Is it immoral to reunite the Korean peninsula?
North Korea is getting louder and louder, but its indescribably heinous treatment of its people still remains an open and public fact. It is also now just as obvious that the N. Korean government has absolutely zero intentions of ever radically taking steps in obliterating its cult of personality, instead opting to watch its people continually endure human suffering on the scale of which no other human nation has accomplished against its people.
From what I understand of S. Korea politically (which isn't much..), Korea's left and right-wings have had two radically different approaches to dealing with N. Korea for the betterment of the Korean peninsula. To our right was the policy Park Geun-hye employed, which is backed by the US -- harsh and unyieldingly demanding that N. Korea demilitarize and cease its hostility or be faced with military action. To our left, we have S. Korea's new leader's Moon Jae-in proposing a more dovish approach -- peace talks and maintaining the order of family reunions between families split by the two countries' separation.
To me, it seems like Korea's right-wing approach would have no problems re-igniting military actions in order to reunite the two Koreas again. Of course, this also will mean potentially massive casualties to both military and Korean civilians once the two countries' allies join the fray.
Meanwhile, Korea's left-wing approach leaves no possibility for unification.
Now, these two approaches begs the question,
1. Should the Koreas unite, do you believe the newly united Korea's economic development will follow in a similar vein to Germany's when it was united? Take into account the process of re-integrating North Koreans into both the open world and the new country.
2. Is it more immoral to risk casualties in a military conflict in order to unite the Koreas or is it more immoral to allow the oppressive regime of N. Korea to continue?
For the record, I am neutral on either sides and think that both sides have valid and fair points and concerns to raise.
The border isn't even open between the two countries and you think they will re-unite?
I disagree with how you frame the issue. Reunification can happen in different ways than military conflict, and ideally it would. There's great interest on the part of Korean families in reunification but I'd like to see how that plays with the coming generation of kids who have little or no family left in the north. As the personal stakes dwindle, people will care less and less about those stuck in the DPRK and military conflict will become a more viable option for politicians.
But what that last statement really means is that it will become less a political issue for the US and China, the real players in that game. SK wants reunification because it's their true country and a united Korea would be an economic powerhouse, but neither the US nor China has been able to compromise on the issue.
All that said, here's how I would frame it: first some viable exit from the personality cult needs to be made because so long as it exists, the DPRK cannot be seen as a rational government (i.e., standard diplomatic / strategic channels won't work). Second, some compromise between US and Chinese interests need be reached (China doesn't want a Western surrogate state at their border and the US wants to prevent the spread of Chinese political influence in Asia). Only then can, lastly, some reunification strategy be talked about, and ideally one with a slow integration strategy that doesn't involve the quick assimilation of northerners into the South. Quick assimilation would bring serious social unrest due to economic inequality and from groups of northerners who will have been loyal to regime ("brainwashed").
All things considered, and given that no political issue explodes with the north in the short-term, I don't see any resolution to this conflict happening for a long time. The best non-military hope we've got for Kim Jong-Un being removed from power is for his fat ass to have a stroke and die while he's alone with some poor girl or while he takes a shit, and he's perfectly capable and happy to keep the circus going for as long as he lives.
Agree. Any re-unification would need to be a phased process to avoid a massive humanitarian crisis, and the culture shock from North Koreans unable to cope with living and working outside of an authoritarian society.
A great personal account of someone making the escape from NK to SK is "Escape from Camp 14." It's about a guy who is born in a labor camp because his grandparents pissed off the regime. He gets the idea to escape, makes it to China, and is finally smuggled into South Korea. The stark differences in social skills needed to survive in SK make it almost impossible for the guy to assimilate and hold down a job. The take-away from the book is that his struggle in a freer nation is not an uncommon one for NK refugees.
People seem to forget that the war isn't even over. We are technically still at war with North Korea.
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