What to do in unified Korea?

The on-again off-again June 12 talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump are just nine days away. The venue is chosen and the main agenda is under discussion.

However, we know that anything can happen before the meeting actually takes place in Singapore as planned.

In my Feb. 10 column, "Post-crisis prophecy of unification," I introduced forecasts on national unification made by famed figures. A famous 1975 prophecy of a Buddhist master-monk was that Korea would have a lady president; and then near the end of her presidency, unification would come. Recently another renowned fortuneteller predicted that unification is just around the corner.

Looking back, numerous international symposia were held to learn lessons from the German experience and to prepare Korea for unification since the fall of the Berlin Wall in October 1990.

As of now, even if unification is realized, not many Koreans would portray a country where people from the North Korea and South Korea will move immediately to the other side of the peninsula to form a mixed community. Some argue that maybe South Korea and China will need to reinforce the borders to prevent the movement of people.

As the German case shows, integrating long-separated people into one country, physically and mentally, will take more than a few decades.

An Australian scholar came up with a calculation that the historical unification alone would have a cost of around $3 trillion.

A survey by the Asan Institute made in 2014 showed that less than 35 percent of Koreans in their 20s were willing to pay additional taxes to fund the enormous projected cost, although more than 70 percent of them expressed interest in unification.

Previous governments tried but failed to introduce a unification tax to prepare for the $3 trillion cost, which equals almost all of South Korea's annual national income.

Newspaper companies began their own projects in preparation for national unification.

One of the leading conservative dailies in South Korea, the Chosun Ilbo, launched a massive "unification is the future" campaign in 2014. The "Unification and Sharing Foundation" was created in 2015. Some 1.7 million people donated, raising 313.7 billion won. The foundation has supported unification-related activities by individuals and organizations.

On the other hand, the Joong-ang Ilbo's approach is non-financial but very creative. The 1090 Peace and Unification Campaign was launched in March 2013. The core of the campaign comprise volunteers who are ready to donate their expertise and talent to the North Korean people when possible.

The name "1090" refers to "all people" from their 10s to their 90s. Their catch phrase is "North Korea in my daily life, exchanges and unity in my life."

A campaign leader explained the basic concept. "We will begin by asking what we can do if we are able to communicate with North Korea once it becomes unified," he said.

"The 1090 movement will become a grassroots unification movement that will resolve the conflicts between South and North Korea through resolution of inter-Korean conflicts through the revitalization of youth unification education," said Hong Seok-hyun, a 1090 advisor.

The members prepare themselves with practical knowledge about the North Korean people ― what they need in everyday life such as items and services for their healthcare, work such as farming, husbandry, forestation, useful learning of foreign languages including English.

The lecture series "Knowing North Korea in Life" is supported by the 1090 Movement, Sookmyung Women's University and Duksung Women's University. The lectures cover diverse topics about life in North Korean. They are offered on an Open Course Ware online.

College students formed a North Korea study society to gain deeper understanding of the daily lives of people who live in the northern part of the peninsula, which is different from students' ideology study in the 1980s.

Although critical issues such as human rights, the risks and pains of those North Korean refugees and South Koreans still held in the North have remained un-tabled in inter-Korean talks, each of us needs to be prepared for the time of unification.

Ethnically, linguistically and "racially" norks are much closer to "souks" :) than east and west germans were. Germany had been united for just about 75 years prior to splitting, while Korea has over two thousand years of unity.

however, the cost of reunification will be much,much more - Nork is in a far worse shape than the GDR. Also, the GDR was bad, but the Norks replaced communism with junchi - essentially Kim is god.

The south Koreans are, on average nearly a foot taller and with a higher IQ due to better nutrition.

it would take two to may be three generations for reunification to be complete (note that germany still has signs of separation two generations on)

The Sorks don’t want reunification. Too expensive. Would you take in a homeless person? The left would they love them too much.

"The Sorks don’t want reunification. Too expensive."

Really? Is it more expensive than the projected millions of lives lost in a new North Korea/South Korea war? Keep in mind that Seoul is only about 35 miles from the DMZ and has about 10 million people living in it. Very compact as well...

Not true. Koreans are very nationalistic and it’s a matter of pride to them that Korea is united, regardless of cost.

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