Novelist Running Through Time - Chapter 99

TL: KSD

Behind the Baekhak Arts Middle School, known for its beautiful mountain, splendid water, and fresh air, lies the (definitely not luxurious) staff training center.

In a room on the second floor, which doubles as a reception area and the chairman’s office, a strange event was unfolding.

It was not the chairman who was scolding a teacher, but the teacher who had begun to scold the chairman.

“Professor Park. If you barge in during a student consultation like this…”

“Consultation? Let me join in too. After all, this student is from our department. Why did you hold this without even informing the department head?”

Even more bizarrely, a direct descendant of the Baekhak Group’s owning family was taking a humble posture towards a mere teacher.

Park Chang-woon grumbled roughly, indicating he would speak his mind whether Baek Yi-hyun was a chaebol chairman or not.

“What? An interview?”

“Yes. It’s nothing big. Just briefly-”

“How can you casually dictate what our Moon In-seop, who is so precious, should do!”

“What?”

EP 7-Isomer

In public schools, the principal scolds the teachers, but in private schools, it’s the teachers who scold the chairman.

Surprisingly, Park Chang-woon, like an old scholar filing a complaint, groaned and pressured Chairman Baek Yi-hyun.

“Oh dear, the entire Korean literary community is doomed. All is going to collapse…”

“Um, Professor, please calm down…”

“Do I look like I’m in a state to calm down!”

He even started shouting.

It was madness suitable for a crazy person who’d call in a presidential candidate as a special lecturer to argue for more departmental budget, but surprisingly, this wasn’t Park Chang-woon acting up without reason.

It wasn’t because of some ancient, solemn rule strictly forbidding mutual infringement between departments and literature.

Nor was it because novelist Park Chang-woon was a star player who elevated the reputation of the Baekhak Arts Foundation.

The reason Park Chang-woon was speaking informally to Chairman Baek Yi-hyun.

It was simply because it had always been that way for decades.

“Hey, Yi-hyun. Is school facing tough time these days?”

“No, that’s not it, Professor…”

“Then why are you trying to make him shoot a CF on a TV show? Honestly speaking, what has the school ever done for this kid? It’s not like you’ve given him anything but now you want to exploit his fame?”

“Professor, do you really think I would exploit Author Moon just like that? Of course, I would arrange some conveniences at school awards and such……”

“Were you going to give a gold medal in a writing contest to a kid who was nominated for the Booker Prize?”

“…”

“Ugh. Pathetic. Just pathetic…”

Everyone at Baekhak Arts Middle School thinks of Park Chang-woon as the crazy bamboo flute murderer in the brown modernized hanbok, yet, he was a walking fossil with several of his works included in textbooks.

(He even had a stint as the Minister of Culture for about a week)

Thus, Park Chang-woon had connections with the founder who started the Baekhak Group with just one bookstore,

had played with Baek Yi-hyun toddling in the yard,

and crucially, he was even Chairman Baek Yi-hyun’s professor during his college years.

There was a reason why Baek Yi-hyun always respectfully addressed him as “Professor.”

Thus, the relationship between Chairman Baek Yi-hyun and Park Chang-woon was perfectly one of superior to subordinate.

“Professor, I wasn’t trying to do anything bad with Author Moon, so this is a bit too much……”

“…Yi-hyun. Taking a kid without a guardian, coaxing him into an interview, making him a school ambassador, and even planning to put him on TV, that’s generally considered a bad thing.”

“…”

“Sigh… Why did you even call a broadcasting station PD to the PR office?”

Overpowered by Park Chang-woon’s formidable aura, Chairman Baek Yi-hyun could not dare to stop him from lighting a cigarette in the chairman’s office.

The traumatic experiences of college, including overwhelming assignments and weekend hikes, hardened Chairman Baek Yi-hyun like a mouse in front of a cat.

“Chairman… I didn’t want to say this, but every time the school’s image gets bad, sending students on TV seems problematic.”

“You might be misunderstanding, Professor. I was just asking our student Moon In-seop for a simple interview…”

“Remove the PD you placed in the PR office and then talk. Also, it’s not my department, but wasn’t there a student who was showcased on TV for being good at figure skating and ended up ruining their life due to the backlash?”

“It’s good to have sports stars in the school, right?”

“But why the hell it always turn into this ridiculous ‘let’s make a star’ every time there’s a tax audit on the school!”

Chairman Baek Yi-hyun suppressed the sudden surge of frustration.

A few years ago, the fact that Park Chang-woon had summoned a presidential candidate from the same party as the current resident of the Blue House had helped him maintain his patience.

“…Now that you mention it, student Moon In-seop is missing morning classes. Please, take him away!”

* * *

Art has always been dominated by the wealthy.

Both power and culture, as forces that move people, have never ceased their attempts to control each other.

Thus, historically, art has been used as a tool of governance by the powerful, and naturally, art that opposed the regime faced oppression.

Literature was no exception.

Especially, contemporary Korean literature, which blossomed amidst the harsh climates of the Japanese Empire, North Korea, and military dictatorships, could not exclude oppression and resistance as key themes.

However, from the perspective of writers, rather than literature itself, oppression and resistance were things they wanted to keep as far away from life as possible.

Unless one is mentally disturbed, no one desires to embrace suffering and pain to produce masterpieces.

Thus, the wise writers devised a brilliant solution to escape from the oppression and tyranny of the powerful…

That was to collude with the powers!

Modern writers found a miraculous solution that by becoming part of the power before being oppressed, they could be safe.

Thus, literature withdrew its support for power. Instead of submitting to authority, it became one with power.

This was not difficult in a democratic system.

In a society where elections occur periodically, the media holds significant power. There is a reason why the English word for media and publishing is “Press.”

Just as the person who controls the rebounds dominates the game, those who hold the printing press dominate the media and publishing!

Media power and publishing power were like siblings coming out of the same press, and they formed a stable triangular relationship by collaborating with political power.

Of course, the unprecedented apocalypse of “people not reading books” came, marking a time when publishing power was off, but…

Still, in various places in the Korean literary world, there remain elders who operated during the times when publishing power, media power, and political power strongly supported each other.

And these elders, positioned in various layers of Korean society, protect the status of the literary world with their profound inner strengths.

This is why organizations everywhere must respect their elders for a proper foundation. The publishing industry holds an incredibly powerful political influence disproportionate to its market size because there is a reason for it. Deep-rooted trees do not fall easily.

And among these, particularly powerful in internal strength within the literary circle was Park Chang-woon.

Park Chang-woon effortlessly rescued Author Moon from the wicked chairman, like twisting a child’s wrist.

“Hey, you, I just saved your life today.”

“Th-thank you…”

During the summer break, Park Chang-woon, who had gleefully watched Moon In-seop’s activities, teased him with excitement.

“Do you know how much of a snake our school’s chairman is? If you had followed him tamely when he asked for an interview today, you would’ve ended up with a school ambassador business card and on the nine o’clock news.”

“Do you think the Chairman would really do that?”

“He has a nasty habit of using students as scapegoats in the news during tax inspection seasons…”

‘I should drop out.’

Moon In-seop’s expression hardened as he planned his escape from Baekhak Arts Middle School.

Park Chang-woon, sensing his intention like a ghost, belatedly defended the chairman’s character.

“No, it’s not that serious. When top students make noisy news appearances and we spread good deeds on the internet with hired commenters, even the National Tax Service feels a bit too pressured to audit us suddenly.”

“…Ah. I see.”

“Don’t get me wrong. Listen. All private educational foundations are somewhat corrupt! It’s just a matter of who gets audited first. It’s like… sneaking out the back while everyone else lines up to get whacked?”

“…”

“Ah, what am I saying to a kid.”

Park Chang-woon regretted bringing up such a needless topic, and Moon In-seop regretted listening to it.

They arrived at the Creative Writing class amidst an awkward silence. The moment the door slid open, the noisy classroom fell quiet.

“Ah, so it’s chaos here when I’m not around. Did I ever say to start a riot instead of self-studying? Huh?”

Releasing Moon In-seop into the classroom, Park Chang-woon stood at the podium.

He began the class energetically without even erasing the ‘Self-Study’ he had scribbled on the blackboard.

“Did everyone have a good summer break?”

The less seasoned students responded with a “Yes.”

Park Chang-woon grinned.

“Then, gather by groups. It’s time for a fun critique session.”

Soon, the students of the Literary Arts began tearing each other’s novels apart.

Thus, another day of peace was maintained in the Literary Arts Department at Baekhak Arts Middle School.

However, where there is light, there is darkness, and where there is yang, there is yin, such is the principle of harmony between heaven and earth.

Unlike the peaceful Baekhak Arts Middle School, there were places facing times of shock and horror.

* * *

Baekhak Cultural Broadcasting.

Shortened to BMB.

It was a cable channel owned by the Baekhak Media Group, playing a key role as a ‘subsidiary’ in the projection of Baekhak Group’s soft power.

What good would it do for Baekhak Entertainment’s celebrities to produce dramas through Baekhak’s own production subsidiaries if the shows couldn’t be broadcasted on their own network? It would only benefit other broadcasters.

There, they held political influence through news production, a vast newsroom staff, extending their investigative and media power, and so forth…

Baekhak ‘Media’ Group’s media power would be impossible without including the broadcast station.

But now, that very station was at risk of disappearing.

– This can’t be happening!

– Please save us!

– We’re sorry, we’re sorry, we’re sorry……

Terrible shock and horror had struck Baekhak Cultural Broadcasting.

Employees engulfed in madness screamed in fear.

The worst apocalyptic situation imaginable.

<Comprehensive Channel Reapproval Examination> was imminent.

– Aaaaagh!!!

In other words, the government, wielding the threat of canceling the reapproval for comprehensive channels, was threatening to completely shut down Baekhak Cultural Broadcasting.

What was happening?

Unlike the three major terrestrial broadcasters, which are semi-public due to receiving their frequencies from the government, comprehensive channels, or ‘general programming channels’, are more like private enterprises.

However, these enterprises, operating as ‘broadcasting stations’, could influence national policies, so their qualifications were periodically reviewed by the government for business continuation.

That is, if the government says to shut down, comprehensive channels had to cease operations.

In this context, it wasn’t strange that Baekhak Cultural Broadcasting was facing an apocalyptic situation as the government growled about overturning their business.

But why was the government tormenting BMB?

Because BMB had first tormented the president.

During the last presidential election, under the command of the now deceased former chairman of the Baekhak Group, BMB tried to make one of the presidential candidates look like a dimwit.

However, that very victim ended up becoming the President.

Naturally, everyone was aware of the dangers of retaliation, and the blades of vengeance that struck Baekhak Cultural Broadcasting sent shivers of terror through everyone at the station.

But the higher-ups saw things differently.

“Ah, fuck, he’s pretty fucking pissed off.”

“What can we do? We have to take the beating until he gets over his grudge.”

The top executives at the station were already aware that the actual closure of the station was virtually unrealistic.

BMB isn’t just some shoddy channel; it’s a well-known comprehensive channel in Korea.

It has broadcast several international dramas and highly acclaimed variety shows.

If the President were to shut down such a station, it would naturally backfire as media oppression.

And given the conservative tendencies of the Broadcasting and Communications Committee, the committee commissioners would likely not actually go through with erasing BMB.

So, all these threats were essentially just bluffs…

However, even a bluff wasn’t without its damage.

“Ah, how long will this go on?”

“I don’t know either. I know that our headquarters is currently negotiating with the Blue House…” (TL: Blue House is South Korean version of White house)

“This will completely destroy the station’s image. Absolutely destroy it.”

Being labeled as a <station that might soon disappear> in major public opinion was already a fatal blow to its image.

Especially in the broadcasting and telecommunications industry, where credibility is crucial, such deterioration of trust inevitably led to a drop in viewer ratings.

And a fall in ratings led to lower advertising rates, withdrawal of investments, and celebrities refusal in casting.

“Ah, this is driving me mad…”

As the broadcasting station’s leadership trembled with anxiety,

A bizarre proposal came up from the Variety Show Department.

*****

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