1
The significance of a unified Korea and its advantages and
implications
Introduction………..3
The Korean war………....3
The main global barriers to reunification……….3
Why public interest in reunification needs to be maintained………...4
The benefits of reunification……….5
Conclusion………7
Bibliography……….8
3
Introduction
During the inter-Korean summits of 2018, the reunification of Korea was a compelling issue with a global audience that reignited ‘the great reunification dream’ (De Mente, 2017).
However, the hope and interest among South Koreans and the world since then seems to have decreased, making it important to keep exploring the possibility. I will investigate why it is vital to keep talking of reunification and the benefits it would come with as well as the barriers that could be in its way.
The eventual advantages of reunification would be substantial from both an economic and social justice point of view. It would also reduce global tensions in removing the nuclear threat presented by North Korea. Reunification in combining South Korea and North Korea into one nation as before is the ultimate goal, but it is also realistic to think of peace as a stepping stone that must be reached first. Peace on the peninsula would mean an official declaration, ratifying the end of the war and hostilities and creating an open border with reunification in mind. But to talk of peace, the war that lead to the animosity that is prevalent today must first be discussed.
The Korean war
When the WW2 allies took control of the peninsula to create ‘a unified and independent Korea’
(Kerr, 2020), Ironically, their first action was to split the country into two halves. Giving one side of the territory to Russia (the North), and the other to America (the South) creating the infamous 38th parallel.
In 1950, the North Korean People’s Army headed by Kim il-sung (backed by Stalin) invades the South armed with soviet artillery and tanks. South Korea, headed by Rhee Syng-man with the support of America and the UN, fight back and proceed to and beyond the 38th parallel.
This provokes china, who join the war, strengthening the North Korean military. The violent conflict continues with atrocities committed by both sides, creating a civilian death toll of around two and a half million (Tudor, 2018).
Finally, on July 27th, 1953, the Korean armistice agreement was signed to conclude the war, not in peace, but halting the violence and military offences. However, immense damage had been caused; according to Tudor (2018) roughly half of all homes were destroyed and schools, roads and bridges were annihilated, leaving the remaining population in extreme destitution.
Both South and North Korea have bounced back in remarkable ways. Yet what never changed and still has not is the status of a peace declaration on the Korean peninsula.
The main global barriers to reunification
Declaring peace would be the first step to reunification but the Korean armistice agreement that would need to be amended involves China and America as well as South and North Korea.
Even though 68.7% (Lee, 2020) of South Koreans believe that reunification should be an exclusively Korean matter, it is almost inevitable that foreign powers would get involved.
If reunification occurred, China would undoubtedly have huge influence in developing the Northern side and America would likely have an impact in helping unified Korea become more liberal and democratic. But as Cronin et al. (2015) express, a stable democracy and
‘excessive Korean nationalism’ could considerably weaken parts of the communist party in
China. The process of reunification could become a power struggle between these two world powers that still have great influence over the peninsula.
Moreover, we must consider the actions of Russia, who presumably would collaborate with China on the Northern side as they did before and Japan, who’s recent remilitarisation would support America and the South. Cronin et al. (2015) express how a reunified Korea places itself ‘at the geostrategic intersection of four of the world’s most powerful nations’ proving reunification to be of global importance. The hope is that peace can be reached without foreign intervention and afterwards, gradual changes to encourage reunification can be made while constantly negotiating terms with the foreign powers involved.
The nuclear barrier
The impact of North Korea’s nuclear program is also evident on a global scale. As former secretary general of the UN, Ban Ki-moon (2018) states, ‘it is absolutely important after two decades long negotiations there lies denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula’.
The inter-Korean summits that took place in 2018 address the nuclear issue in the Panmunjom declaration that aims to promote the cooperation of the two countries. However, due to the constant unpredictably on North Koreas part, who continue their dialogue of (often baseless) military threats and disapproval of South Korea’s collaborations with the US regarding denuclearisation, it can be difficult to see the future of this particular issue.
A positive aspect we can gain from the summits of April 2018 is the continued efforts of South Korea’s current president, Moon Jae-in, to implement aspects of the sunshine policy, created by Kim Dae-jung to encourage peaceful cooperation between the nations. Likewise, Kim Jong-un’s willingness to meet and collaborate despite his renowned volatility, even potentially tackling a global barrier in meeting American president Trump that same year.
Why public interest in reunification needs to be maintained
Though older generations in South Korea would join Moon Jae-in in supporting reunification, those born in the 1970s/80s and after are most relevant as they have what Tudor (2018) calls
‘Sceptical apathy’. They do not remember a time when there was outright political hostility and violence and have no direct relatives separated during the conflict. In fact, many believe it would be an economic burden if they reunited. This view is also prevalent among The ‘880,000 won Generation’, termed by Woo Seok-hoon (2007). With the youth unemployment rates ever rising and economic prospects becoming scarce, these young South Koreans believe financially supporting the North’s economy to be detrimental. Some are supportive of reunification but ask the question, why should it be their generation that must suffer the economic downfalls when they would not see the benefits for a while into the future?
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The table above shows South Korean’s percentage of support towards unification categorized by age and the correlation shows less support with each age group. If this trajectory continues, apathy and negativity will continue to grow and the more it does, the less possible reunification becomes. That is why it is pertinent to keep raising the possibility of reunification, to make the younger generation aware of the bigger picture and the potential benefits of it. As Tudor (2018) notes, ‘by 2025, there will be very few people alive who can remember their relatives and friends in North Korea pre-division’. There must be a desire for reunification to instigate action towards it. Perhaps, there should also be some sense of moral obligation from South Koreans for those in the North whose lives are significantly harder due to their birthplace.
The human rights issue
Another reason for reunification comes from the view of social justice and directly through the perspectives of North Korean citizens and defectors. As one defector states in an Asian Boss interview in 2018, from their perspective, reunification is a ‘highly emotional issue’ but to persuade South Koreans they must speak in terms of money. In the same interview, another expresses that ‘North Koreans have a right to freedom’ and to be able to exercise that right,
‘reunification must happen’.
Freedom is not the only violation committed by the Kim dynasty. Books such as Harden’s
‘Escape from camp 14’, Demick’s ‘Nothing to envy’, Kang’s ‘This is paradise!’ and more, demonstrate some of the appalling human rights abuses that North Korean people must endure.
The risks defectors are willing to take to escape the situation they were born into are shocking and it is such a common narrative. Why must they, after such hardships, also accept never seeing their families and friends again? Reunification, or peace at the least, would allow South Korea to confront and collaborate in solving the human rights issues of the North. Such as the oppressive labour camps, public executions and the eleven million (World Food Programme, 2019) that are still undernourished even after the great famine or ‘the arduous march’. Though some North Koreans do live in comfort, none of them live in freedom and reunification could grant them this.
The benefits of reunification
A key to raising the possibility of reunification is highlighting the many advantages that come from social, anthropogeographical, and economical points of view.
The economic benefits of uniting Korea in the long run would be undeniably great. Combining Table 1- Attitude toward Unification on the Basis of Ethnic Identity per Age Group (Park et al., 2018)
the North’s natural resources and workforce with the well-established businesses and conglomerates in the South could create huge economic opportunities and raise Korea’s value, creating a significant global power. Some of North Korea’s natural resources consist of coal, iron ore, zinc, copper, and even gold, three of which are used in the circuit boards of mobile phones. Combining these with the likes of LG, Samsung and SK Hynix products would surely be profitable.
Another factor to consider is the social demography of both countries. Figure 1 and 2 show their population structures. Notice how South Korea’s aging population is more profound than the North. This, in addition to the low birth rates in the South and higher fertility rates in the North, would make for a much more sustainable population in a unified Korea. Securing the future demographic of a younger workforce and to some extent, avoiding the aging population crisis that looms in many modern developed countries.
Social reunification
We must also look at reunification from the social side. It would make the broken families of the older generations whole again and would reunite the North Korean defectors in the South with their lost loved ones. For people like Oak-hee in Demick’s (2014), ‘nothing to envy’ who
Figure 1- Population Pyramid of North Korea:2008 (Stephen, 2013)
Figure 2- Population Pyramid of South Korea:2012 (Stephen, 2013)
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dreamt of the children she left behind only to wake up ‘to the fact she was a world away without them’.
It would also create new social and job opportunities for the youth on both sides of the country.
In interviews conducted by Asian Boss (2018) of South Koreans and North Korean defectors, they mention how those in their twenties struggle. For North Korean youth, there are many things they want to achieve, especially with their knowledge of other countries, but they cannot act on them. For South Koreans, the job market is becoming ever tougher and the economy is becoming stagnant. Woo Seok-hoon (as cited in Lee, 2013) claims ‘Among those in their 20s now, only the top 5 percent will be able to work at a stable office job’.
Reunification would mean development in North Korea, creating opportunities for more jobs and would mean liberty for North Koreans, allowing them to have dreams and aspirations that could come to fruition.
There is the worry of facilitating two extremely different political systems and ideologies however, the new ‘Jangmadang’ (black market) generation of North Korea know only the underground capitalised markets and have no living memory of the communist food supplies before the great famine. As the defector Park Yeon-mi (2014) of this generation states ‘once you start trading for yourself, you start thinking for yourself’, and this in itself defies the regime of the Kim family dynasty and opens the North to economic ideas and modern progression. With even the elite earning a government wage of less than one US dollar per month (Tudor and Pearson, 2015), these markets will presumably keep growing as they are often the main income of the average North Korean family. As they do, along with the illegal trade of foreign media that is prevalent, people will continue to become disillusioned to the regime and find it easier to adjust to the capitalistic concepts of the South.
Conclusion
Peace on the Korean peninsula is entirely possible. Peace in the form of official ratifications, replacing the current armistice agreement to conclude all hostilities and in the form of an open border with continued cooperation of the South and North. The Panmunjom Declaration from the recent summits coincide with this and agrees to cooperate in ending the war but there must be more discussions to make this truly achievable.
For reunification, it would be crucial for the South to support the North economically. This would be costly but in the long run, its advantages in the future could be worth the price of the past, eventually creating a new economical world power. It would mean North Korea acknowledging its human rights abuses and South Korea and other international communities helping to resolve them. A compromise in political ideas would need to be reached so that the ever-growing North Korean markets can be allowed to expand to eventually join and trade business externally. All of this depends on continuing to raise awareness of reunification, especially among the South Korean youth.
Reunification would mean a new era for the Korean Peninsula and a new era in working towards world peace. If a nation that has been split for over seventy years could be reunited, overcoming geopolitical barriers and nuclear threats, it would become a true model for peace in our global society.
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