Foreign exchange crisis.

To interpret it literally, it means there’s a shortage of foreign currency—namely, dollars—coming from outside (the U.S.).

People often think the dollar is the world’s key currency, and that’s why problems arise when there’s a dollar shortage... but this isn’t a simple issue.

When Koreans think about the 1997 foreign exchange crisis—commonly referred to as the IMF crisis—what kind of images come to mind?

Collapsed companies, rising unemployment, and the national humiliation of having handed over economic sovereignty to external forces...

Of course, that’s understandable. Those are the things most people directly experienced. And when you frame it as the 1997 East Asian financial crisis, that image generally fits.

But there’s something important missing from that picture.

It doesn’t explain why the dollars disappeared—or how that was even possible, or what the root causes were.

Outrageous claims like “the people’s overspending caused it”—and the fact that some accepted that so casually—stem from this gap in understanding.

Basically, people assumed that the crisis happened because Koreans were splurging abroad and tossing dollars around like confetti, draining the nation’s reserves.

– Clack.

“So then, take a guess. What am I going to do?”

I asked, showing the mountain of documents stacked in front of me to my closest inner circle.

Lee Si-hyun, Ha Joo-seong, Ha Yeong-il, Seo Joo-eun, Yoo Seon-jun, and Seo Ji-yeon.

All of them were people who had crossed a certain line I had drawn. People who had, in some way or another, come to occupy a considerable part of my heart.

It was only a temporary task force, but honestly? Not bad at all.

“...You’re gonna blow something up, right?”

Yoo Seon-jun—one of the very few allowed to speak casually to me—joked. A ripple of laughter passed through the mixed crowd of people from all walks of life.

“Mhm. That’s correct.”

Correct as in I’m going to blow you up.

– Thunk.