WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 170: Side Story: HanGPT, Tell Me About Gangwon Province (1)

──────

The high schooler Han Mireu of the Han family, holders of the Republic of Korea Medal of the Order of Merit for National Foundation[1], had homework to do.

Long ago, in the internet's ancient dark age before the lights of civilization, people submitted homework through the primitive practice of mining ruins called wikis.

But it was now October 2026.

Who still visited wikis unless they were the sort to pronounce the online term "neulkkeukeu" as "neukkeukeu"[2]?

Especially in this day and age.

Han Mireu looked out the window.

At eleven at night, the nightscape of Sanreung City glittered beyond the window of Serpent Dormitory, one of the four dormitories on the Sanreung main campus of Han-ga Academy, a private school integrating elementary, middle, high school, and university.

Departure notices for the nineteen platforms floated above the rounded roof of Sanreung Station in the distance.

[ Wonsan, 23:40 ]

[ Vladivostok Jaeyu Station, via Najin, 23:55 ]

[ Mount Geumgang, 23:55 ]

[ Taebaek Circular Monorail expected to be delayed by ten minutes due to heavy rain ]

Han Mireu looked away from the window.

A notice for her history performance assessment lay on her desk.

[ Describe the impact of Gangwon's geographical characteristics and historical development on its present-day industries and culture. ]

She had been given this assignment four weeks ago, but the high schooler had not laid a finger on it.

That left nine hours and forty minutes until the deadline.

"Plenty of time."

Han Mireu logged into HanGPT. When she signed into the Han family's dedicated account, the familiar tiger-cloak emblem spun across the screen.

The microphone for entering prompts was always on. Han Mireu spoke.

"I have homework. Summarize Gangwon Province for me."

An answer came at once.

:: I shall provide an at-a-glance summary of South Korea's Gangwon Special Independent Autonomous Province.

A moment later.

:: Its geographical core consists of the Taebaek Mountains and the East Sea.

:: Its political core is the [special independent] portion. This does not mean it has a different national polity. It is similar to how the United Kingdom is divided into England, Wales, Scotland, and so forth.

:: The historical background is that Gangwon's regional self-governing administrative network was restored before the central administration following liberation, granting it broad independent authority over education, public safety, relief, and other fields.

:: You do not need a passport.

Han Mireu nodded.

It was announced a dozen times a day at Sanreung Station, too.

Even so, in accordance with its strict spatial class hierarchy, tourists from second-tier zones such as Seoul, Kaesong, and Pyongyang would unconsciously hold out their resident registration cards with trembling hands whenever they entered Greater Gangwon, especially the Great, Great, Great City of Sanreung.

:: Three central cities

:: 1. Sanreung City

:: A major city representing Gangwon. It is also the provincial capital.

:: A megalopolis created through the integration of the former Inje-Sokcho everyday living area, it serves as a hub for East Asian Arctic shipping logistics.

:: It is also famous for containing the world's largest air-raid shelter district.

Below that, cities such as Chuncheon and Cheorwon were lined up as though they really were central cities of Gangwon, but Han Mireu simply scrolled past them.

Even within Gangwon, a spatial class hierarchy was necessary. An overwhelming hierarchy.

Thinking as any proper Sanreung citizen should, she copied and pasted the material. Her report had reached the required length.

"Homework done!"

Han Mireu stretched. After working so hard, she felt like rewarding herself.

"Should I order Dubai chewy chicken? Who's on dorm duty tonight... Ah, it's Teacher Chuk. That person doesn't accept deliveries."

Grumbling, Han Mireu looked over the homework she had completed through her own effort, without anyone's help.

Soon, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses.

"Hmm... Everything's there, but."

:: 「History」

:: During the Great Flood of the Gapsul Year in 1934, workers of Han's Myriad Commerce and residents of Sebeom Valley reduced the damage by constructing embankments and drainage channels in advance.

:: Han San, the Founding Patriarch of Han's Myriad Commerce, an internal title for its founding chairman, directed the effort. This later became the foundation of Gangwon's disaster administration.

:: Han's Myriad Commerce's transportation routes became the foundation of the Taebaek Circular Monorail...

Han Mireu's eyes narrowed further. Her lips puckered.

"Isn't this a little too boring?"

Han Mireu checked the model name.

[ HanGPT-6.1 Manstone Flash ]

It was a practical-work model named after the Supreme Founding Patriarch of Han's Myriad Commerce. It was famous for producing only answers as neat as stones cut and dressed for building an embankment.

Han Mireu asked,

"Hey. Why does Sanreung Station have nineteen platforms?"

:: Because they are needed.

"No. Why are they needed?"

:: Answering that may cause misconceptions and hallucinations, so it would not be appropriate for me to do so. I am attaching a link to the Gangwon Railway Corporation's Sanreung Station inquiry form. Please inquire directly.

"Seriously?"

Han Mireu immediately switched models.

[ HanGPT-6.1 San Max ]

[ Complex Reasoning, Creative Work, Management, Lifestyle Counseling, and More ]

It was a newly released model from the latest update. Han Mireu immediately entered a prompt.

"Hey! Explain Sanreung Station to me. I'm using it for a performance assessment."

:: All right! Then, starting from Inje[3] and centered on Old Inje, let us learn about Sanreung Station.

Han Mireu's eyes twitched.

Something about it felt like, What the fuck...? But the answer was already continuing to generate.

:: Gangwon has many mountains, right?

:: In the past, the mountains left it truly mountain-mountain-ly scattered, but by tunneling through and filling in those mountains, today's supercolossal Sanreung Station gained its foundation.

:: Was Sanreung Station born on a mountain ridge, just as its name suggests? Google-searching searchers, such-a clever bunch, tend to make that mistake!

:: But no. The reung in Sanreung uses the character for silk, not the character for a hill. Proof, one might say, that the name Sanreung is not limited to mere mountains and ridges, with silk in it too...

"Fuck."

Han Mireu cursed. Hives were already beginning to rise all over her body.

She immediately shouted into the microphone.

"Cut the wordplay and explain only with facts!"

:: Understood. I shall reduce the wordplay and explain with fac-ts.

:: When [the station's history][4] was first built, it began with one platform. But as Gangwon developed and its routes increased in the 1940s, there was a [station's history] that added two more platforms...

Han Mireu's breathing grew ragged.

"No, for fuck's sake... I said cut the wordplay."

:: (System Message) The user's profanity has been detected. Profanity does not help cultivate one's emotions. Are you often angry? If so, try reconciling with yourself...

Han Mireu's hands trembled. She barely managed not to curse aloud, put her hands on the keyboard, and typed furiously.

- Ah, you fucking... This is so fucking annoying. Why is there wordplay in the system message too!? Cut it out already!!!!

:: (System Message) The user's profanity has been detected. Profanity does not help cultivate one's emotions. A trip to Xianyang, China[5], may help you cultivate yourself, so I can prepare a travel plan that includes booking a direct train from Sanreung to Xianyang...

Han Mireu closed the window.

She took a deep breath. Once, twice.

Only then did she reopen the window and immediately switch models.

[ HanGPT-6.1 Badastra Ultra ]

[ Strategic Analysis, Policy, Advanced Reasoning ]

[ Users under nineteen require guardian approval. ]

[ Your status as a direct descendant of the Han family has been confirmed. Approval is waived. ]

"Convenient only at times like this."

Han Mireu, whose life was normally controlled by the Han Family Code and such, puffed out her chest. Then she entered a prompt.

"Hey. Check the questions I've asked so far and answer them yourself."

This time, it took a while for an answer to come.

:: The Taebaek Mountains have long served as a barrier separating Yeongseo and Yeongdong[6]. This is why it was not easy to access the East Sea from a peninsula bordered by sea on three sides.

:: Modern Gangwon's growth was achieved by turning that barrier into a fence with a gate.

"Oh."

It sounded professional from the very beginning.

:: Let us use the Great Flood of the Gapsul Year in 1934 as an example.

:: From that period onward, the employees of Han's Myriad Commerce and those under its influence could exercise administrative power more efficiently than the authorities of the time could mobilize.

:: This administrative network filled the gaps in public safety, rationing, and transportation immediately after liberation.

:: Gangwon Special Independent Autonomous Province's strong autonomy is therefore not an ancient heritage passed down from time immemorial like the aristocratic clans of the Three Han. It is rooted in the bonds created as people joined forces to overcome crises during the difficult previous century.

Han Mireu nodded deeply.

Yes, this was exactly what she needed!

Words that sounded impressive, explanations that sounded profound, and above all, no infuriating wordplay.

:: Sanreung City is a city that grew atop that network. Han's Myriad Commerce's general warehouse became a freight station, and after the Flood of the Byeongja Year, settlements for displaced people and schools arose around it.

:: Beneath Sanreung lies an air-raid shelter created by hollowing out half of Mount Seorak. This multipurpose underground shelter later influenced the construction of Beijing's Underground City during the Cold War.

:: It is also a place director Peter Jackson toured at length while visiting Korea during the production of The Lord of the Rings films. You may sense its traces in the art for Moria, the dwarves' underground city brought to life in the films.

:: Of the forty-eight underground levels of the shelter, only the first forty are open to the public.

Han Mireu paused.

"What's in the parts that aren't open?"

:: They contain the Han family's main house, the Six Families of Gangwon, the Gangwon Secret Council, the Han Family Court, the Han Family Detention Camp, and a secret arsenal.

This was beginning to sound suspicious.

:: Of particular note is the deep-sea tunnel directly linked to Baekdo in the East Sea. Baekdo is also where Han's Myriad Commerce's special problem-solving department is stationed.

"Special problem-solving department? Our company has something like that?"

:: It is also known as the Inwang Gang.

"Ah, the Inwang Gang... Wait. Isn't that an international Mafia organization!? Like the Triads!?"

Badastra Ultra did not respond to that.

As though it had heard nothing, it moved on to Gangwon's Golden Pollock industry.

:: The growth of the Golden Pollock industry was affected not only by Gangwon's unique self-governing administrative network but also by the migration of a single family.

:: In 1936, the warlord Kim Seong-ju, who had been active in Manchuria, volunteered for a nonpublic position at Han's Myriad Commerce's Manchurian branch and was assigned to Seorak's Twelfth Drying Racks.

:: Kim Seong-ju's organizational skills in the field were recognized, and Kim Seong-ju became a work crew leader. Kim Seong-ju was later called the Crown Prince of the Golden Pollock drying racks[7].

:: Kim Seong-ju's son, Kim Jong-il, became a low-temperature warehouse technician, and the patents he filed earn royalties throughout the world.

:: Kim Seong-ju's grandson Kim Jong-nam is the president of Taeyangjeon, a comprehensive entertainment company focused on subculture such as animation and games. Another grandson, Kim Jong-un, serves as the overall head of the drying racks at the Mount Geumgang branch of Han's Myriad Commerce's Golden Pollock industry as of 2026.

Han Mireu folded her arms.

"Ah, so Mr. Kim's family came here at this time."

Of course, Han Mireu knew about Mr. Kim's family.

After all...

"Kim Ju-ae. The top-ranked student of Tiger Dormitory was Uncle Jong-un's daughter, right?"

How could she forget that arrogant little brat? She was only thirteen, yet had skipped grades into the high school division.

And she was tall, too. What thirteen-year-old was 170 centimeters tall? So damn cocky.

One day, Han Mireu would knock that swagger out of her. Even at the same Han-ga Academy main campus, there had to be discipline and order.

Just then, she saw another message.

:: However, an uncertainty remains in the official record that Kim Seong-ju volunteered for recruitment.

"What uncertainty?"

:: The handwriting on the application does not match Kim Seong-ju's own.

:: Furthermore, Ham Byeong-cheol, Kim Seong-ju's direct supervisor, often complained, [The new recruit keeps trying to escape from the drying racks these days. It is driving me insane.]

"Hmm... So?"

:: It is highly likely that Kim Seong-ju underwent voluntary forced recruitment.

What the hell was voluntary forced recruitment???

No... seriously, what the hell was voluntary forced recruitment???

Han Mireu thought deeply. Soon, she cautiously asked,

"So... they were our family's slave?"

:: That is one way to put it.

"My goodness."

That cheeky little brat, Kim Ju-ae.

Kim Ju-ae's family's founding ancestor had been a drying-rack slave captured in Manchuria by the Han family's own founding ancestor!

Even Han Mireu, a foul-mouthed high schooler who normally ground her teeth whenever Kim Ju-ae came up, had to carefully consider how she ought to react before this shocking truth.

Footnotes:

[1] The Republic of Korea Medal (대한민국장) is the highest class of South Korea's Order of Merit for National Foundation.

[2] The joke contrasts 늙크크 and 늑크크, near-homophonous mock online expressions, treating a fussy pronunciation distinction as a marker of prehistoric internet culture.

[3] Inje (인제) is a county in Gangwon whose name sounds like a dialectal Korean word for "now," enabling the model's forced transition.

[4] The Korean word yeoksa (역사) means both "history" and "station building," so the model keeps forcing both senses into its explanation.

[5] The Korean reading of Xianyang, 咸陽, is hamyang, a homophone of 함양, "cultivation," causing the system's unwanted travel recommendation.

[6] Yeongseo (영서) and Yeongdong (영동) are respectively the inland western and East Sea eastern regions of Gangwon, divided by the Taebaek Mountains.

[7] The title puns on hwangtae (황태), dried pollack, and hwangtaeja (황태자), "crown prince."

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried