# A modest proposal: South Korea buys North Korea **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 7, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097 "2022-09-07T00:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/21 "2022-09-08T01:13:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > They want to have power over other people. Is there any published research on this? I mean, I actually prefer to be me than the dictator of North Korea. But also, why would anyone want power over powerless people? A billion dollars a year for a hundred years seems like it’d buy a lot more power where it counts compared to ruling North Korea, where the “power” is really meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/22 "2022-09-08T02:31:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Kim and other dictators like him don’t want money. They want to have power over other people. This. The only time you see former dictators living the life of luxury in exile is when they’ve been forcibly deposed from within, like Idi Amin. > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > So he gives up his luxurious lifestyle, total immunity to criminal prosecution, personal military force, and life-and-death control over his people in exchange for a luxurious lifestyle, total immunity for previous but not future crimes, and a much smaller personal protection force. > > Why would he do that? He wouldn’t even be giving up those things for the same or lesser versions of what he already has, he’d be giving them up for the _promise_ of those things. With how paranoid he (and dictators in general are), why would he voluntarily give up what he has in exchange for the _promise_ of economic support, immunity from prosecution and physical protection of himself from the very government and people he has spent his entire life being the most paranoid about? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/23 "2022-09-08T02:41:43Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I’m trying to see the benefit to South Korea, other than no longer having the insane Kim family and their empty threats to nuke Seoul to worry about. The North could cause immense damage to Seoul even with conventional weapons, it’s only about 30 miles from the DMZ. And nuclear weapons may not remain an empty threat. “He’s not crazy enough to do it because he knows the consequences” is cold comfort when an entire nation is so out of touch with reality. And Koreans have strong national pride. I think most in the South would accept considerable economic sacrifice to reunify the country. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/24 "2022-09-08T02:49:07Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > It’s a massive liability. You’d probably have better luck convincing Kim to pay South Korea to take them in, than the other way around. This might be a wild stab here, but once North Koreans start eating well, have power to their homes, notice they can speak freely without fear of them or their families being sent for reeducation, and seeing other improvements in their lives I’m guessing the indoctrination will fade away. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/25 "2022-09-08T12:29:51Z")
It’s not necessarily a matter of indoctrination, but also about feeling accepted: > **[North Korean defectors struggle with life in the South – DW – 10/24/2021](https://www.dw.com/en/north-korean-defectors-struggle-adapting-to-life-in-the-south/a-59548526)** > > After fleeing the brutal North Korean dictatorship, defectors face tough challenges adjusting to their new home. Activists say Seoul should be doing more to help. There were (and maybe still are) similar tensions between East and West Germans. ---
**Author:** ![damuriajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@damuriajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/damuriajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/26 "2022-09-09T20:40:34Z")
For a long time France offered dictators and despots exactly this (I don’t know if they still do). They guaranteed despots asylum because having them cash in their chips and moving to the French Riviera for a lifetime of decadent luxury was less violent and disruptive than a coup or an invasion. ---
**Author:** ![damuriajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@damuriajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/damuriajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/27 "2022-09-09T20:42:32Z")
I think it’s generational. The millenials and gen z in general don’t want north korea but gen x and boomers generally do. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/28 "2022-09-09T21:45:14Z")
Eh, they didn’t have armies, missiles, or nukes. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/29 "2022-09-10T04:21:11Z")
Another important consideration would be what would be China’s reaction to having a unified Korea on it’s border. Right now they don’t have to worry about SK’s “western influence” because NK is an exceptional buffer. With NK no longer being in the way I can envision China not being happy at all. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/30 "2022-09-12T14:15:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > A very short version is East Germany’s education and economic status and whatnot was WAG 40% of West Germany’s at the moment of unification. Whereas NK’s is WAG 5% of SK’s. Not only that, but the population difference was more favorable in the case of Germany. East Germany had only 25% of the population of West Germany, whereas North Korea has about 50% of the population of South Korea. > [@Dissonance](#): > > He wouldn’t even be giving up those things for the same or lesser versions of what he already has, he’d be giving them up for the _promise_ of those things. With how paranoid he (and dictators in general are), why would he voluntarily give up what he has in exchange for the _promise_ of economic support, immunity from prosecution and physical protection of himself from the very government and people he has spent his entire life being the most paranoid about? Exactly this. Dictators survive by being ruthless and crushing opposition, not by giving people passes to Club Med. Look at the number of Russian oligarchs leaning too far out of windows these days. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/31 "2022-09-16T04:10:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@ekedolphin](#): > > > > Does South Korea even have the resources to rebuild North Korea, just from an infrastructure standpoint, let alone a humanitarian one? > > Probably. North Korea’s economy is so far down, that relatively modest efforts would produce major results. Sure, the northern half of a united Korea would be the poor half of the country for a couple of generations. But even being the poor half of a united Korea would make the people there much better off economically than they are now. I don’t know. Physical and psychological health issues are rampant in North Korea. Supposedly mental retardation is common due to all the malnutrition (and parasites too I’m sure). The North doesn’t really seem like they have a functional workforce that can make it in a modern economy. They’re sick, brainwashed, distrustful, technologically illiterate, etc. North Korea would probably have to be run like a liberated concentration camp. > **[Hunger crisis at heart of North Korea's troubles](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29541226)** > > The need for food and fuel handouts explains North Korea's recent round of fist-shaking against South Korea, which included the military's threat to adopt an "all-out confrontational posture." > Mental retardation caused by malnutrition will disqualify about a quarter of potential military conscripts in North Korea, according to a December report by the National Intelligence Council, a research institution that is part of the U.S. intelligence community. The report said hunger-caused intellectual disabilities among the young are likely to cripple economic growth, even if the country opens to the outside world or unites with the South. But then again China emerged from the fuck ups of Mao to 10% annual GDP growth rates under reforms. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097/32 "2022-09-16T05:15:55Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I don’t know. Physical and psychological health issues are rampant in North Korea. Supposedly mental retardation is common due to all the malnutrition (and parasites too I’m sure). The North doesn’t really seem like they have a functional workforce that can make it in a modern economy. They’re sick, brainwashed, distrustful, technologically illiterate, etc. North Korea would probably have to be run like a liberated concentration camp. That’s sort of my point. Yes, absolutely, you’re not going to turn North Korea into a modern economy. But as you described, North Korea is so far away from a modern economy that you could give them a crappy economy and they would see it as a vast improvement. If you raised North Korea up to the level of Chad, for example, they would be thinking it’s great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-south-korea-buys-north-korea/971097.md?page=1)