Three South Koreans share their thoughts on a potential reunification with North Korea.
After a year marked by increased hostilities and rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a thawing of relations between North Korea and South Korea is prompting some to view the issue of reunification with renewed optimism.
In February, North Korea sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ‘s sister Kim Yo-jong became the first member of the ruling family to set foot on South Korean soil since the end of fighting in the Korean War in 1953.
She came with an invitation for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang. A meeting between the two leaders has been scheduled for later this month, prompting analysts to speculate that the isolated country is suffering from increased sanctions.
As the South Koreans who remember life in a united Korea get older, many in the generations that follow do not share strong familial ties with North Korea and have mixed feelings about both the likelihood and the benefit of reunification.
Here, three South Koreans share their hopes and fears surrounding the possibility of reunification. Yon Irae: North Korea needs to denuclearise
Yon is a priest and activist. She supports recently convicted President Park Geun-hye and is sceptical about a reunification with North Korea.
«I was born in Gangwon province [which borders North Korea]. There, people are brought up to be a bit more aware of national security compared to other provinces.
«During my childhood, when we heard that a wooden vessel had arrived with North Korean people and families on it, we ran out to check.
«When we went out, we saw a North Korean family, about five or six people, crawling out of the vessel. Even at a young age, when I saw that, I felt sorry for them. They looked so shabby and gaunt.
«So even then I had the impression that North Korea was a scary country. Now, I believe we’re still at war with North Korea.
«I joined the protest two years ago when I realised our country was in a bad situation. I have been coming out to join the Taegukgi Revolution Peoples’ Movement Corps protest every Saturday since then.
«I don’t think Kim Jong-un’s talk of peace and reconciliation is genuine. If he wants to talk, North Korea needs to denuclearise. But the current government is begging for a dialogue and giving whatever they [North Koreans] ask.
«For unification, denuclearisation should happen before anything else. If North Korea denuclearises and the UN and the 50 million South Korean people can accept it, and if we are talking about unification without nuclear weapons and with liberal democracy, we will welcome it.
