “Representative Yoo Hyun-young, I fully understand. I myself have just said that I would like to avoid war if possible. But, if we give up on North Korea, then North Korea will fall into the hands of China forever, and we’ll lose all hope of unification.”


  The two other party representatives must have started to worry, as they all fell silent. After a few minutes, Representative Goo Jin-hyuck from the United Nationalist Party, which was expected to be most opposed to the idea, quietly spoke to the President. “Mr. President, how can we help you?”


  The candidate from the Unified Nationalist Party was toe-to-toe with the candidate from the ruling party, and was likely to be elected in the presidential election. However, this situation with China could affect the election, so the president had expected the Unified Nationalist Party to oppose him entirely. However, the representative from the party must have valued the future of Korea more than the election, because he offered his support with earnest eyes.

  “Thank you, representatives. And for the rest of the party representatives, I beg you as your president, despite my term being short on days, to pass the bill for the declaration of war as quickly as possible.”


  After the four representatives of the opposing party and the ruling party met, Congress passed the bill for war after four days, all while maintaining tight security throughout the proceedings. The Korean government alerted First Vice-Chairman Kim Yo-jung in North Korea about the news via the hotline. With the covert cooperation between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, the plan to evacuate some of the North Korean forces along the Ap-rok river, while also procuring roads for the swift movement of South Korean forces, began. The president visited the command center for the Joint Chiefs of Staff again to look at the strategies for operation “Rise of Goguryeo.”


  October 23, 2020, 14:30

  B2 Bunker in Yongsan-ku, Seoul (ROK Military Joint Command Center)

  On the table in the command center was a two-hundred-page confidential document for the President and the Minister of National Defense. This document was the first draft of the operation “Rise of Goguryeo,” which military commanders had spent three days making.

  The president read the document, which had the words “Rise of Goguryeo” printed on the front, and began to click his tongue at how long it was. “This is more than I expected,” he said.

  “Yes, Mr. President. The document contains a detailed analysis of all the military strategies that will be used from the start of the war to its end.”


  The president seemed to trust Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kang Ui-sik’s confidence, because he nodded before setting down the document. The adjutant moved the console when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff gave the signal, and the screen lit up with the title “Rise of Goguryeo” displayed across it in large print.

  “We will begin the briefing for operation ‘Rise of Goguryeo.'”


  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kang Ui-sik used the podium’s laser pointer and began the briefing.