The Ramifications of Reunification
Growing up in South Korea as a child, the topic of North and South Korean unification surrounded me. It was commonly seen on the news, commonly discussed and even a common dinner table topic for my family. It is everyday knowledge for me and all other Koreans that my country is still in war with the North Koreans. Although the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953 technically ended all hostilities between the two countries, Koreans are aware that either of the two countries can resume the war at any second, any moment.
When I was still young and innocent, I did not understand why the war could not end. I thought all that needed to happen was for the two countries to unite and everyone could be safer and happier. Now with better understanding of the situation, I think otherwise. The unification could cause so many more problems than solutions. I get frustrated when people ask the question I used to ask my parents, “Why can’t North and South Korea just unite?” The fact is that we are still in war. When two countries are in war, you cannot simply end the war by uniting the two nations.
While there is nothing more important for a successful unification than the citizens of both sides to be willing to come back together, it is difficult to find such sentiments. The governments cannot dictate the unification. In reality, there is still a wide majority of the South Koreans who think of North Koreans as enemies. Like any two people who are at war, there is a mutual dislike, fear and distrust. Perhaps if we end the war first, and we remove the labels of ‘enemies’ from each other, some of this would go away. In simpler terms, it is hard to suddenly like someone you were ‘supposed’ to dislike.
When I asked the assembly speaker, Dr. Liem Ramsay, last Tuesday on why the two countries should unite, he raised a couple of important points. One, there are many families that are still involuntarily separated by the divide. He has related, “I personally know several people my age who have relatives somewhere in North Korea. Since the divide, they have never heard from them.” Second, there are many economical resources in North Korea. The Korean economy would be stronger. Those were the only points he gave me, and I wonder whether these are sufficient points to unite two countries. Even he acknowledged that there are many other troubling factors, such as the huge cultural, linguistic and economic gaps between the two countries.
How likely is this unification? The agreement to unite two countries is a two-way process. How forward are the two Korean countries in trying to unite under one government? Ramsay mentioned a confederal ideal proposed by both the North and South Korea during the second inter-Korean summit in 2007, which pertained the idea of a commonwealth, but the idea dissipated soon after. Moreover, there have been several suspicions of North Korean attacks on South Korea. Two examples are the Kumgang Mountain shooting in 2008 and the ROKS Cheonan sinking in 2010. Kumgang Mountain borders both North and South Korea as it lies across the DMZ zone, and up until Aug. 8, 2008, there was a South Korean resort on the mountain. A South Korean civilian was shot by a North Korean soldier on the resort and although there were witnesses and CCTV evidence, the North Korean government denied their responsibility. On Mar. 26, 2010, a North Korean torpedo sunk a South Korean ship, killing 46 seamen. Once again, the North Korean government denied responsibility. There have been many other attacks, both big and small, since the Armistice agreement, and this has only raised distrust for the South Korean civilians.
Although the two countries may share the name Korea, the history, culture and language they shared has expired more than half a century ago. South Korea has changed exponentially since then, and North Korea has, too. By now, the two countries are two completely different places, holding completely different people. Making such different countries come together is going to be a long, difficult process. Perhaps unification is still too far in the future for us. The barriers that still need to be broken down are countless, and the risks on the way are dangerously unpredictable.