Should North and South Korea reunify?
Wilfrid Whiteley
Following the Third Inter-Korean Summit of 2018 held in Pyongyang, the prospect of Korean Reunification has arisen. 1 However, the 70 years of division, causing a dramatic split socially, economically and politically, have made some consider whether reunification should even ever occur. However, reunification does have its benefits, namely, long-term economic success, foreign aid and basic humanity According to the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms or Samguk yusa, the establishment of Korea can be dated back to 2333 BC in which the first Korean kingdom – Gojoseon – was instituted by Dangun, the legendary founder of Korea. In 668 AD, Korea amalgamated under the Unified Silla dynasty and remained united up until 1945. So how can a country sharing over 4000 years of history and 1300 years of unification suddenly split in two? The division stems back to the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, in which the Japanese controlled the whole Korean peninsula, subjugating Koreans under oppressive rule, until the collapse of the Japanese Empire at the end of World War 2. As a temporary plan, the Allies agreed that the peninsula was to be divided (along the 38 th parallel) into two military occupation zones: a northern section administered by the Soviet Union and a southern section administered by the United States. Despite the intention of Korean reunification, Korean opinion was completely ignored during these agreements. Owing to the politics of the Cold War, both the USSR and USA established their own governments within their zones, with the North under the communist leader Kim Il Sung and the South led by Syngman Rhee. In June 1950, the North – backed by China – invaded the South with the intention of imposing communist rule throughout the peninsula. Guided by the USA, the UN intervened and the subsequent 3 years became known as the Korean War. Despite more than 1.2 million people dying, almost nothing was resolved with the instituted Demilitarized Zone splitting the two remaining roughly along the 38 th parallel. The armistice signed in 1953 was only a cease-fire, meaning that the two countries are still officially at war and continue to be strongly politically, economically and socially divided. 2
Economic costs
The most prominent reason against Korean reunification is of course the drastic economic toll it would take on the South Korean economy. Statistically, South Korea completely dominates in terms of Gross National Product, reaching approximately $1.7 trillion in 2018. 3 This greatly contrasts to No rth Korea’s
1 April 2018 Peace Summit, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2018_inter-Korean_summit [consulted 3/9/21]. 2 Korea, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea [consulted 30/8/21]. 3 Trading Economics - South Korea GDP, https://tradingeconomics.com/south- korea/gdp#:~:text=GDP%20in%20South%20Korea%20is,according%20to%20our%20econometric%20models [consulted 1/9/21].
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