 |
||||||||
|
A few days ago, OhmyNews published an emotional letter written to the United States by South Korean Kim Sei-joong, reflecting how the political division of a country can scar the heart, how ordinary people suffer when arrogant leaders disregard the general welfare in favor of their own parochial political ideologies, and why foreign intervention often damages national identity. The division of the two Koreas by a Demilitarized Zone caused a displacement perhaps surpassed only by the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.
Korea endured extreme social, economic, and political iniquities during the 35 years of Japanese colonial rule from 1910. Even after gaining independence from the Japanese on Aug. 10, 1945, the nation became drastically divided along ideological lines among those wanting to establish the longed-for national liberation on their own terms. In September 1945, after enjoying a short-lived independence, unified Korea was divided along the 38th parallel, with Soviet control in the north and U.S. control in the south.
It was argued by many, including U.S. President Harry Truman, that the "temporary" administrative partition of Korea, consensually agreed to by the Soviets and the U.S., was necessary to save the region from civil war, while cynics like Bruce Cumings, Callum McDonald, and Wilbur Hitchock in their books on the Korean War have blamed the U.S. and the Soviet Union for unscrupulously dividing the nation to serve their own ideological interests. Many other critics both within and outside Korea still resent both sides for demarcating the nation along the 38th parallel against the consent of nearly all Koreans. The two countries were permanently separated in 1953 after the Korean War when a ceasefire was declared without an ensuing peace accord, so that they remain technically at war to the present.
Regardless of controversy about details of the partition, most South Koreans regard the U.S. as a savior, not only stopping China and Soviet-sponsored North Korea from overrunning the Korean peninsula, but also saving it from communist rule. Many believe that had the U.S. not intervened, then their current condition would have been indistinguishable from that of North Koreans or even worse.
South Koreans know they have neither the oil of Iraq nor any other significant natural resources that could attract foreign investment. In addition, more than 33,600 U.S. soldiers were reported killed in action defending South Korean sovereignty and interests, and over 2,700 lost their lives in North Korean captivity. For most South Koreans, the U.S. performed a genuine humanitarian favor. Korea now shares important trading relations with the United States.
Many foreigners residing in Korea jokingly say, "For Koreans there are only two countries on the world map -- Korea and the United States." The craze for American fashions in music, food, and language and the public expression of esteem for Americans are not just another example of a country caught up in Americanization. Guided by the deeply-rooted social value of gratitude, Koreans feel indebted to the United States for its role during the Korean War.
South Korea enjoys harmonious relations with the U.S. but does not share official U.S. regard for North Korea as an enemy. Although an attitude of indifference to the North is growing among younger Koreans, a majority still shares a strong sense of consanguinity with the North, a filial regard manifested by the Sunshine Policy of Nobel Peace Laureate Kim Dae-jung, former president of South Korea.
The Korean sense of identity is a product of an ethnicity that binds the two nations. "Koreans on both sides of the DMZ believe their culture and ethnicity are sui generis, a unique product of 4,000 years of shared history," says David Scofield in his article for Asia Times. For more than 50 years, the historical identification of "one blood, one nation" has informed the political rhetoric of both Koreas. Many Koreans also feel that only the overbearing communist ideology of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is keeping them apart.
Following North Korea's series of missile tests in July and the nuclear test in Oct. 2006 the United Nations imposed sanctions on North Korea. On Nov. 3, 2006, North Korea, however, confirmed that it would return to the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, which have stalled, so that the sanctions against North Korea remain in effect. Many South Koreans are concerned about the worsening social situation in the North, more aggravated than ever by the sanctions.
Amnesty International states that the cut in humanitarian aid to the North may lead to widespread malnutrition among the population and the migration of hundreds of thousands of people in search of food, some across the border to China and that many of these could suffer human rights violations in their very search for food and survival. No destitution or suffering by his people would deter Kim Jong-il from carrying out his ambitious projects. International sanctions have nowhere convinced ruling governments to have any regard for the general welfare, impinging on ordinary people, who are already oppressed and suffering. The aftermath of recent sanctions against Nepal during King Gyanendra's direct rule (2004/05), against Pakistan after its nuclear test in 1998 and against Iraq immediately after the Gulf War in 1990 is the victimization of ordinary people, not the governments that incur the sanctions.
Unquestionably, many Koreans whose relatives and friends still live in the North are worried about the devastating hardships the North might face due to sanctions. In fact, protests in the South immediately after the North's nuclear test expressed frustration with the North's cavalier attitude regarding probable unification.
Following U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Oct. 20 visit, South Korea understandably reduced the food donations on which North Korea would depend to make up a one-million-ton shortfall in rice production. Protests in Seoul on Oct. 19, just a day before Rice's visit, and the South's refusal to abandon its industrial and tourist ventures in the North, reveal the sympathy that South Koreans have for the North. It has been very difficult indeed for South Koreans to maintain a balance in their relations with North Korea and the United States.
South Korea's panicky reaction against the sanctions is understandable. They know how ordinary people in the North will suffer from inadequate food, malnutrition and improper medication. With the grip of winter stronger every day, the situation will get even worse. Thus the appeals, like the letter in OhmyNews, to the world and the U.S. from the South on behalf of the people in the North.
In conclusion, here are a few words from an address to the Four Allied Powers and the American public by Syngman Rhee in Seoul on Nov. 4, 1945, as Chair of the United Central Council, on a "Resolution of the Korean Congress of Political Parties":
"We have been divided by forces outside ourselves, like a body cut in a half. How can such a sundered body survive and function properly? We must be allowed to have an opportunity to organize our national life as a unified whole, so as to meet the requirements set forth in the Cairo Declaration."
Ohmynews 2006.12.01
Korea endured extreme social, economic, and political iniquities during the 35 years of Japanese colonial rule from 1910. Even after gaining independence from the Japanese on Aug. 10, 1945, the nation became drastically divided along ideological lines among those wanting to establish the longed-for national liberation on their own terms. In September 1945, after enjoying a short-lived independence, unified Korea was divided along the 38th parallel, with Soviet control in the north and U.S. control in the south.
It was argued by many, including U.S. President Harry Truman, that the "temporary" administrative partition of Korea, consensually agreed to by the Soviets and the U.S., was necessary to save the region from civil war, while cynics like Bruce Cumings, Callum McDonald, and Wilbur Hitchock in their books on the Korean War have blamed the U.S. and the Soviet Union for unscrupulously dividing the nation to serve their own ideological interests. Many other critics both within and outside Korea still resent both sides for demarcating the nation along the 38th parallel against the consent of nearly all Koreans. The two countries were permanently separated in 1953 after the Korean War when a ceasefire was declared without an ensuing peace accord, so that they remain technically at war to the present.
Regardless of controversy about details of the partition, most South Koreans regard the U.S. as a savior, not only stopping China and Soviet-sponsored North Korea from overrunning the Korean peninsula, but also saving it from communist rule. Many believe that had the U.S. not intervened, then their current condition would have been indistinguishable from that of North Koreans or even worse.
South Koreans know they have neither the oil of Iraq nor any other significant natural resources that could attract foreign investment. In addition, more than 33,600 U.S. soldiers were reported killed in action defending South Korean sovereignty and interests, and over 2,700 lost their lives in North Korean captivity. For most South Koreans, the U.S. performed a genuine humanitarian favor. Korea now shares important trading relations with the United States.
Many foreigners residing in Korea jokingly say, "For Koreans there are only two countries on the world map -- Korea and the United States." The craze for American fashions in music, food, and language and the public expression of esteem for Americans are not just another example of a country caught up in Americanization. Guided by the deeply-rooted social value of gratitude, Koreans feel indebted to the United States for its role during the Korean War.
South Korea enjoys harmonious relations with the U.S. but does not share official U.S. regard for North Korea as an enemy. Although an attitude of indifference to the North is growing among younger Koreans, a majority still shares a strong sense of consanguinity with the North, a filial regard manifested by the Sunshine Policy of Nobel Peace Laureate Kim Dae-jung, former president of South Korea.
The Korean sense of identity is a product of an ethnicity that binds the two nations. "Koreans on both sides of the DMZ believe their culture and ethnicity are sui generis, a unique product of 4,000 years of shared history," says David Scofield in his article for Asia Times. For more than 50 years, the historical identification of "one blood, one nation" has informed the political rhetoric of both Koreas. Many Koreans also feel that only the overbearing communist ideology of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is keeping them apart.
Following North Korea's series of missile tests in July and the nuclear test in Oct. 2006 the United Nations imposed sanctions on North Korea. On Nov. 3, 2006, North Korea, however, confirmed that it would return to the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, which have stalled, so that the sanctions against North Korea remain in effect. Many South Koreans are concerned about the worsening social situation in the North, more aggravated than ever by the sanctions.
Amnesty International states that the cut in humanitarian aid to the North may lead to widespread malnutrition among the population and the migration of hundreds of thousands of people in search of food, some across the border to China and that many of these could suffer human rights violations in their very search for food and survival. No destitution or suffering by his people would deter Kim Jong-il from carrying out his ambitious projects. International sanctions have nowhere convinced ruling governments to have any regard for the general welfare, impinging on ordinary people, who are already oppressed and suffering. The aftermath of recent sanctions against Nepal during King Gyanendra's direct rule (2004/05), against Pakistan after its nuclear test in 1998 and against Iraq immediately after the Gulf War in 1990 is the victimization of ordinary people, not the governments that incur the sanctions.
Unquestionably, many Koreans whose relatives and friends still live in the North are worried about the devastating hardships the North might face due to sanctions. In fact, protests in the South immediately after the North's nuclear test expressed frustration with the North's cavalier attitude regarding probable unification.
Following U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Oct. 20 visit, South Korea understandably reduced the food donations on which North Korea would depend to make up a one-million-ton shortfall in rice production. Protests in Seoul on Oct. 19, just a day before Rice's visit, and the South's refusal to abandon its industrial and tourist ventures in the North, reveal the sympathy that South Koreans have for the North. It has been very difficult indeed for South Koreans to maintain a balance in their relations with North Korea and the United States.
South Korea's panicky reaction against the sanctions is understandable. They know how ordinary people in the North will suffer from inadequate food, malnutrition and improper medication. With the grip of winter stronger every day, the situation will get even worse. Thus the appeals, like the letter in OhmyNews, to the world and the U.S. from the South on behalf of the people in the North.
In conclusion, here are a few words from an address to the Four Allied Powers and the American public by Syngman Rhee in Seoul on Nov. 4, 1945, as Chair of the United Central Council, on a "Resolution of the Korean Congress of Political Parties":
"We have been divided by forces outside ourselves, like a body cut in a half. How can such a sundered body survive and function properly? We must be allowed to have an opportunity to organize our national life as a unified whole, so as to meet the requirements set forth in the Cairo Declaration."
Ohmynews 2006.12.01
