Chapter 151: The Science Teacher Who Fell into Joseon (3)
Choi Seung-yong spent time with his family while beginning the construction of ships.
Every three months, he visited his older brothers to check if there were any problems and to gauge the mood among the people.
Fortunately, because they had opened the national treasury to relieve the people’s concerns about food, there were no signs of rebellion.
At the same time, he prepared for the railroad project and began clearing a path eastward.
His plan was to build ships and head to the American continent.
First, he loaded people and materials onto steam vehicles and set out toward the East Sea.
The destination was Yangyang.
Upon arrival, the blacksmiths and architects hurriedly began constructing a massive steel mill.
“How long do you think it will take?”
“Roughly speaking, about three years. If we were doing it in Hanyang, it might take a bit less… but considering the materials and the location…”
They couldn’t bring every single blacksmith, and a new steel mill had to be built from scratch, so the time required doubled.
But transporting ships built in Seoul all the way to Yangyang would undoubtedly take even longer.
“No helping it. I’ve already spoken to Hanyang about the railroad project, so Pil-gyu, let’s you and I focus on building the ships.”
“Yes, Grand Prince.”
Then, a good idea suddenly flashed through Choi Seung-yong’s mind.
‘Since there’s no time to waste, how about we just take the ironclads we’ve already been building in Joseon and go to America? By around this time, the British should be starting to fight the Indians anyway.’
Joseon didn’t have many ships.
Because they had focused their strength on the army to deal with Ming and the Later Jin, there hadn’t been time to build a navy.
Of course, that didn’t mean there were no alternatives.
The solution was simple: occupy Japan and use their ships.
‘After all, what you receive should be returned in kind.’
This time, Joseon hadn’t been plundered by Japan, but in the era Choi Seung-yong originally came from, they had suffered countless invasions.
And as an island nation, Japan had no choice but to develop advanced shipbuilding.
‘I wonder how many ships they have…’
Japan had already accepted Western culture early on and achieved considerable technological progress.
If they had won the Imjin War, Japan might have become the dominant power in Asia far earlier.
But Joseon had Yi Sun-sin and a science teacher from the future, so they failed.
To them, he—who knew both future science and history—was practically a god.
Now, everything they possessed had fallen into Choi Seung-yong’s grasp.
“Pil-gyu.”
“Yes?”
“I just thought of a great idea.”
“A great idea?”
“We’re going to invade Japan, take all their ships, and then head to America.”
“Japan… you mean the country of Wa? And what is this ‘America’ place?”
“Yes, Wa. America? It’s way over there—on the huge continent opposite Joseon. A land of gold.”
“Are we… going to war?”
“If they resist, yes.”
Twelve years ago, the only weapons Jung Pil-gyu knew were spears and swords.
But now, with just a twitch of a finger, weapons existed that could spew fire and kill people, animals—any living thing.
“To be honest… I’m a little scared.”
“Afraid the weapons will end up devouring us instead?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry. In time, even these weapons will become useless.”
“What do you mean…?”
“There are things like that.”
As he spoke, Choi Seung-yong gave a bitter smile, thinking of nuclear weapons.
Once the Manhattan Project began and the age of nuclear arms arrived, no one would easily start a war again.
‘Well… by then I’ll already be long dead anyway…’
Choi Seung-yong steeled himself and summoned the soldiers.
“We are going to attack Japan.”
“Uoooooooh!”
The soldiers, who had suffered for so long, roared in response.
“Send word to Admiral Yi Sun-sin to prepare for war.”
“Yes, Grand Prince.”
With that, Choi Seung-yong returned to Hanyang to make final preparations for the invasion of Japan and reunited with his family.
Back home, he called out to Kim Ji-hyun, who was playing with the child.
“Wife.”
“Yes, Husband.”
“Have you heard of the ‘American Dream’?”
“Pardon? What is that…?”
“Would you follow me out of Joseon to settle in a new land? If you do, I’ll give you half the world.”
At Choi Seung-yong’s words, Kim Ji-hyun answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“How could your wife not follow wherever her husband goes?”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Hearing her willingness to follow him to America, Choi Seung-yong tightly embraced Kim Ji-hyun.
“But what if I had said I wouldn’t go?”
“I’d be too regretful to give up… so I’d probably stay in Joseon and send someone else instead?”
“I see… More importantly, half the world, huh… I’m looking forward to it.”
“Ah… uh…”
After some time passed and he received the king’s permission to occupy Japan, Choi Seung-yong immediately boarded a ship and set sail for Japan.
Fortunately, conquering Japan didn’t take very long.
A few shells fired from the ship were enough to automatically clear the way for them.
Arriving at the capital of Wa fully armed, Choi Seung-yong came face-to-face with the shogun of the Edo period.
“Hey, starting today, this place is Joseon.”
“Pardon?”
“Want to die?”
Bang!
He fired one shot from the revolver into the sky, and the shogun immediately bowed his head.
“I… I surrender.”
“Good. Don’t worry. If you behave, I’ll make sure you eat well and live well. So, I’m taking all the ships in Japan, got it?”
Just as he had done in Ming and the Later Jin, Choi Seung-yong enacted a law in Wa that from now on, only Hangul could be used.
This was simply returning the favor Japan had once inflicted.
“First, erase their language. No matter what, to prevent division later on, they need to become one.”
He had to unify them so that in the future they wouldn’t break away from Joseon and attack.
But the difference was that he minimized oppression.
“Got it? Rewards and punishments will be clear. But no killing. No torture. Treat those who use Hangul generously so others will envy them… We need to turn them into Joseon people as much as possible.”
“Yes! Grand Prince.”
Leaving behind trustworthy people in Japan, Choi Seung-yong set off for America.
“Japanese ships really do sail well.”
After transferring the weapons onto Japanese vessels, they immediately headed for America.
Joseon’s strongest general—
Along with Yi Sun-sin.
After three months of grueling sailing, they finally arrived on American soil.
“Phew… It’s been months since we last saw land.”
“Feels like I’m alive again.”
The soldiers, along with the blacksmiths and technicians, all wore relieved expressions.
“All right. We settle here and rapidly expand our territory.”
Choi Seung-yong gave everyone a few days to recover from fatigue before immediately beginning territorial expansion.
After a month of expanding territory,
They finally encountered the British who were fighting the natives.
Explosions of gunpowder echoed from all directions, and Choi Seung-yong turned to Yi Sun-sin, who was standing beside him in a daze, and spoke.
“What are you doing? Push them back.”
“Ah! Yes! Grand Prince. All forces, advance. Annihilate the enemy.”
At Choi Seung-yong’s command, steam tanks and steam vehicles moved forward, sweeping away the relatively nearby British forces.
The American natives—the Indians—who witnessed this
Mistook it for help coming to their aid and approached Choi Seung-yong.
“Thank you for saving us. We are the people of this land…”
But in response to the incomprehensible words of the Indian, what met them was the cold touch of metal.
“What are you saying? You kneel too.”
When he pressed the barrel of the revolver to the Indian representative’s head, the man hurriedly dropped to his knees.
“From now on, this place is Joseon territory. So cooperate nicely, yeah?”
***
With Choi Seung-yong’s chilling words, the movie came to an end.
As the film finished, the audience showed a variety of reactions.
Some smiled.
Some yawned.
Some wore displeased expressions.
“It’s definitely a movie that’s going to be very divisive…”
Kim Si-woo knew it too.
‘Peerless Joseon’ was a film that would only really work in Korea.
But that didn’t matter.
He had written it with exactly that in mind from the beginning.
What worried him now, though, was the expression on Arimura Noa’s face beside him.
She currently looked extremely displeased.
Kim Si-woo thought it was understandable for her to feel that way.
Even if it wasn’t her, anyone who wasn’t Korean would surely feel uncomfortable.
“Are you okay?”
“Hm? Ah… yes. I just have a lot on my mind.”
In response to Kim Si-woo’s concern, Arimura Noa bowed her head slightly as she answered.
Arimura Noa knew she felt bad, but she also understood that, thinking about what Japan had done in the past, she had no right to complain.
As each of them was lost in their own thoughts, Jung Se-yeon, who had been sitting nearby, interjected.
“Are you going to have dinner with me tonight? We promised a one-on-one fan meeting, remember?”
“Ah… shall we?”
As the closing credits finished rolling and people began standing up from their seats, they shared their various impressions. Jung Se-yeon, sitting nearby, also gave Kim Si-woo her thoughts.
“The movie really turned out well.”
“It’s all thanks to the actors’ incredible performances. There aren’t many who can pull off a character that’s both comically over-the-top and genuinely serious like that.”
Indeed, if this movie became a success, more than half the credit would go to Choi Seung-yong’s acting.
“I should bring him a gift later.”
“Got it. But first, let’s shake off these people, okay?”
“Huh?”
Jung Se-yeon glanced around with a weary expression—at the people stealing furtive looks at Kim Si-woo, and at Arimura Noa who was sticking close by his side.
“Sigh… fine.”
Kim Si-woo looked at Arimura Noa as if he had made up his mind and spoke.
“Noa-ssi. Why don’t you head back first today?”
“Ah… yes.”
Arimura Noa, who clearly had a lot on her mind, simply nodded at his words without protest.
“Okay then, let’s hurry and escape before those people catch up.”
Jung Se-yeon spotted Hong Soo-yeon and the other actresses being swarmed by people, grabbed Kim Si-woo’s hand, and quickly slipped out of the theater.
Once they were outside, Jung Se-yeon stared blankly at Kim Si-woo.
“You brought your car, right?”
“Ah… yes.”
Only then did Kim Si-woo remember that Jung Se-yeon had come with her manager. He led her to his car.
Once they were inside, Kim Si-woo asked her,
“Did you let your manager know?”
“I texted them. Come on, let’s go already.”
“Where to?”
“I originally wanted to go to your place, Writer-nim… but since someone else is staying there, let’s go to my house today instead.”
Jung Se-yeon entered her home address into Kim Si-woo’s navigation system.
“All set.”
“Got it. We’re heading out then.”
Kim Si-woo stepped on the accelerator and drove toward Jung Se-yeon’s house.
A short while later, upon arriving at Jung Se-yeon’s place, Kim Si-woo found himself seeing her in a whole new light—for entirely different reasons.
“As expected of Korea’s top star.”
“I’ve wanted to live in a nice house ever since I was little.”
Jung Se-yeon’s home was an apartment in Cheongdam-dong—one notorious for being among the most expensive in the area.
“I get it.”
“Shall we go in?”
True to its price tag, the apartment required fingerprint recognition from the entrance all the way to the elevator.
There were even young security guards on duty 24/7—security here was clearly top-tier.
After quite a bit of effort to reach her unit, Kim Si-woo was once again impressed by the luxurious interior.
While Kim Si-woo looked around the house, Jung Se-yeon threw herself onto the sofa the moment they arrived.
“Ugh… so tired. Going out is seriously exhausting…”
She let out her fatigue in a way that made it hard to believe how she had managed all her broadcasting activities until now.
“Ah! Writer-nim. How about we drop the formal speech from now on?”
“Huh?”
Kim Si-woo, who had been wandering around admiring the house, froze in surprise at Jung Se-yeon’s sudden suggestion.
“I mean, Soo-yeon does it, Ji-young unnie does it… it feels like I’m the only one still speaking formally.”
“Ah…”
The thought of casually dropping honorifics with Jung Se-yeon—once an idol beloved by most men in Korea and still one of the country’s most influential top stars—felt strangely disconnected from reality.
“Could we maybe take it slow on that? It might feel a bit awkward to do it all of a sudden…”
“Ehhh, fine then. In that case, shall we do the fan meeting we talked about earlier?”
“Fan meeting… what kind exactly…?”
“Well, about that…”
And so, a completely different kind of one-on-one fan meeting began.
Right there, in the celebrity’s own home.
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TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining chapters are available on My Patreon Premium tier and Plus Tier, but if you want to read my other 5 translated novels, join the Premium Tier
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
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