Chapter 138: < Protect – Episode 137 – World Class [1] >

It took 30 minutes for the noise to settle down and for the talk show to finally begin. Ahn Soo Ho’s personal connections were diverse and included everyone from politicians, businessmen, celebrities, and foreigners, to former gangsters and high school students. The show that Kim Soo Jung was doing was different from a lot of other shows people were used to. First of all, there was no famous host. That was because Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t the guest, but the host.

Once he finally read the script, he was shocked.

The first guests were Chairman Kim Dae San of Daesan Group, Russian ambassador Vitali Andropov, American ambassador Pamela Woods, Japanese cabinet minister Shiba Yaos, Chinese ambassador Zhou Baihong, and Huxley Group’s Barbara Huxley.

When Kim Soo Jung signaled that the cameras were rolling, Ahn Soo Ho let out a deep sigh.

“What kind of talk show is this?”

“A unique one.”

It was Kim Dae San who replied to him.

“But this is interesting.”

The old man laughed like a little kid. When was his last interview? 20 years ago? 30 years ago? The higher the Daesan Group climbed in Korea, the more difficult his position got. It was taboo for him to meet with people however he wanted.

But Ahn Soo Ho was an exception.

He was still unafraid of Daesan Group, and he felt totally comfortable with Kim Dae San. There was quite an age difference, but they were just like friends. They were no different from a family. Kim Dae San thought that people were capable of kindness, but at the same, they were no different from animals.

‘Half of Daesan isn’t mine.’

Jung Mi Ja played a large role in getting Daesan to where it was today. And since she cherished Ahn Soo Ho more than her own life, it was his job to take responsibility for him.

“Well, we’re here, aren’t we? Okay! What should we talk about?”

Everyone but Ahn Soo Ho had Bluetooth earpieces in their ears and on one side of the studio were a group of interpreters. He wasn’t sure how this was going to be edited, but he was curious to see how the viewers would react to a show in English, Russian, and Japanese.

“We can’t just pass over the topic of our world’s unstable circumstances. The international society is currently suffering due to various scandals and the UN isn’t exactly doing their job. In our current state, is there a point to the international organizations?”

Pamela was the first to speak.

“Isn’t America all for the UN? I’m pretty sure it’s the States that got the most out of UN’s activities until now.”

“I can’t agree with that. Do you have any idea how much money we use for international aid?”

“You’re going to get it back later anyway. If you put it that way, I’m pretty sure it’s Japan who spends the most on international aid.”

The debate between America and Russia was fierce. If this was an official diplomatic broadcast, they wouldn’t have been able to be so honest.

“America is in a vegetative state right now. It’s largely America’s fault that there have been terrorist attacks in Europe and North America. They created NATO but can’t use it properly. As a result of the American military becoming helpless, it’s the NATO nations that are getting screwed over. You asked if there’s a point to the international organizations, right? What about NATO?”

“I’ll be honest. NATO is a military pact that was created to keep the Soviet Union in check.”

Vitali shrugged his shoulders in response to Pamela’s question.

“And it was Russia that succeeded that Soviet Union. It’s true. NATO is keeping Russia in check. And that’s because your explicit behavior of trying to get involved with Europe again really crossed the line. Just like how you can see it with Ukraine, such an extreme military dispatch is incited by Russia’s new imperialism.”

“If you put it that way, isn’t American the one trying to stress freedom and democracy all the time? It shouldn’t be the Yankees who will decide what’s right and what’s wrong.”

“We at least try to make it so that the citizens can pick the leader. We don’t just let anyone rule at the top.”

“Haha! That’s nonsense. Do you really think that people who have been oppressed have the ability to engage in proper debates? Human capability doesn’t work that way. Look at the case of America with the freedom they forced on people. What do Ukraine and Afghanistan look like now? Is that all? The Middle East, South America, and Africa are all suffering in the hands of the American army.”

“Okay! Let stop it here.”

It was Ahn Soo Ho who calmed down the Yankees and Slavs.

“What are you fighting for? I think both sides are bad. Both America and Russia are just doing whatever they want.”

“Ahem!”

“Hm.”

Everyone but the countries mentioned enjoyed the clean wrap-up.

“What do you think, old man?”

“There are two sides to national events.”

“Two sides?”

“What should a country put first? Protecting the citizens, of course. But nations end up using national security as an excuse to suppress and monitor the citizens. Suppressing and monitoring the citizens to protect them? In order for proper democracy to take place, the governmental authority needs to be minimized and they have to be thoroughly monitored.”

“Then what do you think about our country being called the Daesan Empire?”

Even the producers flinched at the very sensitive topic.

“The rich Koreans… need to be reformed.”

“Oh! Would that be okay with you?”

“Just worry about yourself. Dae Chan isn’t as small-minded as you think. We both think that if the world changes, the rich have to change with it. There’s too much vertical integration in the company culture of Korea when it comes to redistribution of profits. There are so many punks taking from in between that there’s a lot of corruption as a result.”

“Isn’t it the rich who made it that way?”

“Yeah.”

Kim Dae San acknowledged it quickly, and then Shiba Yaos interrupted.

“The reason why Japanese Korean relations can’t be cut off completely is because they exchange culture with each other. Japan and Korea are like siblings that don’t get along. They fight a lot, but they can’t split up either. Just like how Japan can’t exclude Korea in its future, Korea can’t talk about the future without involving Japan either.”

“Then let me ask you this. Who does Dokdo belong to?”

“Haha.”

He laughed in response to Ahn Soo Ho’s question.

“Do you agree, old man?”

“Yeah. Korea can’t exclude Japan when talking about the future. Our country is connected to Japan a lot more than people think. A lot of Korean companies are involved with Japanese funds and the other way around. That’s why a mutual understanding of that is needed when discussing the future relationship between Korea and Japan.”

“The same goes for us, China.”

This time, Zhou Baihong joined in.

“It’s common that our country, Korea, and Japan rely on each other. Without each other, we don’t stand a chance against the West. They talk about freedom and democracy, but white people think they’re the most superior. So Asians have to stick together.”

“With China in the center?”

“All three countries are equal.”

The Chinese ambassador answered Ahn Soo Ho’s question with a calm smile. Barbara, who was just listening quietly, knitted her brows.

“China is not rational. In that sense, Japan might be different on the inside than what they look like on the outside, but they’re better. And as for Korea, the culture is so fast that they often try to ignore custom procedures. If you ignore the procedures, problems are bound to arise. There’s definitely a lack of rationality in the Asian work culture. It’s uncivilized.”

He dissed Korea, China, and Japan all at once.

That was just the beginning. They started to talk about politics, economy, society, and culture within Korea, America, China, Russia, and Japan. Some started off as politicians and others started off as businessmen, so they brought different points of view and insight into the conversation.

They talked about everything from why presidents age quickly, why China badger on the international stage, and why the Japanese society was stiff on how to improve Korea’s national branding, and if there was a way to resolve the battle between America and Russia. The interpreters were nearly dying to try to translate Korean, English, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese. That was because they used many expressions that were hard to interpret.

Kim Soo Jung shouted at the interpreters looking back at her with troubled faces. They were going to face off with the KCC anyway. If that was the case, it wasn’t a bad idea to cause a big broadcast accident while they were at it.

‘Okay! Let’s do this!’

There was no reason for the news or a talk show to get hung up over formalities. The Korean broadcasting culture needed to let loose, be free, and try out new things. They all tried to keep the talk show a secret, but the rumors got out and the internet news started to talk about Ahn Soo Ho again.

Is Hosoo Entertainment trying to make F4 popular even though they haven’t even debuted yet? That must be how much CEO Ahn loves his little sister!

A talk show that transcends common sense? They summoned ambassadors from America, China, and Russia, as well as the Japanese cabinet minister!

They somehow managed to hold a meeting with ambassadors! How influential is Ahn Soo Ho?

Chairman Kim Dae San wasn’t the main star, but just a guest!

What the public imagined was a variety talk show they were used to, but this was close to a 100-minute long debate. However, that wasn’t all. One part of the talk show was about Ahn Soo Ho’s business, while the other part showed off his personal relationships. Kim Soo Jung prohibited mentioning details of the content, but she gave off hints of who was there.

Are Ahn Soo Ho and Jang Seol Hyun’s love story at a Hollywood scale?

‘I’ll protect my own woman!’ Hollywood racism controversy reignites!

The light and darkness of Hollywood we didn’t know of! There’s an American Hwang Min Wook list!

Sexual favors! Sextapes! A trap that lured in aspiring stars!

People knew that light always came with darkness.

The Korean entertainment industry changed a lot due to Hwang Min Wook’s list, and they were still occurring to this day. As soon as the shameful truth started to come out, what tried to hide first were political relations. The Korean society offered a warm reception to the government officials as always, but no countermeasures or legal punishments were given to the ones responsible. The candlelight vigils that took place not long ago were in vain.

But did that mean they would take place again? There was nothing saying that a terrorist attack wasn’t going to happen in this country as well. Just thinking about a bomb going off or a shooting taking place made anyone feel scared. So for the government, the citizen’s anxiety and fear was a great excuse.

The views of Christmas Eve were different. Normally, the day would have been noisy with all sorts of marketing wars between companies, but all the Koreans’ attention was focused on a broadcast. Considering the fact that shows usually took at least 2 weeks to air after filming, the fact that they aired it only 4 days afterward was unexpected.

At 6 o’clock in the evening, Gangnam was supposed to be bustling with people, but it was quiet as if it was in the middle of the night. Some stores even took the day off, and those that stayed open had everyone sitting in front of televisions instead of trying to run a business.

“Hey! It’s starting!”

< Protect – Episode 137 – World Class [1] > The end.

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