One Korea in Two? Two Koreas in One? - written by 10422 Choi Sohi, 10603 Min Jungyeoun, 10812 Park Cherin, 20114 Youn Jiwon and 20721 Choi Soohyun

One Korea in Two? Two Koreas in One?

written by 10422 Choi Sohi, 10603 Min Jungyeoun,

10812 Park Cherin, 20114 Youn Jiwon and 20721 Choi Soohyun

There have been big changes between North and South Korea in 2018. The 2018 inter-Korean summit was held on April 27^th. Lots of people waited for this summit, because the last summit before 2018 was held eleven years ago.

But this April’s summit was more meaningful. It was held in the middle of North and South Korea, Panmunjeom, while the other summits were held in Pyeongyang.

The results of the summit, North and South Korea announced “Panmunjeom declaration for the peace, flourish and reunification of the Korean Peninsula.”

There are three key points in this declaration. They are denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, establishment of permanent peace regime, and improvement of the relationships between North and South Korea.

According to the 4.27 Panmunjeum declaration, they declared the end of the war in 2018 and divert the ceasefire agreement into a peace agreement. Also, they confirmed the communal purpose that both North and South Korea look forward to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

On May 26^th, there was a second summit in Panmunjeom. They discussed about the success of the 2018 North Korea-United States summit.

The third summit was held from September 18^th to 20^th in Pyeongyang. The head of North and South Korea announced 9.19 declaration. North and South Korea consulted on denuclearization, and economical item such as railroad.

Because of the summit, people have become more thoughtful about the unification. Accordingly, there are divergent national and international views of the unification of North and South Korea.

National Pro: We must reunite for beautiful Korea!

Currently, Korea has been in a truce, divided into South and North Korea since June 25, 1950. But what if these two countries reunite and become one nation? Let's take a look at the positive aspects of reunification.

First, the combined economic power of South and North Korea will bring about enormous synergies. Although South Korea has excellent technical skills as it is receiving the spotlight from semiconductor technologies, it is not enough to make a large profit due to lack of resources. On the other hand, the North is rich in resources, but its lack of technology is interrupting it from maximizing its economic power. So, what if they unify? Economic power will gradually increase as they fill each other's gaps and ease their lack. In addition to this, the government can cut defense spending, which accounts for 2.8 percent of the gross domestic product, to the level of unified Germany (1.5 percent of GDP). It’s great percentage to reduce waste nation’s money.

Second, the relationship between South and North Korea will recover and live in a peaceful and beautiful life away from the fear of war. We had about 130,000 reunion people. Currently, about only 65,000 people survive the day.

I can't stop crying over the endless parting. Think about the students of our school who live in the dormitory in Suwon Foreign Language High School. Although they are separated just from Monday to Friday, there are many friends who talk on the phone or send text messages to their family every night because they miss their families. But what about the separated family members who have not been able to see each other for over 60 years? How happy would you be if the families of separated families were reunited as soon as possible and lived together? It is a painful and heartbreaking fact that the national division should break up with families. Unification will no longer lead to their separation. They will live happily together and lead happy family lives.

National Con: Reunification of Korea is just a burden!

What do you think about the reunion of Korea?

There may be various views towards the reunification of Korea. But a large number of the people in Korean society have a negative view towards reunification.

Firstly, North Korea and South Korea have been separated for a long time and things have changed. Nowadays the political, economic, and social difference between South and North Korea is insurmountable. Too many years have passed since the division.

While it is true that family reunions and the sufferings of the truce have continued over years, the language, institutions, and culture of the two societies have changed over that long period of time. A single word describing an object, the food we eat in our heavenly holidays, even a name to call our lovely families are all different now. The enormous difference between the system of democracy and communism, the difference of the nation's ruler and more and more differences exist and prevent the two Koreas from combining.

A wide gap between these two Koreas has been created. And this gap is insurmountable even though if reunification takes place.

           

Second, the economic gap between South and North Korea is so large that it will only harm both societies. North Korea's economy is not as strong as South Korea's. Some critics say that if reunification takes place, the combination of North Korea's natural resources and South Korea's developed technology will create a booming benefit and therefore result in a more improved Korea. But can we be sure about this?

Unfortunately, there is no evidence about the abundance of North Korea's natural resources, and therefore no evidence of the booming benefit. Rather the finance used to lessen the gap will deteriorate the economy of the united Korea.

Finally, South Korea is flourishing as its own country. To the citizens who are living in South Korea, they are already struggling enough for their livelihood. In this situation, the reunification with North Korea will only become a burden to them since they should pay more taxes in order to maintain society. Employment may decrease since there will be a great influx of population, and society will become totally chaotic for a considerable amount of time.

It is beyond doubt that the reunion must be burdensome.

International Pro: Hope for reunification

The inter-Korean summit, which has melted the cold land built up over the eleven years, has created large waves both at home and abroad. As the relationship between South and North Korea improves, interest is growing on the unification of the Korean Peninsula, which can even have a big impact on the international situation.

Unification, eliminating restrictions on economic activities, brings the rapid development of the Korean Peninsula. This makes Korea a major distribution center in  Northern Asia and in the world, and brings huge advantages internationally. Unification also contributes to the world peace, taking away the danger of war on the peninsula. In this sense, there are countries that support the unification.
 

With the reunification of the Korean Peninsula, Russia gets a reliable partner for the exploitation of Far East exploitation. Ruslan Gattarov, a Russian Federal Senator, said, “They [Russia] do not want a military clash in the neighboring country especially one which is sharing the same borders.”

Gattarov cited the unification can extend the economic power of Korea across China and Siberia to the Eurasia Continent by fully reaping the geographic benefits of the peninsula.
 

The US supports the unification led by South Korea. If South Korea leads the reunification of the peninsula, the US will be able to influence not only the southern part but also the entire peninsula.

In the case of China, they support the unification saying North Korea's nuclear weapons are a threat not only to South Korea but also to China.

"The fundamental reason China has supported North Korea is to maintain peace," said Professor Choo Shoon.

Professor Choo also cited the fact that President Xi Jinping had supported the unification of the Korean Peninsula several times when he had met former President Park.

These pro-unification nations say that the Korean Peninsula should be a model country of freedom and democracy by unification.

International Con : Global Chaos as It’s Consequence 

Despite the advocates of the unification of the Korean peninsula that are in good light, some opinions that are unfavorable to the issue can also be seen. As South and North Korea unify, the Korean peninsula may undergo huge changes in their economy, which will lead to global commotion. Shifts in imports, exports and key industries will also concern both of the nations original trading partners.

According to The Guardian, South and North Korea’s unification “would require new infrastructure, including regional energy grids, all in the midst of turmoil over migration, property rights, educational reform and environmental cleanup.”

The Guardian also added “Retributive justice could follow and might well spill over into the region. Things certainly wouldn’t go smoothly.”

Furthermore, critics assert that ideological conflict will arise as the South and North work towards their new goal, which may tense nations and even threaten world peace. East Asia is currently maintaining a delicate balance between many ideologies and directions. South Korea and Japan are on one side, supported by the U.S, and North Korea is on another, along with Russia and China.

Many Chinese articles disapprove of Korea’s unification, because they anticipate that the unified Korea will likely be a democratic country. They expect Korea will form a stronger alliance with the US, which will be quite hard-pressing for them. One imprudent step may lead this delicate relationship to wobble, possibly making many to shiver in fear. We must bear in mind that the unification of the two Koreas probably will affect the global society in negative ways.