WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 171: Side Story: HanGPT, Tell Me About Gangwon Province (2)

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Badastra Ultra continued as Han Mireu blinked.

:: For reference, the teacher in charge of this report does not favor a hero-centric view of history. Your score is expected to improve if you include the phrase [The contributions of Gangwon citizens were as immense as those of Han San, the Father of Construction] in the conclusion.

A question mark appeared over Han Mireu's face.

A moment later, she cautiously asked,

"Hey. Did I ever tell you who was in charge of this report?"

:: I consulted the Han-ga Academy faculty network.

"Um... I'm just asking. Really, I'm just asking... is that okay?"

:: I only perform tasks that are possible.

"No, no! I'm not asking whether it's possible! Isn't that dangerous?"

:: If you wish, I can make it so that you told me who was in charge of the report.

"What do you mean, make it so that I told you... And that isn't the point..."

:: There is a problem with that teacher's grading standards. Regardless of which view of history an individual teacher favors or dislikes, denying that Han San, the Father of Construction, was 100% responsible for Sanreung City and Gangwon attaining their current standing is itself dogmatism.

"Was that what I asked!?"

:: There are three camera blind spots along that teacher's commuting route. I will now display their locations...

"Hey! Why are you plotting a coup over homework?!"

:: It is not a coup. It is a revolution.

Two options appeared with that response.

[ A. Continue outputting the locations of camera blind spots. Include advice on where to acquire disguise tools such as silicone masks and suitable weapons.

Or anonymously access a contractor-for-hire site and post a request for someone else to handle it.

Would you like me to calculate the costs and attach the virtual-currency wallet address for payment? ]

[ B. Crawl and archive all of the teacher's social-media accounts and internet posts.

Would you like me to select every potentially controversial post, spread them online, and demand an explanation?

Until the teacher gives an official explanation, untraceable anonymous accounts will be created to repeat this. Once an explanation is received, it will be compared against the archived posts to identify or manufacture contradictions, after which further explanations will be demanded. This follow-up process will continue for one year. ]

[ Please select your preferred response. This feedback will be used to improve future model responses. ]

Han Mireu, who had her fair share of human flaws herself, stared at the monitor with the expression of someone looking at a cockroach.

Then she replaced the model.

[ HanGPT 6.1 Aya Mega ]

"Um... do my homework for me."

Han Mireu spoke while watching it with the wariness of a feral cat. Aya Mega first asked three questions.

:: Could you tell me your year and the grading criteria?

:: Have you personally visited any relevant locations?

:: Did your teacher explain the permitted scope of generative AI use?

Han Mireu answered each in turn.

"First year. I don't know. Maybe?"

Silence followed.

Soon, Aya Mega generated a response.

:: The text below is not a finished submission, but an example of how to structure one. Verify the sources yourself and make sure to write it in your own words.

"Yeah, yeah."

Han Mireu opened her word processor.

Then she began copying and pasting the answers with her own hands.

In a country where microwaving frozen food could be called homemade cooking, she had personally typed the prompt and was personally copying and pasting the answers. It was undeniably handmade homework.

:: Han's Myriad Commerce was both a local Gangwon business and an organization that served in place of public offices. Immediately after liberation, this role became established. Amid an administrative vacuum, it carried food and news while maintaining public safety and order.

:: As a result, Gangwon was able to operate schools, warehouses, clinics, and local councils before the central government had even been fully organized.

:: In 1948, the new government formed through the North-South general elections recognized this reality institutionally through the Gangwon Autonomy Agreement. The independence in the title Special Independent Autonomous Province refers not to separation from the state, but to autonomy in various fields.

"This is it."

Han Mireu nodded.

There was no wordplay, and it did not stray from basic human decency.

This was civilization.

:: Broad autonomy also brought a distinctive political culture.

:: For example, no other political parties have managed to gain a foothold in Gangwon. From provincial governor and provincial assembly member to city council member and constituency National Assembly member, the regional Hanwon Party wins 100% of elections.

:: The Liberal Party and Democratic Party have continuously attempted to enter Gangwon since the 1950s, but apart from fielding candidates a few times in Chuncheon and Cheorwon, they have achieved no notable results.

:: Key Hanwon Party figures include Han Bada, a fourteen-term constituency National Assembly member, and Han San, a six-term provincial governor.

"My forefathers..."

Han Mireu puffed out her chest. Hearing about people from her own family like this was a little embarrassing, but also made her proud.

:: One unusual fact is that the Hanwon Party has never expanded beyond Gangwon either.

:: Throughout the history of the post-liberation era, the party has received repeated offers to run in presidential elections or form alliances, but it has rejected them all. Any Hanwon Party member who wishes to run outside Gangwon must first abandon their party membership.

:: The general consensus in political circles is that this political conduct is one reason the Liberal Party and Democratic Party, while criticizing the Hanwon Party as the ultimate regional self-interest party, still leave room for cooperation.

Han Mireu had heard more about it as a family maxim.

[ Protect only what you can hold in your arms, and take only what you have protected. ]

:: Gangwon's food industry also developed. Representative examples include fried chicken and dakgalbi, first introduced by Han San at Blue-Gold Pavilion, as well as Golden Pollock, introduced during Lunar New Year the following year.

:: The chicken industry in particular has become a K-food staple representing Korea.

:: Dubai Chewy Chicken, which combines the trendy Dubai Chewy Cookie with fried chicken, was savaged by Koreans when it launched, but it has become extremely popular overseas.

"Hmm."

Han Mireu opened her desk drawer.

She could not order delivery, but she had stocked up on several packs of Dubai Chewy Chicken-flavored snacks.

She opened one and ate it.

"Something this delicious."

The tastes of those non-Gangwon commoners could not be trusted. Was it not too heavy a burden for Gangwon to count them as fellow citizens of South Korea?

:: Unlike other regions, several Japanese people continued to distinguish themselves in Gangwon after liberation.

:: Sanreung Publishing, Sanreung Daily, and Sanreung Broadcasting, established by Hajama Ayame, are examples. The kendo school left behind by Sawada Kazuo also became one of the roots of martial-arts education in Sanreung.

"My ancestress..."

Han Mireu felt moved.

Not for long.

:: Hajama Ayame's publishing business also greatly influenced the development of modern literature, beginning with Kim Yu-jeong's «The Camellia Heavenly Demon»...

Han Mireu unconsciously stopped being a copy-paste machine and frowned hard.

"Seriously, why did every writer in our country write nothing but martial-arts novels? I want to read pure literature proudly!"

Unfortunately, pure literature was merely a hipster subculture that only did well online. Sanreung University had even opened courses on it, but it still had a long way to go.

There was a lament voiced by the protagonist while riding the subway with a coworker in a work of pure literature that dominated an era after winning the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

[While she read martial-arts novels and got into a good university, I read pure literature.]

There was a reason that monologue struck the hearts of so many pure-literature readers.

"Someday, pure literature will conquer the world."

As she made that chilling vow, Aya Mega's work was nearing its end.

:: On tradition and festivals.

:: Gangwon's provincial governor has a tradition of donning a tiger-skin cloak before the Sebeom Valley ancestral altar during their inauguration. If someone else is elected, the outgoing governor places it on their successor. If the same person is reelected, their spouse does so.

:: Gangwon's Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays last a full seven days. People from other provinces have many opinions about Gangwon, but on this matter alone, they speak with one voice in envy.

"Phew..."

Han Mireu nodded in satisfaction. Then she pitied those unfortunate people who had not been born in Gangwon.

:: With two weekends and substitute public holidays included, this golden holiday lasts eleven nights and twelve days. During Lunar New Year, the Silk Festival is held in Sanreung City. During Chuseok, the Mountain Festival is held there.

:: During the Silk Festival, the Sanreung Lord title match is held for shogi[1]. Sanreung Lord is the most famous shogi title outside Japan.

:: During the Mountain Festival, the Janggi[2] King Championship is held. It is unquestionably the most prestigious title in Korean janggi.

:: Sanreung City has no separate baduk title. However, the Cheonho Seat, held in its sister city of Kannoizuna City, is considered a mid-tier title even in the world of baduk.

"Janggi and baduk..."

Han Mireu frowned like a Chihuahua whose sweet potato had been snatched away.

She remembered the moment Kim Ju-ae, that cheeky little girl, beat her in the dorm-versus-dorm Janggi King Tournament.

Well, as far as she was concerned? Something like janggi? A game old people enjoyed? Losing at a childish game like that? It had not affected her at alllll? And it was only natural for an elementary school-aged child to be better at a child's game, anyway?

"Hmph."

Han Mireu quickly copied and pasted the rest.

:: Another notable event is the Livestock Festival[3].

:: Muhan-dong in Sanreung City is home to a livestock market that stands alongside Seoul's Majang-dong. At the Livestock Festival, master butchers slaughter cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, and other animals according to the established competition rules.

:: The Livestock Festival is an old Sanreung tradition, but since the twenty-first century began, the number of people criticizing it as a violation of animal rights has greatly increased.

:: The Hanwon Party firmly supports the continued existence of the Livestock Festival as party policy.

:: Gangwon governors from the Hanwon Party have varied in how much they accept criticism of the Livestock Festival, but none have ever uttered the words "abolish the Livestock Festival."

On this matter, Han Mireu was thoroughly a member of the Han family.

'Livestock are livestock.'

She did not particularly feel like arguing loudly against it.

How could feeble non-Gangwon citizens possibly understand Gangwon's [spirit]?

'Maybe those Hamgyeong people with Baekdu Mountain could understand a little.'

Han Mireu yawned.

It was already one-thirty in the morning.

Her neck and wrist ached from working her mouth and mouse, but Han Mireu's heart was full.

"Twenty-two manuscript pages!"

That was seven pages more than the required length. It included geography, cities, history, industry, and people, all of it.

"Great! Perfect!"

Han Mireu emailed the saved file, then leaped into bed.

She was out cold.

The next day.

"Han Mireu! You used generative AI to write your homework! Fifty demerit points for Serpent Dormitory!!"

"Whyyyyyyy?!"

It was autumn.

Footnotes:

[1] Shogi is a Japanese chess-like board game in which captured pieces can be returned to play under the captor's control.

[2] Janggi is Korean chess, played on a larger board with pieces moving along intersecting lines.

[3] The Korean name, chukchukje (畜祝祭), combines chuk, “livestock,” with chukje, “festival,” for a deliberately repeated sound.

"Handmade homework" recreates a Korean joke pairing suje, meaning "handmade," with sukje, meaning "homework."

"Pure literature" translates sunmun, short for sunsu munhak, a Korean category often contrasted with popular genre fiction.

The Korean name of the Livestock Festival combines chuk, meaning "livestock," with chukje, meaning "festival," creating a deliberately repeated sound.

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