korean unification studies

Ironically, Roh Moo-Hyun has inherited his current capacity to negotiate with North Korea from Park Chung-Hee. Park, believed the key to unification of the nation was in building up the South to match and exceed the North.

“In all fields of endeavour, political, economic, diplomatic, social and cultural, our achievements must be overwhelmingly superior to those of the north Korean Communists. We will then be in a position of superiority in strength vis-a-vis north Korea. The initiatives will be firmly in our grasp” [Park Chung Hee, "Modernization: Intermediate objective toward unification", New Year's Press Statement Conference, 9 January 1970]

Park Chung-Hee, the nation builder that he was, often focused on the strengthening of the South Korean economy as the key to unification. In his belief, South Korea had to become stronger than the North in order to negotiate from a position of strength. He often used the examples of West Germany and its position of strength and South Vietnam and its position of weakness as a rationale for building the South Korean military and economic resources. Of course, the desire to incessantly strengthen South Korea also rested upon a belief in the inherent evil intent of communism…

“The northern part of Korea is now reduced to a military camp, fanatically gripped with war preparations, where despotism and terror predominate…In face of this wicked group of armed provocateurs who so wantonly slight history, the nation, human morals and conscience, we find ourselves in a difficult situation to deal with the question of unification” [Park Chung-Hee, "South-North competition of goodwill", Address delivered on 15 August 1970]

It is interesting to note that Park Chung-Hee continued to focus on the economy as the central pillar to defeating North Korea, even after attempts on his life, infiltration tunnels and terrorist incidents. In his own words:

“After the armistice, the north Korean Communist regime tightly consolidated its totalitarian and dictatorial system, completely depriving the north Korean people of their basic rights, including the freedom of faith, and has since intensified its military build-up for invasion of the south at the sacrifice of its own citizens. On the contrary, we have accelerated economic construction and development for the betterment of our people’s lives…” [Park Chung-Hee, Interview with Time Magazine, 30 June 1975]

Ironically, it was Park Chung-Hee’s excesses and his obsession with the economy that has given the current South Korean administration under Roh Moo-Hyun the ability to negotiate directly with North Korea. Roh can now negotiate with the North, promise aid and trade concessions, make moves to negotiate the Northern Limit Line (NLL), scrap the National Security Law (NSL) and free North Korean agents. But in the end, if it weren’t for the excesses for which Park is blamed, the competition would still be going on. Arguably, Park Chung-Hee was the right man at the right time for South Korea, but what would do different now???