I moved to Korea at the age of 13. Before that, my family lived in the US, where I attended Korean school on Saturdays. When we discussed reunification, it was assumed that this was something that all Koreans dreamed of. We’d sing songs about it and write essays on why it must happen.
It was a pretty big culture shock when I realized that the dream of reunification was one of the past, once I actually started living here. I went to Korea thinking that South Koreans still considered the North Koreans their brothers and sisters, but that is only true of my grandparents’ generation, many of whom have living relatives still living in the North. My dad’s family, for example, was originally from North Korea. But even my uncles are pretty clearly against reunification, because they think NK in its current state would be too much of a burden for the South.
I think most Koreans sincerely want to reconcile with North Korea. But reunification is definitely not as popular an idea as it was twenty years ago. Of course there are some who still desire it, but they are no longer in the majority.
No, for most it’s impossible to know. A few years ago the governments held reunion visits for such families. It was a huge deal precisely because many had not known until then if their folks were still alive.
Would China be opposed to Korean reunification under the banner of the south? It’s always been assumed that China stands behind North Korea, and certainly in the days of Mao and the Cold War that made sense - but China, while totalitarian, is pretty much capitalistic in its economy now, and I’m sure they’d find their interest better served by a prosperous Korea on their border rather than being separated from them by a land of “Juche.” I’d imagine that the Chinese, while feeling bound by certain old commitments, are probably a bit embarrassed by what North Korea represented in recent years.
But China does not want U.S. bases up against their mainland on the Korean peninsula. I think that’s a major factor in keeping N. Korea under Chinese influence.
Maybe a deal can be reached - China takes responsibility for NK, and the U.S. withdraws from the peninsula. The SK military is pretty strong, and the U.S. can still provide support from the sea and from Japan in case things go wrong.
Compare your answer as a Korean-American teenager to HazelNutCoffee’s answer as a Korean-American who now lives in Korea as an adult. Her contention is that Korean-American attitudes are a generation out of date in Korea itself.
I can see it being one of those things that, while desirable in principle, is not so attractive because of the immense difficulty it would entail in reality. I don’t see a cold turkey type of reunification per the German model, but maybe some sort of multi-step process could make it work.
I could certainly see reunification after a long period where North Korea has reformed itself and rebuilt its economy & culture to if not to SK levels, at least something better than a shambling disaster.
Is it to China’s advantage to keep NK as it is? Or rather, does China think it is in it’s interest to not encourage economic reform in NK along the lines of what China itself has done?
Whether it is to China’s advantage or not is pretty much immaterial. China does not have as much influence over North Korea as you might think. I get the impression that China basically rolls its eyes at the N. Korea cult of power. I imagine China is probably as frustrated as the rest of the world with “dealing with the crazy” although admittedly from a different perspective and approach.
I know the U.S. and China have had conversations that basically end up with China shrugging its shoulders and saying “I know–but what are ya gonna do?”
It’s a delicate balance. China doesn’t want a S. Korea/U.S. presence on their border, nor do they want 1,000,000 starving refugees pouring over their border in the event of a sudden collapse. China certainly does not want N. Korean agression (tactical or nuke) against anyone, be it S. Korea, Japan, or Zimbabwe. Hence their interest in maintaining the delicate balance of keeping the status quo.
If China had any moral sense of human rights or personal freedom, they could put pressure on N. Korea to shut down the concentration camps and forced starvations and politcal imprisonment of perceived dissent. But of course China has no moral standing to call out N. Korea on these matters. The U.S. does, but won’t.
This is a good analysis. NK is not simply a puppet of China. It’s more like the embarrassing crack smoking loser brother who lives in your garage, that you would gladly disown, except that the scandal would ruin your chance to run for mayor and you are also kind of afraid he’d burn down your house. The situation was out of China’s control a long time ago, they aren’t any happier with it than you are, and I’m sure they’d love it if the whole place just disappeared into the ether overnight.