Reunification Of The Two Koreas: Is It Possible?

      Throughout the years, there have been rising threats from the North Korean government and consequently, issues regarding North Korea are drawing more attention from the media and around the world. The increasing warnings from the North Korean government, especially in regards to nuclear bomb development and human rights issues, pose great danger to South Korea and other influential nations involved. On January 6th 2016, Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent reports, “North Korea may have tested components of a hydrogen bomb.” Although there are no final conclusions as of yet, there is a high possibility that North Korea may be successful in attaining nuclear weapon technology soon enough. This recent news highlights the question that is always on the mind- whether reunification of the two Koreas will truly be achievable, as there are massive challenges that need to be resolved. 

      To give a brief historical overview, the Korean peninsula was divided into two parts; North and South starting from 1945,  but then officially became separated after the Korean war. Technically, the Korean war has never properly ended since no peace treaty was signed but rather a Korean Armistice Agreement was negotiated on July 27th 1953 between the Soviet Union (China and Russia) and the United Nations forces assisted by the American Army to temporarily pause the war. The two Koreas were divided by drawing a border on the 38th parallel on the Korean Peninsula. Forwarding to the present time, the two Koreas still cooperate under the Korean Armistice Agreement and the year 2016 marks 71 years of its permanent division. North Korea, also known as Democratic People of Korea, is ruled under a totalitarian dictatorship, where there is hardly room to allow flexibility and acceptance for new ideologies to be placed. Their ideologies has caused millions of its civilians to become malnourished, ripped off necessary humanitarian rights, and caused the majority of North Koreans to live in an extremely isolated confinement from the rest of the world. On the other hand, South Korea currently follows a presidential representative democratic republic system. The overwhelming differences between two nations makes it strenuous to achieve the ultimate goal of reunification.

      There are various factors such as cultural division, economical pressure, and distinctly different governmental structures that challenges the goal of reunification.

      Cultural division is developing to be a bigger influence,  as the division between the two Koreas continue to exist for longer periods of time. The longing for reunification seems to be decreasing, as 71 years has already passed by since the division. To examine  South Korea’s response to this problem, views tend to be divided between the old and the younger generations. Many Koreans were separated from their families and were never able to hear from their family members again. Reunification is a must solve issue, for the older generations, as they were directly affected by the Korean War. However, the younger generations that only grew up learning about the war tend to see it more as a obligation and are indifferent to the issue. For example, as stated in The Guardian News, several young university students such as Seongcheol Geum, a 23- year old from Yonsei University- said “for today’s generation, unification doesn’t feel personal any more. It feels outdated.” Geum’s statement reflects the perception of many young generations today. Additionally, as North Koreans grew up with limited to no access to the outside world, they have established their own perception of reunification and perception of South Korea. This adds on to the cultural division that is currently occurring between the two Koreas and how much the separation is building a higher and thicker wall for cultural and ethnical identity clashes over time.

       Furthermore, the economical pressure contributes to the reunification challenge. As the two Koreas are each on extreme ends of economical advancements, the costs of reunification will become a tremendous economical burden to South Korea. In a report by South Korea’s Financial Services Commission in 2014 estimates, “about $500 billion would be needed to develop North Korea’s economy over 20 years after reuniting.” Additionally, an acclaimed Korean expert from Bookman University in Seoul claims the reunification “is coming the Germany way, but it is going to be much more violent, much more bloody, much more hectic than everything we have seen in Europe.” The potential economical impact that the reunification may cause is daunting and developing a proper, official plan is going to be an extremely challenging one.

       Lastly and possibly the key contributing factor, is the distinctly different governmental structures between South and North Korea. Ever since Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea  took complete control the nation has closed all doors to foreign influences. Even if the two Koreas want reunification, the extreme difference makes it almost impossible to negotiate. Both nations have their own ideologies to follow. The most probable theory that a lot of scholars and professionals currently believe in is, reunification will become possible only after Kim Jeong Un, North Korea’s current supreme leader and his government collapses. There has been many speculations over his health, his governance, and current state of North Korea. The number of defectors have been increasing and North Korea’s devastating economical state forces the nation to depend on foreign humanitarian aid. As North Korea is resilient to changes, diplomatic relationships with countries such as South Korea, United States of America, China, and much more are constantly shifting.

        The current South Korea’s government and president, Park Geun Hye are highly supportive of the reunification and has made various public speeches about this issue. Although there could be many potential negative economical impacts, if a proper plan is made for the reunification, it could actually boost up the Korea’s economy and families would be able to reunite once again. For example, the Korean Unification Possible by 2050 Report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Korea National Diplomatic Academy, estimates, “North and South Korea could be unified by 2040-2050.”  Contradictory to the older North Korean generation, it is believed that the new generation is losing faith “after decades of absolute control” and “Pyongyang’s iron grip on the lives of ordinary citizens is finally slipping,” according to Tania Branigan’s article in TheGuardian. Moreover, according to a recent poll of 100 North Koreans in China’s Dandong and Yanji conducted in 2014 by Chosen Ilbo and Centre for Cultural Unification Studies have stated, “ninety five of 100 North Koreans in China yearn for a reunified Korea, and 97 believe it would have a positive influence on their lives.” What makes it more interesting about this poll was that the interviews were focused on regular North Koreans who were temporarily working in China and had plans to return to their home country. This data all supports the claim that a lot of North Koreans are becoming more aware of their extreme refrained situation of their nation.

       Another possible approach is to slowly encourage North Korea to open more of its diplomatic doors to foreign policy,  in particular to humanitarian aid. Additionally, this process can be assisted by influential countries such as United States, Australia, and Canada to build embassies in North Korea. This could help to lessen a bit of the reunification challenges and open more opportunities for diplomatic relationships, which potentially could be helpful rather than to constantly challenge their views that could result in retaliation from both sides. The issue involving nuclear weapon development is also influenced by North Korea wanting recognition and status from the rest of the world. Not just politically, it is also crucial to focus on social impacts. Convincing the young South Koreans to think more deeply about reunification, developing plans that emphasizes more on peace and longterm stability, is a necessary step. Currently, a lot of North Korean defectors and concentration camp or prison survivors such as Shin In Geun, are working as human rights campaigners with the support of United Nations to tell their stories and to influence people all around the world. The best plan at this stage seems that South Korea and other countries involved to create a stable developmental plan emphasizing on education and awareness. 

        

Jisue Shin
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