Chapter 50 – US Vice President Richard Nixon (2)

“Then, shall we send the interpreter out and talk frankly between the two of us?”

“As you wish.”

“Good. Steve! We have some things to discuss between the two of us, so please wait outside.”

“Yes. Understood.”

In that way, Richard Nixon sent the interpreter out.

“Oh! You know Yorba Linda? Have you been there?”

Richard Nixon asked with an interested look in his eyes.

Yorba Linda was a rural town located north of the famous Orange County, where Richard Nixon was born.

‘I went there during my medical school days. Of course, not the Yorba Linda of 1953.’

“No. Hearing the news of your visit, Mr. Vice President, I researched a few things in advance for reference.”

“Oops! It’s an honor.”

He didn’t dislike Kim Ji-hyuk’s attitude of researching information about him in advance.

“I know it as a place fragrant with lemons and oranges. They say it has the best quality in the United States.”

“Correct! But my family was so poor that although I picked those oranges and lemons to sell, I couldn’t eat them often. If my family had been more well-off, I wouldn’t have gone to Whittier College. Of course, that doesn’t mean I look down on my alma mater.”

At the mention of his hometown, Richard Nixon’s stiffened expression brightened.

“You were accepted to Harvard University, weren’t you?”

“Hahaha, correct. I almost became alumni with Jack.”

“If it’s Jack…”

Jack was the nickname of J.F. Kennedy (JFK), a Democratic senator at the time and Richard Nixon’s rival of destiny.

“Ah, he is a Democratic senator, but quite a womanizer. He married last September, but I am watching with interest whether Jack will stop his womanizing.”

Whether he felt comfortable with Kim Ji-hyuk, or was encouraged by the fact that a doctor in a small Eastern country like South Korea knew about him in detail, Richard Nixon revealed his personal thoughts.

“Wouldn’t Jacqueline, who married Senator Kennedy, be the same?”

“Hahaha, correct! That woman Jacqueline is also more than ordinary! Actually, before marrying Jack, she already had an engaged fiancé. According to intelligence, there was news that Jack had a mistress until recently.”

Richard Nixon was amused like a child while exposing Kennedy’s scandals.

“I see.”

“Since such a person is serving as a Democratic senator, it is indeed a pity.”

Richard Nixon tried to diminish Kennedy’s value.

Kennedy, whose background was different from his.

If he was from a typical poor background, Kennedy was from a wealthy background of the wealthy.

Kennedy was the son of a rich man in Boston, the center of politics; he was the son of a poor laborer in California.

The university was the same.

In the military as well, Kennedy was revered as a war hero after fighting against the Japanese forces on the frontline in the Navy and surviving the sinking of PT-109, whereas Nixon worked in storage, leaving a less favorable image.

And in entering politics, Kennedy followed an elite course that could not be compared with his.

Richard Nixon envied such a Kennedy. No, it was certain that he was jealous of him.

Richard Nixon was gripped by an inferiority complex toward Kennedy, so Kennedy’s scandals were probably the only area he thought he had an advantage in.

‘Anyway, Kennedy and I have no connection. I have no chance to meet him or establish a friendship with him. But Nixon is different, isn’t he? The man who will become the 37th President of the United States! If not for the Watergate scandal, he would be revered as a self-made figure. I need to strengthen my relationship with him!’

“You must make sure that Senator Kennedy’s womanizing is not beautified.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“In South Korea, there is a saying: Nae-ro-nam-bul.”

“Nae-ro-nam-bul? What does that mean?”

Nixon asked with a face full of curiosity.

“It means ‘If I do it, it’s romance; if others do it, it’s an affair.’”

“Aha, that is a very interesting phrase.”

“You must guard against an affair becoming romance. Kennedy is that charming of a man.”

“Hmm… Does that mean the more we expose Kennedy’s scandals, the more his charm will be highlighted?”

‘As expected, he understands quickly! He isn’t a foolish person to begin with.’

“That is correct. Kennedy has a highly attractive history that will stimulate the protective instincts of female voters in America! In the future, American politics will be swayed by image!”

“Image… I don’t think it will be a major problem?”

In the 1950s when television was still a luxury for a few wealthy people and radio was common, the word must have been unfamiliar to Nixon, who was an eloquent speaker.

Furthermore, speech was the only area where Nixon had confidence.

“As you said, Mr. Vice President, it won’t be a major problem right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. In the not-so-distant future, the penetration rate of television in the United States will exceed 80%. It will be too late to prepare then. You must never overlook Senator Kennedy’s charm. From now on, you must build your image to differentiate yourself from Senator Kennedy!”

“Hahaha, okay. I get it! I never expected to discuss this with a doctor in South Korea. I will keep it in mind!”

Richard Nixon laughed heartily.

‘Whether you take my words to heart or dismiss them doesn’t matter, but if you listen to me, you might defeat Kennedy and become the 35th President!’

“Yes.”

“I’ll take it as advice for me. I feel like I met an unexpected good friend in Korea. By the way, you seem to know quite a lot about me, don’t you?”

“No. What I know about you, Mr. Vice President, is just this much.”

“Anyway, it’s an honor. It feels very strange that there is someone in a small Eastern country like Korea who knows me in such detail!”

“If I displeased you, please forgive me.”

“No, no! It’s not that, but the exact opposite. I feel very good!”

Looking at Nixon’s smiling face, it didn’t seem to be a lie.

“It is a relief you think so. By the way, the reason you sought me…”

“Ah! Look at my mind! I was so busy talking with you, Dr. Kim, that I forgot. President Eisenhower personally asked me to deliver a letter to you, Dr. Kim. Here, take it.”

Unlike the letter he delivered to Syngman Rhee, Nixon took out Eisenhower’s handwritten letter from his bag and handed it to Kim Ji-hyuk.

The letter began with ‘To my dear friend, Kim Ji-hyuk.’

Throughout the letter, it requested him to come to the United States and stay by his side.

“Is President Eisenhower very ill?”

“If I speak under the belief that you, Dr. Kim, will keep it a secret, yes! Perhaps because he steadily ate the seaweed soup you suggested, his bowel trouble has improved a lot, but as he suffers from overwork, the heart disease he chronically had seems to have worsened.”

“Is that why you are asking me to enter the White House?”

“President Ike is originally like that. Once he trusts a person, he only looks for that person until he dies.”

“First, we must change the President’s diet.”

“Change the diet?”

“Yes. The Inuit in the Arctic region eat caribou as their staple food, and when they can’t eat caribou, they only eat salmon. Even if they discard the lean caribou meat and only eat the fat, they do not suffer from heart disease or obesity.”

“Oh! Is that so?”

“Yes. The Samburu tribe in Kenya, Africa, eat only milk and meat and do not suffer from hypertension or overweight. The Masai are the same. Therefore, there is no reason to fill the President’s diet with beans and cabbage.”

“Hmm, how do you know the President’s diet so well?”

Richard Nixon asked curiously.

“Because only when they eat low-fat, plant-based foods can large food corporations in America secure their interests. Of course, behind that, the influence of government officials cannot be ignored. I emphasize again, encouraging low-fat, plant-based foods under the claim that saturated fat causes cancer, obesity, and heart disease is only something that large food corporations in America will like. Do not forget that in the past, humanity hunted animals when they were at their fattest.”

“Hmm… You are saying the White House is playing to their commercial tricks?”

“It would be the people executing policies under the President and Vice President, not you two. Those people will become obstacles in the path of the President and you, Mr. Vice President, in the future.”

“Hmm…”

It was actually true.

In the early 1950s, Eisenhower suffered from chronic heart disease, and coincidentally, obesity and heart disease were spreading like an epidemic in the United States.

Accordingly, large food corporations highlighted the dangers of saturated fat, fronting renowned nutritionists, to sell plant-based ingredients like soy and wheat.

It was a commercial trick to sell off soy and wheat that were rotting in warehouses.

“There is no need to encourage meat, but there is also no reason to taboo it.”

“Hahaha, understood. Then I also have no reason not to eat beef.”

“Yes. If the consumption of beef and chicken decreases, the number of American farms suffering a blow will be immense. If it is hard to handle the increased production, exporting it to South Korea at a cheap price would be even better. We desperately need meat with rich fat rather than beans or corn in cans!”

“Hmm, it’s something worth considering. I think I understand a bit why President Ike trusts you so much, Dr. Kim. When I return to America, I will review your proposal positively!”

“Thank you.”

“Anyway, does this mean you are rejecting President Ike’s proposal?”

“It’s not a rejection, but a postponement. However, if you support the National Medical Center where I work, it seems we can accelerate the research on Crohn’s disease, which the President suffers from. Although America is ten thousand miles away, I will dedicate myself to research, always thinking of the President! In addition, if that happens, the President will remain as a great president who played a significant role in human peace by improving the health of thirty million Koreans.”

“Hahaha, I don’t know the reason, but it’s certainly persuasive!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I will also convey this to President Ike. By the way, I want to talk more about Jack whom you mentioned earlier…”

Richard Nixon said, narrowing his eyes.

“That is fine anytime! However, I think it would be good to stop here for today.”

“Why is that?”

“Hehehe, there is still plenty of time left. It won’t be too late to have a good time after you return to your country, Mr. Vice President!”

“Are you saying you want to check if your proposal works properly?”

“Well, please judge that for yourself, Mr. Vice President.”

“Hahaha, indeed! That’s how business is done. Like that!”

Richard Nixon laughed heartily, letting his throat show.

* * *

Two hours later.

The conversation that they shared pleasantly(?) without noticing the passage of time came to an end.

Nixon, looking regretful, and Kim Ji-hyuk moved to the main dining hall where the meal was prepared. After finishing the meal, Kim Ji-hyuk finally faced the President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee.