Chapter 30: That Time I Reformed Education in South America.

TL: Skye

The Korean business delegation stayed an extra week after finishing their inspection before heading back.

Business, after all, isn't something you do with just land alone.

CEO Choi of Taeyang Apparel wandered through the markets, observing the diligence and culture of the citizens who would become his workforce. CEO Park of Korea Zinc visited San Marcos Coal Corporation, which was operating the mines, to assess the miners' skill level and technical proficiency.

And Chairman Jeong of Hyunhwa...

"Might I trouble you for a cup of coffee?"

"Ha ha, my secretary tells me he procured a fine wine today. If it wouldn't be too much of an imposition, could you spare some time this evening?"

He showed up at all hours to observe me.

I tried to avoid him, uncomfortable under the old man's scrutinizing gaze, but...

"I called the CEO of Hyunhwa Chemical last night and told him to bring a due diligence team."

The prospect of an oil refinery was too tantalizing to resist, so I had no choice but to stay close.

Without an oil refinery, we'd end up like Venezuela, having to use crude oil revenue just to buy back petroleum products.

On top of that...

"Ah, if Your Excellency wishes, I'd be willing to accept equity investment as well. We'd even let you participate in management."

The terms were too good.

Of course, it wasn't a losing deal for Hyunhwa either.

Korea's refining industry was going through a brutal stretch thanks to China's low-price offensive.

If Hyunhwa could enter a new market like San Marcos while also receiving investment to reduce costs, there was absolutely no downside for them.

A win-win, you might say.

However...

'It's what comes next that I'm really looking forward to.'

For San Marcos, investment from Hyunhwa, the undisputed heavyweight in heavy industries like automobiles, shipbuilding, construction, and rail, was something we desperately needed.

Because it could lay the foundation for our industrial base.

Anyway, after that whirlwind of a week passed and the Korean business delegation departed, peace returned to the Presidential Palace.

"Whew."

I stood by the window, watching the plane grow smaller in the distance, and let out a sigh of relief.

The results were solid. Factory sites were finalized, and plans for mine development were set.

I'd also secured a firm commitment from the CEO of Hyunhwa Chemical for the construction of an oil refinery.

"The seeds have all been sown..."

Everything that needed to be done was done.

All that was left was to wait.

Breaking ground alone on Taeyang Apparel's factory, Korea Zinc's mine, or Hyunhwa Energy's refinery would take several months.

The same went for the Northern Oilfield.

It would take at least a year before drilling could even begin.

So what needed to be done from now on...

"We need to make people who can work."

That's right, cultivating talent.

What good would it do if companies built factories and brought in machinery, only for the workers to be illiterate and unable to do basic arithmetic?

The current scale of investment was small enough that the existing talent pool could handle it, but what about in five years? Ten years?

What if things went well and San Marcos actually industrialized?

There wouldn't be enough workers.

'The population of San Marcos is only around six million to begin with.'

On top of that, the people of San Marcos weren't as hardworking as Koreans.

Unlike Korea, where a single star performer would do the work of two or three people, here even the top performers clocked out the moment their own tasks were done and had no intention of doing more.

Of course, Koreans who volunteered for extra suffering were the odd ones out; the global average was closer to this. It was the same when I worked in America.

Anyway, the important thing was this:

Now, while there was time and breathing room, it was time to lay the groundwork for the nation's next hundred years.

The fact that education is more valuable than natural resources is just that, a fact.

Thailand, which never understood this, remained stuck as a middle-income country, while Korea, which grasped it completely, rose to join the ranks of developed nations.

So how to do it?

'Transplant the Korean education system into San Marcos.'

Recalling the system from my homeland Korea, I called for the secretariat.

"Please send in Chief of Staff Isabella and the Senior Secretary for Education."

A short while later, Isabella entered along with Sergio, the Senior Secretary for Education, a man with a stern, exacting look about him.

"Have a seat."

I cut straight to the chase.

"We need to get public education back on track."

"I think that's a fine idea."

"I also believe education must come first if the nation is to stand on its own."

The two of them nodded.

"Good. Let's start with a status check. What are the current enrollment rates?"

Sergio answered with a bitter expression.

"Dismal. The elementary school graduation rate is around 70 percent, but the middle school enrollment rate is below 30 percent. High school is under 10 percent."

"What's the reason?"

Sergio answered with a sigh.

"Poverty. Instead of going to school, children go pick beans at coffee plantations or shine shoes on the street. They have to put food on the table somehow."

Fair enough. When you don't know where your next meal is coming from, books are the last thing on your mind.

"A fundamental problem, then. Any solutions?"

"How about forcing them to attend? Designate education through middle school as compulsory, and impose penalties for noncompliance."

In response to my question, Isabella proposed a hardline approach, but...

"That's not the issue."

Sergio shook his head.

"Dragging them to school won't ensure they actually get a proper education... and there are far too many families that simply can't afford the tuition."

This, in truth, was the biggest problem. Unlike Korea, San Marcos required tuition payments to attend school.

Elementary school was cheap enough that parents managed to scrape by, but starting from middle school, the cost was steep enough that anyone below the middle class couldn't even dream of it.

That didn't make San Marcos unusual, though.

Even Korea collected support association fees until 1997 for elementary school, 2012 for middle school, and 2021 for high school.

While there were differences in price, charging tuition itself wasn't strange at all.

The problem was that the citizens were abnormally poor.

I decided to break through this problem in the simplest way possible.

"Let's abolish tuition."

That's right, by spending money.

"And let's feed them when they come to school."

"...Feed them?"

"We provide lunch to every student who comes to school. For high schoolers, dinner as well."

"But school lets out no later than 3 PM at the latest... Can't they just eat at home?"

"That's a problem too. The school hours are far too short. High schoolers arriving at 9 AM and going home at 3 PM? That's unimaginable where I come from in Korea."

"I, if you don't mind my asking, what time do students go home in Your Excellency's homeland...?"

"It varies a bit by school, but they arrive at 9 AM, regular classes end at 5 PM, and they stay until 10 PM to study. Even if they don't stay at school, they attend private academies or other educational institutions and study until late."

"...At that point, isn't that practically abuse?"

"It's not without its excesses, I'll admit, but that's precisely how Korea managed to rise to the ranks of developed nations. When the only resource you have is people, you have to develop them to the fullest. The same goes for us."

Of course, Korea had its own problems stemming from this, but San Marcos was in no position to be picky right now.

The priority was getting children into schools in the first place.

"If a child goes to school and comes back with a full stomach, parents will think twice. No parent wants to see their young child suffer."

"......"

"And one more thing. The U.S. has agreed to provide short-term study abroad packages for 500 students annually. I'm thinking we funnel those to the top academic performers."

I spoke with a voice full of conviction.

"Finally, I plan to establish a university."

"A university?"

"Yes. We'll establish San Marcos National University and cultivate talent. And I intend to offer extraordinary incentives. Graduates will be given special appointments as Grade 7 civil servants. Oh, and from now on, let's put out an announcement that Tortilla Company will only hire high school graduates or above."

Civil service and Tortilla Company were currently the highest-paying, most upwardly mobile employers in San Marcos.

Nobody in their right mind would turn down a fast track into those positions.

"The hope that their own child could succeed, that hope is what will move parents."

Man does not live by bread alone. Sometimes even a far-fetched hope is a more powerful motivator than a meal.

"Your Excellency, I understand your determination, but... I think you may be getting ahead of yourself."

"Why do you think so?"

"It will require an astronomical budget."

He was right.

From a fiscal standpoint, it had to be considered sheer madness.

But still.

"It has to be done regardless."

This wasn't a choice. It was a necessity.

"Because anything less than this won't be enough to get them to send their children to school."

The parents of San Marcos weren't like Korean parents, who would send their children to school even in the middle of a war.

The timing was even in our favor.

"As it happens, the cornmeal and flour we received from the U.S. are piled up like mountains. Let's put them to use and fill the children's bellies."

San Marcos's food situation was at its best since the nation's founding.

"We can't just hand out grain flour as is, can we?"

"We use Tortilla Meat."

Tortilla Meat operated not only slaughterhouses but also livestock processing plants.

They were already producing all kinds of processed foods like ham, bacon, and sausages. Add tortillas on top of that, and you had a complete meal.

"If we scale up and expand the facilities, we should be able to supply meals for the students."

"...That would create a considerable number of jobs."

"In Korea, we call this killing two birds with one stone."

Isabella nodded. Beside her, Sergio raised his hand.

"Feeding them is one thing, but how do we secure the rest of the funding? The cost of building a university and running schools won't be trivial."

"I'm thinking we allocate a portion of the 10-billion-dollar loan coming from the U.S. toward school facility repairs and establishing the university. Since it's for building educational infrastructure, the justification is rock solid."

"But the loan has been delayed due to the shutdown."

"For now, let's hold out by slapping a tax on alcohol."

"On alcohol...?"

"Yes. The people of San Marcos do love their drink, don't they? They knock back rum and beer alike in enormous quantities. We tax that and use it for the children's education. Adults who drink are raising the pillars of the future. How wholesome is that?"

The justification was sound and the tax revenue guaranteed.

Looking at the two of them, who couldn't contain their admiration, I spoke.

"Well, the plan is all laid out, so let's get to it."

And so began the education reform that would lay the foundation for San Marcos's next hundred years.

*****

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