"There is no crude oil. We must conserve energy. Cars must be parked one day out of every five." 

If we were confident that this country was developed, we were certainly mistaken. Even Seoul is still rather unrefined. It's not because of poverty. It lacks "style." One must know how to properly exude "style." It's not about the amount of money. Nevertheless, this country was moving forward and improving.

Everything changed when it became 'New Korea.' Bulldozing through. A machine that manufactures evil laws. Ridiculous approval ratings. A cow would laugh in its sleep. Whose side would they take in the Middle East war? Is it okay to support a regime that has massacred 30,000 of its own citizens?

Wang Mang Gained Popular Support Through Meticulous Cunning

Eventually, a crisis erupted. There was no crude oil. We must conserve energy. Cars must be parked one day out of every five. Reduce shower time. (Absurd.) Charge your mobile phone during the day. (My phone is old and needs to be charged at night too.) Use washing machines and vacuum cleaners on weekends. Selling trash bags as if they were rationed, this is truly a disaster. Trash will pile up at home.

'New Korea.' A new country. A 'New Korea' never experienced before. It's time to see what 'New Korea' was like. (The following is a summary of the story from Wikipedia's entry on Wang Mang, with some additional information. I have not made anything up.)

His name was Wang Mang (王莽). As his name suggests, in the end, he, the king, was ruined.

His family was originally named Tian, but they changed their surname to Wang. If you look closely, their ancestors had also usurped the State of Qi from Jiang Taigong.

Among his brothers, Wang Mang was particularly poor and lonely. He endured these hardships solely through shrewd calculations in his mind. As he was an imperial in-law, upon entering the palace, he meticulously observed 'propriety.' He thoroughly bowed to and served those in power. His paternal uncle, Wang Feng, was a powerful figure. When he fell ill, Wang Mang stayed by his side for over a month, sleeping without clothes and personally brewing and tasting his medicine.

Once Wang Feng became his patron and he began to rise in his career, Wang Mang feigned even greater frugality, distributing his clothing and possessions to guests. He pretended to discipline himself and acted diligently.

However, he couldn't shed his innate jealousy. When a man named Chunyu Chang gained recognition in society, Wang Mang falsely accused him of adultery, mockery, and embezzlement, driving him to his death. People praised Wang Mang as loyal.

He was thorough. People mistook his wife for a slave based on her clothing, and were greatly surprised when they later learned her true status. This was mere child's play. When his son killed a slave, he severely reprimanded him, even forcing him to commit suicide.

As a result, he became Grand Commandant (大司馬 ≈ Minister of National Defense) and ascended to the position of Imperial Secretary (尙書 ≈ Chief Secretary to the Emperor). He then orchestrated the deaths of 'all' the in-laws of Emperor Ping, who had ascended the throne at the tender age of nine, and married his own daughter to him, becoming the emperor's father-in-law. He lavished the imperial funds allocated to the emperor's father-in-law upon the poor like flowing water.

After Poisoning Emperor Ping, He Finally Seized the Throne

The next part is crucial. After that, he secretly hired people to praise his virtues. He fabricated a period of great peace and prosperity. "Currently, there are no lawsuits in the government offices, no bandits in the towns, no impoverished people in the fields, and if something is dropped on the roadside, no one takes it – a time of great peace." This was fabricated. Truly, he was the founder of 'New Korea.' (A pioneer of public opinion manipulation and fake news.)

After poisoning the fourteen-year-old Emperor Ping, he began regency with a mere two-year-old infant emperor. He called himself Regent Emperor. Then, he had this infant emperor abdicate the throne to him in the form of a voluntary cession, thus becoming emperor. He forged a text stating that he was the Son of Heaven (天子), meaning one who receives the mandate of heaven, abolished the Han dynasty, and finally established 'New Korea.'

Now that he held the empire in his hands, he abandoned his "gentlemanly persona." He fully revealed his true colors. He 'nationalized' all the land in the country, reverting it to state ownership. Private sales were prohibited. Taxes were imposed on alcohol, salt, and metal. The new system was far worse than the old. Prices skyrocketed. Social chaos became extreme.

He broke the peace with the northern and western kingdoms and initiated wars. He provoked the Xiongnu, draining national strength through war. This time, it was Goguryeo's turn. He arbitrarily renamed Goguryeo (高句麗) to "Ha Guryeo" (下句麗). The people of Goguryeo were all furious. He demoted the king to a marquis (侯). Goguryeo began to attack the borders of 'New Korea.'

It is specifically written: "Ultimately, Wang Mang's policies created enemies both domestically and abroad, ultimately leading to his own destruction." Indeed. No matter how much he tried to fabricate his image as if he were doing well, it all led to his own self-destruction.

He is said to have worshipped immortals and spirits. Wrong beliefs, wrong ideologies. Was it something like today's 'J.C. ideology'? Tens of thousands of soldiers and convicts died during large-scale construction projects. The national treasury was depleted.

His desire for fame was excessive. He couldn't control his emotions. He believed in sorcery and was a petty man with excessive jealousy. He rewarded those who obeyed him with official positions and killed those who didn't. He didn't spare his own family or relatives. He even killed relatives who stated that his becoming emperor was unjust. (There are many rumors of similar cases today.) When he was reprimanded in a dream by Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, he demolished Gaozu's ancestral shrine.

The Fate of an Emperor Who Lost Popular Support

"Eventually, the people from all regions, unable to bear it any longer, rose up." Warlords like the Red Eyebrow Army, who painted their eyebrows red, emerged. Wang Mang outwardly appeared calm, but he was so worried that his hair and beard turned white. He couldn't sleep due to worry, read military treatises, drank alcohol, and slept slumped over his desk without a pillow.

"No matter how much one manipulates public opinion, the truth cannot be hidden. When the rebels surge in like a tide, one ultimately has to surrender to an overwhelming force that eclipses 'New Korea.'"

When Liu Xuan, a scion of the Han imperial family, rose up and marched towards Chang'an, Wang Mang accepted the suggestion to weep and pray for divine intervention, and he and his civil and military officials wept morning and evening. He selected over 3,000 people from the populace who were good at crying to pray and mourn. Those who cried well were rewarded with official positions, reaching over 5,000 people. (What is this, a kind of guard unit that constantly cries and wails? Such positions are very common, then and now.)

Eventually, the rebels surged into the Chang'an palace. Even amidst this chaos, Wang Mang claimed that heaven had bestowed its grace upon him and that the Han soldiers would not be able to harm him. He resisted until the end from a high pavilion within the palace but was ultimately killed by the rebels.

"Du Wu, who was a merchant, murdered Wang Mang, then the Colonel Gong Binji cut off Wang Mang's head, and thousands of soldiers around him dismembered Wang Mang's body and tore it to shreds."

This is the story of Wang Mang's ephemeral 'New Korea.' The 'Xin' (新) in this 'New Korea' means 'new.' But why is it not so new? Wang Mang presented himself as the embodiment of Confucianism, but his true nature was quickly exposed to the world. It was revealed. After that, he stopped caring about public opinion. He was simply 'arbitrary.' He pretended to have an ideal of creating an equal world, but in the end, he only pursued his own glory.

No matter how much one manipulates public opinion, the truth cannot be hidden. When the rebels surge in like a tide, or when faced with an overwhelming force that eclipses 'New Korea,' one ultimately has to surrender. Although it may seem like countless attendants are following, in the end, there are few. They are unfortunate people bound by the same ill fate.

A truly new country must come. It must stand upright. A stylish world must be built. A world where people can live loving each other like human beings. The first step is to drive out fraudulent elections and dismantle the foundation on which totalitarian dictatorship can take root.

◆ Professor Bang Min-ho

Doctor of Literature, Professor of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University. He is the editor-in-chief of the quarterly literary magazine 'Maek' (since 2022) and is actively working as a poet, novelist, and literary critic. His works include 'Lover Shimcheong' (2015), 'The Language of Pain' (2019), 'Revisiting Korean Criticism' (2021), and 'Seoul Literary Journeys' (2024).