What do you think about reunification in Korea? It is usually classified as being ‘an easier way to go to Europe with the Eurasian Train if reunited!’ or being ‘hard because it will cost too much to reunite’. The recent government's diplomatic activities with North Korea have led us to think about reunification, which we thought was a distant matter. It may be a complex political, economic, and diplomatic issue, but reporters of Hongik Tidings talked about Korean reunification.

Yugyeong : First of all, I am against reunification. Personally, if it sounds selfish, we need lots of funds to make reunification possible. Moreover, the people who will bear the burden most will be us. In addition, the culture that we had shared once has changed a lot. Those make me have negative thoughts about reunification.

Aruem : I oppose to reunification since it is unnecessary. It may sound like an unethical opinion, but there are fewer separated families living in South and North Korea than before, and by my standards, we aren’t related to North Korea now. Therefore, I have an idea ‘Should we reunify?’

Tae-hwi : I'm for reunification. Since we are the Korean culture group, I don't think we are a complete strangers to South Korea and North Korea. And of course, if you look at the economic side, the first 10 or 20 years will be hard, but reunification can give us more human resources, more minerals and territory.

Seoyeon : I am also in favor of reunification because of the biggest economic reason. First of all, if a railway linking Europe and Asia were connected, more tourists would be able to visit Korea because of the number of tourist attractions in all Korea. Besides, reunification will change people’s perception that Korea is safer, and it will also make Korea a special country with full peninsula access. The generation that brings reunification forthwith can have difficulties, but from a very long-term perspective, it is more meaningful because we can pass on something better to our descendants.

Suyeon : I agree with reunification. Yugyeong mentioned financial problems a while ago, but we are already very wasteful with the military budget to maintain the division. Thus, the reunification is longterm oriented toward positive funding. Areum talked about separated families, however there are still many people suffering from family separation problems. So, we should not ignore that especially in the history of the Korean Peninsula.

Giwon : First of all, I don't think reunification should be inevitable. As South Korea has no choice but to advance toward a multinational country, the logic that Korea should be reunited because it is one Korean people is no longer working. Furthermore, it is far too late to solve the problem of separated families. Realistically, I think the only answer is open transportation through improved inter-Korean relations. The military maintenance cost is also too great to be resolved through reunification, and I think it is much more urgent to improve the current unreasonable political structure. Before that, I also question the possibility of reunification. South Korea is a democratic country, and we need to talk more about how we should accept Kim's dictatorship. In conclusion, reunification is impossible under the current circumstances.

Junhwan : I'm for unification. Reunification would result in a Eurasia railway. Then when going on a trip, travel will be cheaper. In this era of low birth rates, there are not enough workers. But if reunited, we will be able to assimilate into each other since the two cultures are similar.

Minkyung : I am against unification. I think reunification would cost too much. It costs a lot to remain a divided country before reunification, but it also costs a lot to reunite. It is said it cost Germany 2 trillion mark (previous German currency), which is 950 trillion won to reunify. In our country, it is said that it will take more than that. Especially as the economic gap between North and South Korea is so huge, South Korea would pay more for reunification, and if we were to do it now, the generation that would have to pay for reunification would be us. Next, there is a leadership problem. There are a South Korean leader and a North Korean leader. How can we decide the leader if we reunite? Unless the leader is decided in advance, we have no choice but to have two leaders, which means I think it will be no different than before unification.

Suyeon : I already know that the size of cities is very different between South and North Korea, but in that case, I think it would be possible to have a National City Planning agency if reunited. It will allow us people to unite more quickly rather than the high costs of remaining divided..

Seoyeon : When going abroad, I’m often asked which country I am from. They usually guess that I am Chinese or Japanese. If reunification is possible, the territory will widen and awareness of Korea will be increased. That news will serve as good publicity for Korea if it becomes the news.

Aruem : There are so many opportunities to promote Korea, but I don't think it is a reason or argument for reunification. Also it will cost too much to unify people, from their personal values to their economic status, as everything from their lifestyle to their economic status varies widely.

What do you think? Share your opinion with us

Send an email to hongiktidings@naver.com

Choi Yugyeong  pretty0467@naver.com

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