Generation Z Artists

Chapter 138 A Slap in the Face Mixed with Sweetness: Pain or Pleasure?

In the interview area, Fang Xinghe sat in the center, with Li Bingyu on his left and a Chinese student translator on his right. Officials from the Cultural Industry Institute and the chairman of the Writers Association stood on either side.

None of my newly acquainted friends from the entertainment industry attended.

In private, they are all incredibly enthusiastic.

When it comes to public occasions, they don't dare to even get involved.

This is the power of Brother Fang.

The audience was packed with thirty or forty media outlets, and there were about 50 seats in the back allocated to various businesses—tickets were not sold to the public, so those who attended were at least potential partners.

After Li Bingyu said a few words, the interview officially began.

"Fang Xinghe-xi, welcome to South Korea. I am Kim Sung-ho, a reporter from KBS. I heard that you received death threats from far-right groups in Japan, and the atmosphere during your trip was very tense. Is that true?"

The first question we're addressing is a major topic of interest across South Korea, a top-tier news story.

This was originally a great opportunity to play the victim, but Fang Xinghe refused and went straight for the challenge.

"Nothing."

The young man smiled casually, calmly and composedly.

“At least the police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not warn me of any similar danger, and no right-winger stood in front of me to threaten me, so this matter does not exist in my mind.”

The KBS reporter immediately followed up: "But the Japanese internet is indeed rife with death threats..."

Fang Xinghe shook his head: "Those noises that only dare to be loud online, I regard as the wailing of defeated dogs, the venting of incompetent people. I never think of them as a threat. Are there no unfriendly voices against me on the Korean internet?"

When Fang Xinghe stared directly at him, the KBS reporter awkwardly admitted, "There are some..."

Fang Xinghe spread his hands: "There's no difference. I'm just indifferent to everyone. If you want to say something to me, scold me, or threaten me, stand in front of me. Otherwise, you don't deserve my attention. Next question."

A faint buzzing sound came from the audience.

Fang Xinghe's sharp personality is no secret in South Korea. But there is still a difference between "hearing" and "seeing".

They were truly excited to feel that overwhelming aura emanating from them.

Of course, some people also frowned deeply.

The excitement stemmed from the explosive popularity of the topic, while the frown was undoubtedly due to dislike of Fang Xinghe's personality.

South Korea is a very conservative society that places great emphasis on hierarchy and social status. Most South Korean men are contradictory figures who are arrogant inside but humble outside, or humble inside but arrogant outside. There are very few madmen or gentlemen who are consistent inside and out.

Without Japan acting as a catalyst, Fang Xinghe's trip to South Korea first would certainly not have been as effective.

……

The second question came from an SBS News reporter.

"Fang Xinghe, your fearless spirit is truly admirable. However, according to your original itinerary, you should have stayed in Japan for another three days. I would like to ask, why did you arrive in Korea earlier than planned?"

Fang Xinghe glanced at the other person but couldn't figure out his intentions.

What kind of answer is he looking for?
Forget it, let me think about what kind of answer I'm willing to give.

Fang Xinghe thought for two seconds and then chose to continue indulging himself.

"The time originally reserved was for business cooperation and cultural exchange, but the overall atmosphere in Japan is disappointing. I have offended a lot of right-wing people, which has shaken the confidence of businesses in cooperation. The cultural community is also keeping its distance from me. I feel that there is no point in staying any longer, so I left early."

I hope South Korea won't be like that; I have many special expectations for South Korea.

The SBS reporter quickly followed up: "Anything you're particularly looking forward to? For example? What aspects of Korean culture do you like the most?"

"I like you guys who, like me, don't like Japan."

Fang Xinghe's answer, once translated, immediately sparked a burst of laughter from the audience.

His humor was so fresh to Koreans, and it was full of a straightforward frankness.

However, a reporter from the JoongAng Ilbo stood up and questioned him provocatively: "Besides this common point, Fang Xinghe-xi has no other reason to like Korea, is that right? As far as I know, you describe our Republic of Korea as an appendix, and many of your articles use derogatory terms to describe everything related to Korea. But now you expect to receive enthusiasm from the cultural world and commercial cooperation in Korea. Isn't that a bit too presumptuous?"

As expected, not all the South Korean media outlets supported me.

Fang Xinghe was already mentally prepared, so he was not in a hurry and focused on the matter at hand.

"I really dislike South Korea. Since you know me so well, you should know why."

Fang Xinghe's confession caused a stir among the audience.

Some reporters admired him because his arrogance was undisguised from beginning to end.

Some journalists disliked him because he remained unrepentant even on South Korean soil.

The reporter from the JoongAng Ilbo frowned: "It's because of your father, Fang Tonghui, isn't it? But his decision to come to live in South Korea is not something we can decide. Your anger is completely unreasonable."

"I know."

Fang Xinghe nodded, then spread his hands.

"But I'm just unreasonable like this, I just want to take my anger out on others, what can I do? If I weren't so willful, I wouldn't have offended such a huge Japanese market. Now I've come to Korea, not to ask you for anything."

My special expectations for you do not include cultural exchange or business cooperation. Please don't be so presumptuous, thank you.

Grass!
The reporter from the Central Daily News cursed under his breath. He hated this arrogant brat in front of him. He couldn't even imagine such willfulness and recklessness when he was young and impetuous.

Even a slight comparison would sting his years of suppressed emotions.

But he still had to swallow his anger and continue asking, "So, what exactly are your special expectations? Can you disclose some of them to our people?"

"of course can."

Fang Xinghe's attitude suddenly returned to its warm state, as if his previous cold face had never appeared.

The boy raised his right hand and gently broke off a thumb.

"For example... I'm hoping that a kind local gang will help me find Fang Tonghui, drag him with his broken leg to me, and say: 'I'm so sorry, Fang Xinghe, your father accidentally hit my new car. Let's discuss how you plan to compensate me.'"

As soon as the translator finished speaking, the room erupted in the loudest laughter of the day.

Fang Xinghe's jokes are too hellish.

This contempt for the law, this outspoken vengefulness, this authenticity that is half serious and half humorous—it is a unique style that Koreans have never seen before.

The South Korean media, of course, showed no sympathy for Fang Tonghui, so they laughed loudly.

After laughing, Fang Xinghe's previous mocking remarks suddenly became acceptable.

Yes, that's Fang Xinghe. To enjoy his popularity, you have to accept his arrogance and stubbornness; to admire his bravery, you have to accept his vivid reality.

The Japanese are being criticized so harshly, so what's wrong with us suffering a little injustice?
That's perfectly normal!

Most media outlets have restored the other side's tolerance, but a few individuals are indignant.

An MBC reporter couldn't help but ask loudly, "Fang Xinghe, are you serious? Are you using the media to instruct local gangs?"

The word "point out" once again elicited a burst of laughter.

Fang Xinghe didn't answer directly, but instead cleverly asked in return, "What about the local gangs in South Korea? Are they smart enough?"

"Hahahahaha!"

A third burst of laughter erupted, and many reporters even couldn't help but applaud.

Whether the local gangs are smart or not is hard to say, but Fang Xinghe is definitely too smart.

A question that could not be answered directly and contained legal risks was transformed by his counter-question, immediately possessing both a clear answer and a safe point of humor, making people laugh and clearly demonstrating his will.

The officials from the Cultural Industry Institute were about to grab the microphone when they heard Fang Xinghe's reply and burst into laughter, abandoning their attempt to interrupt.

The MBC reporter who raised the trap question shook his head, gave a wry smile, and gave up: "Sorry, I don't know. You can wait and see; perhaps a kind local gang will contact you..."

Another round of light laughter followed, and the media snapped notes, feeling that today's trip had been truly worthwhile.

A reporter from the Cultural Daily stood up and asked, "Fang Xinghe, your hatred for Fang Tonghui is so deep, I can understand it, but I still can't help but ask, in the traditional cultural concepts shared by our three East Asian countries, patricide is a very evil crime. Aren't you worried at all about the backlash?"

Fang Xinghe stopped making jokes about this issue.

"I will bear all the consequences and responsibilities."

He waved his hand dismissively: "Next question."

Handsome.

The reporters present felt a similar sentiment, gaining a deeper understanding of Fang Xinghe.

"Fang Xinghe, I have exclusive news about your father!"

One reporter raised his hand high, securing the opportunity to ask the next question.

Fang Xinghe looked closely and noticed that the microphone in his hand had a sign that read "Busan Daily".

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

The Busan reporter adjusted his glasses and said confidently, "After the extensive coverage by the Korean media, your father must already know about your achievements, but he hasn't gone looking for you or used this rare attention to gain anything. Knowing him as you do, don't you find that strange?"

"It's strange." Fang Xinghe nodded. "So, he's doing very well now?"

"It's quite good."

The Busan reporter suddenly revealed an expression that seemed to be desperately trying to laugh, which he barely managed to suppress, his shoulders shaking repeatedly.

"Just a few days ago, a very rich and beautiful lady took a liking to him and invited him to her villa for a romantic night. He still hadn't left by the time I left. Wow, what an enviable stroke of luck..."

Fang Xinghe was stunned.

For the first time, he was filled with an incredible sense of shock.

"Why?" Mr. Fang's eyes widened. "Hasn't that lady read my book, 'Sex'?"

The Busan reporter shrugged: "I don't know, but she must have seen it, right? Her family is very prominent, so she should know everything about Fang Tonghui carefully."

Fang Xinghe was even more confused: "Then what is she after? Is it Fang Tonghui's three minutes?"

The Busan reporter grinned and laughed heartily: "That's just a minor detail. Mr. Fang was able to give birth to a genius like you, so there must be some redeeming qualities in your bloodline, right? Fang Xinghe-xi, perhaps you'll soon have a Korean younger brother... or maybe more than one?"
As far as I know, ever since you appeared in Time magazine, Mr. Fang has been interested in more than just one or two ladies..."

What the hell!

Fang Xinghe's face turned ashen, and he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Damn it! So it's because I acted too awesome that Fang Tonghui became a hot commodity for sperm donation in South Korea?!
"Hahahahaha!"

The audience erupted in the loudest laughter of the day. It wasn't actually malicious mockery directed at Fang Xinghe, but it was the first time Fang had ever been so vulnerable.

Then another idiot exclaimed enviously, "Wow! If we can't borrow Fang Xinghe's seed, using his father's seed is a good idea! Fang Tonghui will definitely be very popular, won't he?"

Yes, he's so popular that even tycoon wives are willing to spend money to support him.

A Busan reporter asked smugly, "It seems the local gangs can't help you anymore, Fang Xinghe-xi. What are your thoughts on this?"

Fang Xinghe wants to bomb South Korea. Damn it, what's there to be so smug about?!

Despite his anger, he eventually calmed down and didn't fall into this new trap—it's too low to get entangled with them on this; Koreans are shameless, but we have to be considerate.

"Thoughts? Your lady is certainly indiscriminate in her choices." With a sarcastic remark, Fang Xinghe decisively ended the conversation. "Next question."

Two tabloid reporters tried to pester him, but Fang Xinghe ignored them, and they finally quieted down.

But new difficulties continue to arise.

"Fang Xinghe, you have written articles about cultural independence and cultural warfare, and you regard South Korea as a target of confrontation. Does this mean that you are actually very afraid of the literature, film, music and idols of our Republic of Korea?"

The reporter from the Cultural Daily, with a peculiar arrogance, prepared a series of progressively challenging questions, intending to set a trap.

However, Fang Xinghe's response instantly shattered all his illusions.

"Me, a bestselling author with 1000 million copies sold across Asia, afraid of your country's cultural influence?"

Fang Xinghe looked at the other party with surprise, then shook his head with a smile: "Please sit down, Reporter Shen. Who is afraid of whom is not a friendly question. I don't want to embarrass your country's literary circles."

The chairman of the Writers' Association next door immediately turned ashen-faced and glared angrily at reporter Shen.

At this time, South Korea abolished Chinese characters and began to use Korean script for writing, which directly led to a sharp decline in its literary level.

As a phonetic script, Korean is essentially a simple phonetic alphabet with homophones and characters. It can be written, but it has long been divorced from beauty and precision, and has completely lost its national characteristics.

As fellow Asian writers, Kawabata Yasunari's "Izu no Odori" uses kana for grammatical coherence and kanji for core semantics, ultimately forming a unique and concise poetic language that allows any literature enthusiast to feel the abstract and profound spirit of the Japanese people.

But South Korea has long since lost its literary masters, a fact that even the South Korean literary community itself acknowledges.

Even Han Kang, the later Nobel laureate in literature, was criticized for her writing style as "using generic Western literary techniques without any distinctive features." From the publication of "The Vegetarian" in 07 to winning the prize in 24, the Korean literary world desperately promoted her as a national standard book for 17 years, but in reality, the gap between her and the top writers in China and Japan was not that big.

From a purely textual perspective, the upper limit for Korean writers is only 80 points or even 75 points. This is the limitation of the Korean language. Its richness and accuracy are not only inferior to Chinese, but also inferior to English, French, and Italian. They are not worthy of sharing the same language.

Therefore, Fang Xinghe's threat is not unfounded. If they were to really get into a literary debate, he would be fully capable of embarrassing the entire literary world.

—Our Chinese music and singing and dancing are indeed not as good as yours, but I'll just slap the literary world hard. Let's each fight our own battles, and guess who will get hurt?

The person in pain stepped forward to defend Fang Xinghe.

Writers Association Chairman Li Zaiying interjected: "This reporter Shen is a bit shallow. Culture and literature are not tools for winning, but rather profound and transcendent self-expression. Fang Xinghe's cultural independence should not be understood in such a shallow way, and his idol status is not enough to explain his success."

During the previous exchange meeting, Xiao Ying was subtly provoked by Fang Xinghe, and now she is extremely obedient and determined to nip any potential danger in the bud.

So, Fang leaned back in his chair and casually watched as the literary elder criticized the media mogul, Shen, leaving the reporter speechless in no time.

The other reporters understood immediately and began to flatter him.

"Fang Xinghe, your novel 'Azure Night Snow' has achieved unprecedented sales in my country, blah blah blah..."

"Fang Xinghe, please talk about the core ideas in literary creation. Young people in South Korea really need your experience..."

After a friendly exchange, the topic inevitably returned to the relationship between China, Japan, and South Korea.

This is the fundamental reason why Fang Xinghe is so revered in South Korea, and it is also the news most worthy of discussion.

"Fang Xinghe, your hatred for Japan is so deep and unwavering, providing strong support for our protests. However, on many issues such as the massacre and comfort women, the Japanese government has consistently refused to apologize and make compensation. Both our countries are facing the dilemma of justice not being served. Do you think there is any way to resolve this issue? How can we fight on more effectively?"

This is a problem that is not a trap, but is even worse than a trap.

If this question is answered directly here, the news will not do any good to the already weakened public goodwill of Japan.

If he doesn't give a direct answer, then his base of support in South Korea will also lose legitimacy.

If domestic pressures are added on top of that, it becomes even more complicated.

Fang Xinghe knew all this, but he insisted on expressing his true feelings directly.

Whether it's striking a mountain to scare away a tiger or killing a chicken to warn the monkey, you need to be strong and ruthless; you can't get anything done by being all smiles and pleasantries.

So he launched a barrage of attacks, targeting everyone from the government to the people.

"To understand Japan's stubbornness on these issues, we must dissect their political ecology and grassroots support."

As the long-term ruling party in Japan, the conservatives' core ideology tends to downplay historical responsibility and sever ties with the military government at the time—"I didn't start the war, so why should I apologize?"
They believe that an apology would undermine Japan's national dignity, and no prime minister is willing to take on that responsibility.

As for the conservative voters who form the basis of the conservative government, this group has long been influenced by the right-wing forces to link historical issues and cultural identity.

In their context, only a sufficiently strong government can lead Japan forward, and an apology would mean the loss of dignity for the entire nation.

This conservative cultural identity leads to an impulse in every administration to put on a political show of 'acting tough'.

For example, visiting the Yasukuni Shrine.

It's disgusting, but it's the cheapest way for every prime minister to showcase his style.

What kind of integrity do you expect from politicians?
Furthermore, after arriving in Japan, I spoke with many people and discovered that Japanese people have a peculiar mechanism for avoiding responsibility—"Hey! It's a pity..."

They always bowed and expressed their regret, but what other actions did they take? None.

This is a very special shame culture that considers publicly admitting mistakes to be a disgrace to an individual or a country. Therefore, they will not apologize unless absolutely necessary. Even when absolutely necessary, they will only bow in apology and then consider the problem solved.

Under this avoidance mechanism, there is a strong voice in the Japanese public who believes that "we are also victims of war"—they were hit by two nuclear bombs, and then began to exaggerate the war damage they suffered.

Therefore, it is meaningless for the left wing to acknowledge war crimes. The historical stance of the people is not unified, which means that the government can only lean to the right and not to the left.

—Left-leaning countries not only have to apologize, but also face troubles such as compensation. The Japanese government has no motivation to do such a thing, which can also be seen as a lack of responsibility to unify historical positions.

Under these circumstances, expecting an official apology from them is neither realistic nor worthwhile.

I don't know what your country's attitude is, but personally, I don't really need their apology. I would rather leave this historical issue unresolved so that the righteousness of national revenge can always be maintained.

China is rising, and our government loves peace, but our generation of young people doesn't have to love peace.

If one day, the world collapses and the balance of power reverses, and we still hold the initiative in demanding compensation, then I would be more than willing to let them live in fear of having their heads hanging by a sword for a long time to come…

Fang Xinghe's narration has a slow and steady rhythm.

His voice wasn't loud, and his tone wasn't heavy, yet it was extremely captivating.

The South Korean reporters listened intently, and were subsequently completely captivated by his logic and insight.

This is a kind of penetration with extremely high dimensionality, and only a very few experts and scholars possess such ability, but they do not have Fang Xinghe's sharpness.

Therefore, when Fang Xinghe finished speaking, a burst of rapid exclamations erupted in the hall.

It's ferocious, absolutely ferocious.

That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous.

The South Korean reporters, looking at the dazzlingly handsome young man on stage, could hardly believe that they could hear such a wise yet fierce declaration from such a young idol.

The flashes of cameras were continuous, people with empty hands applauded enthusiastically, and exclamations of "Shiba Shiba" could be heard everywhere... They finally understood the pain and shock of their ancestors when they were casually manipulated by those top geniuses during their audiences with the suzerain state.

The scene was chaotic for a while before being broken up by the World Journal.

South Korea also has right-wing groups and right-wing media, which are equally easy to breach.

The World Journal is precisely such an extremely anti-communist right-wing media outlet. The reporter asked with a gloomy face: "Fang Xinghe, I have discovered that you are an absolute Greater China nationalist. Is your stance on South Korea consistent with that of Japan?"
But have you considered that South Korea is completely different from Japan? If you imagine yourself making money from Japanese fans while criticizing and attacking their country, just like you would in Japan, you would definitely suffer huge setbacks in South Korea.

"The citizens of the Republic of Korea can only be respected, not humiliated. This is my advice to you!"

Wow, that's quite a strategy, isn't it?
It's clever of them to instill national pride in the South Korean people in advance, thereby using the bigger picture to restrain Fang Xinghe's words and actions.

But for Fang Xinghe, it was nothing more than dust that he could easily brush away.

He smiled slightly and replied, "Of course it's different. My displeasure with South Korea stems from personal grievances, not national hatred."

Although we have had our share of unpleasantness, the sacrifices of soldiers from both countries in that war were not the same as the invasion and massacre, so we have all the foundations for peaceful and friendly exchanges.

I will respond to you with the same enthusiasm as you have treated me; personal grievances can be put aside for the time being.

However, if I may be frank, your attitude and that of certain right-wing media outlets can hardly be described as friendly…

After being provoked by Fang Xinghe, some people became increasingly frustrated.

A representative of the conservative faction, a reporter from the Chosun Ilbo, stood up and asked: "Fang Xinghe-xi, I don't know if you realize that your personality is actually the core reason for creating so many troubles. You are destroying the excellent situation of Sino-Japanese friendship and South Korea-Japan friendship. Your unscrupulous exacerbation of conflicts has already made a mess of the domestic public opinion environment in Japan. Now you have come to South Korea and are showing this arrogant attitude with a serious lack of respect for hierarchy. Have you ever thought that under the core of our culture, such behavior will have a very bad negative impact on you?"

Here it comes, classic Korean conservatism.

Fang Xinghe was not familiar with South Korea at that time, but he had a deep understanding of South Korean society and the consistent commonalities of South Koreans.

Therefore, he had long anticipated the contradictory psychology of some Koreans—they dislike him but are also excited about his destruction of Japan, admiring him while hating him at the same time, so it is not surprising that they would do anything twisted.

So, how do we deal with these awkward and strange people?

Brother Fang decided to swing his arm and slap her across the face.

"Actually, I've always known that South Korea and Japan have completely different cultural cores."

As soon as Fang Xinghe opened his mouth, he received great attention from all the media present.

Fang Xinghe is a genius writer recognized by China, Japan and South Korea. He is known for his cultural insights, and his interview with Time magazine on "cultural power" has aroused strong reactions in cultural circles around the world.

When someone like that suddenly starts talking about culture, it becomes the core news of the core news, and everyone is eager to hear it and curious about it.

The head of the online trolls showed his true skills, calmly quoting in front of the camera.

"Actually, my personality is more compatible with Japan, and somewhat incompatible with South Korea."

Both Japanese and South Korean societies are oppressive, but while Japan often sees a few eccentric individuals engaging in underworld acts, South Korean society has never experienced such oppression. The strict hierarchy and the rigid class system that forcibly creates internal hierarchical distinctions among the common people have collectively stifled South Korea's rebellious spirit.

Therefore, in South Korea, there is only bullying, but no subversion of superiors is allowed.

A prime example of cultural significance is "Journey to the West," an IP that enjoys phenomenal popularity in Japan. Since the Edo period, it has been a recurring theme in Japanese literature, with countless adaptations and borrowings.

However, in South Korea, its dissemination was extremely limited, and adaptations were few and far between, all of which failed.

The fundamental reason is that South Korea's inherent culture does not endorse that rebellious spirit and does not regard Sun Wukong as a representative of heroism.

The core of South Korea's elite culture is largely inherited from the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism of the Ming Dynasty, the last vestige of Confucianism in modern society, but it was completely eradicated by President Park of South Korea by abolishing Chinese characters.

The historical perspective of ordinary South Koreans has been severed by written language ever since—I can understand the historical books and materials in your country's national museum, but how many of you here can understand them?

Since then, a large number of ordinary South Koreans have begun to convert to religion, resulting in a hybrid that is neither purely Chinese nor purely Western, which has led to South Koreans being subjected to both traditional and religious oppression.

When one's spirit is constrained, upward mobility is controlled, and one's historical perspective and cultural identity are not self-satisfied, talk of peace becomes a form of intellectual freedom and spiritual rebellion.
In my opinion, South Korea's economy is developed enough, but its politics are not independent enough, and its culture is even more lacking. I am a complete oddball in your eyes, and I think you all feel the same way.

Therefore, my biggest hope for this trip to South Korea is that we can interact with each other with the heart of a gentleman, embrace differences, learn from each other's strengths, and truly promote cultural exchanges between the people of our two countries.

If your people do not agree with my ideas, then it's simple: I will leave quietly and try my best to preserve our last remaining consensus.

At the end, Fang Xinghe bowed slightly with humility, being extremely polite.

The Chosun Ilbo reporter was dumbfounded.

At the same time, the entire venue was completely silent.

(End of this chapter)