Empire of the Ring

The first thing the royal family did after arriving in Kyrgyzstan was to stop all official events and pay a visit to the Royal guards. It was to emphasize that the purpose of Queen Fatima's visit to Kyrgyzstan was to comfort of the royal guards.

Kyrgyzstan was relatively serene and people looked energetic.

It was because food supplies had already arrived before Youngho's party arrived. The increase in the grain price had been back to normal. Food was a matter of survival in Kyrgyzstan, which was close to the poorest countries.

More than 90 percent of Kyrgyzstan's land was mountainous and only seven to eight percent could be used for cultivation, so food self-sufficiency was something that could not be dreamed of.

Even in such a place, there was a rice farm, so the family visited it, and to Youngho's surprise, it was a village of Koryoins.

Even though Fatima was the Queen of Kazakhstan, the Koryoins treated her with extreme sincerity as if she was their own queen.

From there, Youngho heard a painful history of forced migration from the Chairman of the Koryoin association.

The forced migration began with the pre-execution of intellectuals in the Maritime Province, whereas many as thousands of Koreans who were taken without a word never returned.

The notification of the forced migration was made only a few days before departure, so they had to leave the land almost empty-handed.

In the midst of this, the Koryoins did not forget to bring seeds of grain because they had to farm to survive.

The Koryoins, loaded like luggage in freighter train cars remodeled from livestock carriers, arrived in Central Asia in about a month after traveling in the midst of the harsh Siberian wind.

The train did not provide any food, so they had to run to a store to get water or any kind of food they could eat whenever the train made a stop at a station.

When the train stopped temporarily, they picked up branches in the field to make a fire to cook quick warm food such as ramen noodles, but the train would leave without waiting for them, so they could not even eat the ramen properly.

This situation had naturally taken its toll heavily on the elderly and children, so countless children died of measles during the trip. During the trip, many families were also scattered across trains, causing family members to be separated and may promote numerous accidents.

When they arrived at the new settlement, there was no shelter for countless people who died during the terrible winter. Especially, the most painful period was from the winter of the first year of migration to the farming season of the following year. It was said that people made earth caves or remodeled warehouse stables to survive in.

After the forced migration, the relocation of Koryoins was restricted.

They were only allowed to live in certain residential areas, and they had to live in concentration camps for about 16 years after the migration.

Not only cultural education was banned but also there were restrictions on their employment.

Their social and political involvement in the community was practically limited. However, they managed to survive until now. Youngho could not lift his face as he saw the old man's emotionless face describing the terrible immigration situation. Fatima, who was listening to their conversation constantly wiped tears with her handkerchief.

The chairman's eyes were finally reddened. He stopped talking and looked at Youngho.

The situation of forced migration of Koryoins was worse than he had ever imagined. He could not believe that it happened in real life.

"You've been through a lot. The Kazakh royal family will take care of the pains of the Koryoins from now on."

"Why would you do that? It's not your responsibility when Stalin did us wrong. And those who suffered back then do not exist in this world anymore. The story I just told you is what I heard from my parents."

"The descendants of Koryoins should be rewarded instead. I'll sue the Russian government if I have to."

"There's no need to do that now. We're satisfied that there is Her Majesty, the Queen, and the Duke which whom we can serve with our hearts now. It feels like we've been rewarded for enduring the hardships. Thank you for making the Arirang Autonomous State give hope for the scattered Koryoins. I also heard that many Koryoins moved there to live happily. Your presence has given us hope. However, you should not favor the Koryoin people anymore. You have to be the father of all people in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Please know that you don't owe us anything. We didn't have a nation, but now it's like we have a nation in Central Asia. I won't feel resentful even if I die today."

"So you should live longer and healthier. First of all, I'd like to build a small hospital here in the Koryoin village. You've been neglected here and in your home country. Who would say that the Queen would be a little compassionate to her husband's fellow countrymen?"

There were more than half a million Koryoins living in Central Asia.

The Koryoin people of this continent were an invisible force for Youngho.

They would be an asset to the royal family for generations even after Youngho and Leon.

Most of the Korean people's ethnic identity had disappeared, but they did not deny that they were Korean. However, they never had a fence, so they had been scattered like grains of sand.

Now, Youngho would play the role of making them a fence, and Kazakhstan would be the real motherland of the Koryoin people.

Jews were not the only people persecuted throughout World War II. Not to mention the mainland of the Korean Peninsula, and the numerous Koreans who lived in the Maritime Province and North Gando killed by the guns and swords of Japanese Imperialism.

If there were proper statistics, it would probably be more than the Jewish population that were killed during that era.

It was the mainland Koreans who received compensation from Japan for the diplomatic normalization between South Korea and Japan. The Koryoins who were forced out of the Maritime Province while fighting for Korea's independence did not even receive the benefits.

Only the Koryoins living in Central Asia and Russia were forgotten in history.

It was the time had come to blow away even such sorrows.

***

"I feel so sorry for the lives of Koryoins here. Is there any way to help them as a royal family?"

"I'd love to, but if the royal family shows favor with certain people, other people may feel deprived. If that happens over and over again, other people would refuse to accept the royal family."

"If so, let's help them secretly. Serbian people live well in the royal territory because you helped them, don't they?"

"You can't compare that with the situation now. And don't worry, we're helping them under the table anyway. We're lending money at an interest-free rate from the fund we raised for Koryoin Development when we were still the autonomous state."

"What are you going to do with a few million dollars?"

"A few million dollars is an astronomical amount of money here."

"If you act so carefully like this, I'll do it myself."

"Do you even have the money?"

"Huh?! Do you have any idea how much money is in my account right now? You had deposited money in my secret account. Besides, there are a lot of gold bars that you put in my safe."

In case Youngho failed his business, he had been putting money in his Fatima account every year.

It was one million dollars a year, but once he earned blind money from doing information business, he had deposited a lump sum of money. After that, he did not even think about how much money he deposited. It had been a while since he put money in her account because it had been stable enough to no longer have to create slush funds.

"Oh, they already left my hand. Now it's your money, you can do whatever you want with it."

"Really? Can I use it all then?"

"How much do you have that you're acting like this?"

"Don't you remember how much you deposited?"

"It's been a while."

"Haha, don't be surprised. It's worth as much as 24 million dollars."

"What? Is there that much?"

"I thought your business is doing well enough when you stopped depositing money. I was thinking about putting the money into Zeynep's welfare foundation, but I just kept it to myself. I'm going to do some good work because you told me to do whatever I want to do with it. Don't dissuade me."

"Phew, I have nothing to say."

"I'll help the Koryoins first with the money. Of course, don't worry about it because I'll do it in secret."

"Why do you care much about the Koryoin people?"

"They're abandoned in their homeland, and they were also persecuted as minorities here. I don't want to help because they're your countryman, but I want to convey warmth to people who have had a terrible life for a long time. They should feel that the world is worth living."

"It's a good thing I married you."

"Aww, that is sweet, but didn't you say that people are going to make fun of you if you say such sweet things to me?"

"Oh, it's just the two of us here. It's alright."

Youngho hugged Fatima hard because he was so grateful for her caring heart.

While in his arms, she still went on.

"There's another reason to help them."

"What is it?"

"It has to do with the safety of the royal family. If we're in the worst situation, who would help us?"

"I've got friends abroad who can help us. They're the ones that will be my strength for a long time."

"What about Leon and the next generation? The last bastion of the royal family is Serbians and Koryoins. I'm sure the Kazakh people will also help us. But, it would be our own countrymen who would risk their lives to protect the royal family."

"Wouldn't it be too calculating of you?"

"You said men are blind in their own cause. I'll do it for Leon's sake. I will help Koryoins first and then start helping the poor people and people in need. One day, all people would say that they were all helped by the Kazakh royal family."

"I see. I've learned something from you today."

"Just think of the royal family being persecuted by some people. It's so heartbreaking."

"You also have a greedy side, Fatima."

"I was thinking about it all of a sudden when I saw the Koryoins. Because of their powerless ancestors, they have lived a slave-like life in another country for 80 years, so there is no place to step down anymore. They're the ones who will keep the royal family of Kazakhstan no matter what because that's the only place they would have been accepted."

"But they live in Kyrgyzstan."

"You're going to take this place, aren't you?"

"Wait, how did you find out?"

"I have that much of an eye. I know Kazakhstan is in danger if Kyrgyzstan falls into Chinese hands. I also wanted Kyrgyzstan to be our country."

"For what reason?"

"How can we give up such a beautiful place to others? And the Kyrgyz people are so pure and innocent. I like them."

"Well, since you already know, I can ask you a favor."

"Would you like me to appear on a TV show? Or should I speak to the nation?"

"Oh, you! Aren't you really going to be involved in politics?"

"There's nothing you can't do. If I don't like your work, I will definitely come forward to do it right. So, be aware of that."