Chapter 82: Artificial Sun
The unification was declared and the North and South were practically merged, but not much had changed.
The surveillance system around the demilitarized zone remained the same, and the North Korean residents still lacked the freedom to relocate.
People’s attention was now focused on what the government would do.
It was not an easy task for a country like South Korea to absorb North Korea.
Even the unification of West and East Germany, which had a much better situation, had all kinds of side effects and had to collect a unification tax for 30 years.
And most of the infrastructure in North Korea was garbage in the eyes of South Korea.
The roads, sewers, buildings, and everything else were almost nonexistent, requiring a huge amount of resources.
That meant that the South Korean people had to bear a heavy tax burden.
―It was good until unification, but what now? The North Korean residents are no different from beggars. We have to feed them.
―The facilities in North Korea are useless. It’s better to demolish them all.
―First of all, we have to collect and dispose of their weapons.
Yu Ji-ha established the North Korean Reconstruction Committee.
He was the chairman and various experts participated in the reconstruction of North Korea.
“There has been a lot of talk, but the most urgent thing right now is control over the residents. How is the census going?”
“Currently, the census of most cities except for mountainous areas has been completed. It amounts to about 17 million people.”
“That’s much less than expected.”
The important thing was that most of them were addicted to drugs.
The UN investigation agency reported that about a third of North Korean residents had experienced drugs, and Arma reported 45%.
Almost half of them had experienced drugs.
It was also a problem that most of the residents were infected with parasites.
North Korea now had to start with saving the residents rather than reconstruction.
Yu Ji-ha looked at the map of North Korea and said.
“To save the residents, we need to establish a control system. We will install 100 detention facilities in mountainous areas outside the cities. The locations are…”
The construction of detention facilities and supply plans were devised.
It would not be easy to move the residents, but it had to be done.
It was almost impossible to control them in a scattered state.
“We will stop all commercial activities and abolish the currency. And all of North Korea is owned by the Republic of Korea government. All rights before the division are invalid.”
They were all measures that would cause a commotion.
Yu Ji-ha drove a nail into it.
“We will close the border for at least 10 years and maintain a rationing system. We will destroy all infrastructure and build everything from scratch.”
This was fine.
Since there was virtually no facility in North Korea anyway, it was a reasonable argument to build anew.
But where would he get the money for that?
The budget of the Korean government was obvious, and it had already spent a huge amount of war expenses.
There was also a huge national debt that had not been resolved, and it was difficult to increase the budget any more.
Unification tax was inevitable, and additional funds or national debt issuance were needed.
The UN and other international organizations would help, but it would be far from enough to operate all of North Korea.
People looked at Yu Ji-ha’s mouth only.
“I think I’ll make some money now.”
“···”
Then what about the money he made so far?
As of September 2028, nuclear fusion research around the world was in a stagnant stage.
Research funds continued to be invested, but they failed to produce a blanket that could properly breed tritium, which was important.
There were also many problems that were hard to solve right away.
Even using superconducting unobtanium supplied by Silla Group, commercial power generation was stagnant.
It might be possible if technology advanced further, but it was concluded that it was impossible within 10 years.
Therefore, all nuclear fusion researchers around the world pinned their hopes on the ion beam fusion reactor No. 1 being built by Solar Fusion.
He was confident that he could develop a nuclear fusion reactor that could achieve commercial power generation within two years, and that deadline was approaching.
If this year passes, ion beam fusion reactor is virtually considered a development failure.
However, according to news leaked by several countries, Solar Fusion has already completed the development of a demonstration reactor.
They have almost finished developing nuclear fusion reactors up to 5GW, not to mention 50MW.
There was so little information that it made researchers anxious these days.
Suddenly an announcement was posted on the Solar Fusion homepage.
―5GW ion beam fusion reactor development completed.
―We plan to invite related parties to the upcoming technology demonstration.
There were only two sentences, so the researchers were confused.
―Did they really finish developing a 5GW nuclear fusion reactor? Without any information disclosure?
―5GW is equivalent to the output of five decent nuclear reactors. It looks quite small in the data, but I wonder if it’s possible…
―If they have 100 of these nuclear fusion reactors, they can replace all the nuclear power plants in the world. It’s an unbelievable output.
―The construction cost may not be reduced much, but it has a tremendous advantage of having almost no radioactivity and finally achieving carbon neutrality.
Most of the researchers made hopeful observations, but in Europe except Germany and China, they looked pessimistic.
―Two papers submitted, no international seminars or cross-checking. Can we trust such a research team?
―Artificial intelligence was heavily involved in output control, but I doubt their intention to cover up the data. There is a trend these days that people blindly believe anything if it’s artificial intelligence.
―It’s lamentable that such a selfish and stingy company is at the forefront of nuclear fusion research.
―Nevertheless, if all this is true, it’s nothing short of a miracle. For the sake of humanity’s future, I hope it’s true…
The climate change in the world had reached an area that could no longer be ignored.
In the reality where they suffered from heat waves, floods, cold waves and snowstorms every year, they had to achieve carbon neutrality in power plants and vehicles in order to dream of the future.
In that sense, this nuclear fusion demonstration was very important.
It was a watershed for whether they could supply electricity in an environmentally friendly and economical way.
However, EU had a very bad relationship with Korea, so that was a problem.
They ignored the measures he demanded because of their pride and came to this day.
Considering the size of the EU market, they should have given in a little bit, but they showed no signs of doing so.
At this point, when the invitation to the demonstration was returned, the EU officials became nervous.
Not a single one came except for Germany.
The EU and the heads of various countries immediately discussed this situation.
―Are they really trying to cut off relations?
―Korea needs a lot of money right now. If we cancel the FTA, they will have to bow their heads.
―What if they don’t? The damage will come back to us. The living stabilization expenses we have to pay for the summer floods are enormous.
―But can’t EU bend its pride for an individual’s unreasonable treatment?
―Remember that we first forced that unreasonable treatment on Yu Ji-ha. No matter what excuse we make, we can only say that the heads at that time were crazy.
―We can’t stand it anymore. There are opinions among member states that we should negotiate with Korea individually.
―That means the dissolution of EU. I will never allow it.
―Allow it or not, when did Android come out? We haven’t even seen it yet. We’re going to be left out of technological development at this rate.
That was the biggest problem.
Korea seemed to achieve unification smoothly and develop technology steadily.
Not only nuclear fusion reactors, but also rumors that they would soon proceed with the moon base they announced before.
But EU was completely excluded from all these processes.
They could only watch as the US, Russia, Germany and Japan shared data and built nuclear fusion reactors.
Especially France and Italy, which had many car companies, suffered a catastrophic collapse of their premium electric car line due to not being able to supply black metal in time.
It was not yet possible to say that it had a big impact on the economy, but once nuclear fusion became a reality, the aftermath would be no joke.
Italy, who couldn’t stand it anymore, made an ultimatum.
―If the executive branch fails to improve relations with Yu Ji-ha this time, we will withdraw from EU.
As Italy stepped forward, many countries followed suit passively.
And so not only Europe but also the whole world’s attention was focused on Korea.
The survival of EU could also be decided depending on the outcome of this nuclear fusion demonstration.
Yu Ji-ha himself didn’t seem to care much though.
On September 11th, more than 100 countries flew charter planes to Korea at once.
…
…
Silla Group Solar Fusion’s first research building was bustling with dignitaries from various countries who visited from abroad.
From Russian President Putin to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Vice President, they met and shook hands and greeted each other.
They watched drones equipped with ion thrusters flying around and entered the research building with the guidance of androids.
Russian President Putin spoke to Yu Ji-ha, who was walking next to him.
“Those drones, they seem to be quite active in Korea.”
“They haven’t been fully introduced yet, and they are in the testing phase.”
“What kind of test are you talking about?”
“They are to assist the police. The artificial intelligence filters the video taken by the drone and picks out the risk factors. Then it contacts the police immediately.”
“That’s an amazing artificial intelligence.”
Putin looked at the drone passing by with a surprised face.
This was enough to replace the police rather than assist them.
They monitor for danger while flying around and call androids if there is a problem.
If artificial intelligence handles all this, there is no need for people.
It’s a surveillance system that only appears in Sci-fi movies.
It could also be used to control the people in a different direction.
It’s an ideal world that every dictator dreams of.
But the policy that Yu Ji-ha advocated was in a different direction.
He lifted all the internet sites that had been blocked in Korea until then and disbanded the Broadcasting and Communications Commission.
He even tried to decriminalize gambling and prostitution, causing a lot of backlash.
But his determination was firm.
―The state does not censor personal preferences. It only monitors and punishes if crimes occur in the process.
He used the highway as an example, setting the maximum speed at 200km, but immediately confiscating the car if he drove recklessly.
It was a somewhat unusual thing to think that ordinary dictators would try to apply all kinds of regulations.
‘Either he’s confident or he has another purpose.’
President Putin thought it was both.
Soon, the party arrived in front of the nuclear fusion reactor.
The spherical reactor chamber was much larger than the demonstration reactor, and the ion beam launcher was also quite thick.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked.
“My friend. Can I ask you how much it costs to build a nuclear fusion reactor No. 1?”
“Currently, we estimate it at about 10 billion dollars, including ancillary facilities.”
“That’s expensive.”
“But it’s worth more than that.”
“Well…”
With nuclear fusion reactor No. 1, they could replace nuclear power plants altogether.
There was almost no radioactive contamination and the decommissioning cost could be greatly reduced.
Considering that risk, the cost of 10 billion dollars was not too high.
Moreover, this fusion reactor was developed with the initial technology.
Considering the future development, there was a need to introduce related infrastructure in advance.
The visitors were thinking about various things when a broadcast came out of the control room.
“We will start the demonstration soon. Please take your seats.”
As everyone sat down, Director Ahn Yong-hoon came to Yu Ji-ha and reported.
“Everything is ready. We can start soon.”
Yu Ji-ha nodded his head.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“What did I do? I just walked the path that Lucia paved for me.”
He could guess his efforts from the fact that he silently walked that path.
“Let’s start.”
Soon, the whole research building began to buzz.
A huge amount of electricity was supplied and entered the countdown to ignite the nuclear fusion reactor.
On the monitor that the visitors were watching, a finely made CG video was displayed.
As dozens of ion beams heated the fuel pellet in the chamber, a unique inward phenomenon occurred and plasma was formed.
“Wow…”
“It’s finally starting.”
The temperature and pressure inside the reactor reached the limit in an instant.
Now, the nuclear fusion reactor entered full operation and succeeded in maintaining it for more than 300 seconds.
More, more, more!
The visitors watched the scene of creating an artificial sun with excitement.
The ion beam fusion reactor finally completed 30 minutes of operation perfectly.
With additional facilities such as turbines for nuclear power plants, it could be used as a power plant right away.
It was a perfect success.
The visitors who had been looking at each other started clapping when President Putin stood up and clapped.
The world’s first artificial sun was born.
…
―Solar Fusion’s ion beam fusion reactor successfully operated for 30 minutes.
―The power input during the fuel ignition process by ion beam is only 1/20 of the output. A stable commercial power generation level is possible.
―One nuclear fusion reactor facility can replace existing nuclear power plants. The construction cost is estimated at about 10 billion dollars.
―The amount of radiation leaked during power generation is very low… The dream energy source that solves both environmental and carbon problems finally appears.
The demonstration ended successfully and the media from various countries competed to report it.
Most of them praised it as opening a new future for humanity.
Some scientists argued that the world should join forces and replace all power plants with nuclear fusion reactors to cope with the rapidly changing climate change.
“It’s 2030, but we’re still far from achieving true carbon neutrality. It’s because of economic reasons… And now we have a nuclear fusion reactor that solves that economic problem.”
A reporter pushed a microphone toward him.
“So, doctor, can we drastically reduce carbon emissions with a nuclear fusion reactor?”
“We have to think not only about nuclear fusion reactors but also ion thrusters here. We have to change everything we ride.”
“Exactly what are they?”
“Cars, trains, airplanes, ships, anything you can think of.”
“Currently, ion thrusters are only produced by one company. Is it okay to monopolize them?”
“If not, we’ll have to watch as the earth’s environment is ruined. We’re already paying the price for that.”
During the Second Korean War, Europe, Middle East, India and other places suffered from high temperatures that were not enough to be called heat waves.
In Baghdad, it hit 57 degrees Celsius, which was historically high, and more than 4,000 people died of heat stroke in France.
Now winter comes and they will suffer from severe cold and snowstorms as if nothing happened.
The US and Australia were no exception, and many areas were suffering from wildfires all year round.
The area of ??the wildfire was so large that they gave up extinguishing it.
Since the situation was like this, everyone agreed that carbon emissions should be suppressed.
The problem was how to suppress it, but finally a solution appeared.
Researchers from Korea, US, Russia, Germany and Japan who confirmed the data from the demonstration said almost the same thing.
―We have to build nuclear fusion power plants as soon as possible.
―Even if there are some problems, we can solve them after introducing them first.
They argued this because helium-3, which is the main raw material, was not easy to supply.
Unless Starfield’s Moonlight Project starts in earnest, helium-3 can only be supplied in limited quantities.
So you have to build it first and stamp it to have an advantage in negotiations.
―The good thing is that the Moonlight Project will be operational by the end of the year.
―I suspect that the schedule was delayed because South Korea absorbed North Korea.
Such opinions gathered and were delivered to Yu Ji-ha.
He said he would push the project as soon as possible and also said that he needed a lot of money.
“As I said before, astronomical amounts of money and materials are consumed for the construction of nuclear fusion power plants and moon bases. It’s time for international cooperation.”
International cooperation meant nothing but money, more money.
Yu Ji-ha hated organizations like IAEA that would interfere with him for no reason.
Even at this demonstration, they made all kinds of fuss and annoyed him by inspecting the radiation leakage.
He submitted enough data, but the inspectors insisted on visiting in person.
It would have been understandable if it was an ordinary reactor, but it was a nuclear fusion reactor. He didn’t understand why they were so worried.
Anyway, Solar Fusion’s ion beam fusion reactor passed all the procedures for power plant construction.
They were all waiting for their throats to dry, so they simplified the process.
On the other hand, Europe except Germany had to suck their fingers and watch.
The world looked at EU and Yu Ji-ha and said they were terrible.
―They endured sanctions for over a year because of their pride, EU or Yu Ji-ha who doesn’t give a glance.
―The more time passes, the more EU will suffer. There are rumors that Italy has already contacted Korea individually.
―We need to recover relations with Yu Ji-ha as soon as possible to get on board with the fourth industrial revolution.
If you ask 100 intellectuals what the fourth industrial revolution is, you will get 100 different answers.
But if you change the question to where its starting point is, there is only one answer.
Korea, or more narrowly, Yu Ji-ha, the owner of Silla Group.
However, EU had a hard time joining hands with him right away.
The people’s support was enough, but he was a great dictator because he did not go through elections from the perspective of EU.
When the Korean National Assembly was paralyzed and he seized power, EU poured out tremendous criticism.
Especially France mentioned Hitler and the relationship was so bad that there was speculation that it had collapsed.
So when Italy secretly contacted him and Britain sent a special envoy, they had no choice but to watch with tears in their eyes.
Some in the French academic community urged a quick summit meeting, but the media and citizens showed strong rejection.
―A summit meeting with a dictator? That’s impossible.
―France’s pride will not be broken by a mere nuclear fusion reactor.
Even though they had already had normal summit meetings with Russia and others.
Anyway or not, Yu Ji-ha was only interested in money and materials coming into Korea.
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