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The deal with North Korea

There's been a lot of hoopla in the news about North Korea. I'd like to weigh in on things - not from an official stand point but from the stand point of one who has been there and has family there, but is also an outsider. Because no matter how much I love Korea, how much my life is affected by things going on there, I will always be an outsider. It makes me sad, but I am OK with it.

First, a little history. I promise I won't bore you too much - or at least I'll try not to...

Korea is an old country. There are at least 5000 years of history, much of which is written. Genealogy and family blood lines are very important to Koreans, as is their sense of history. I won't get into the creation myths and things like that. Suffice it to say that they feel a great sense of pride in their national history. It is essential to their world view. They were not always united as a people. That's a relatively new phenomenon. It came out of the uniting of the Three Kingdoms of Shilla, Baekjae, and Goguryeo about 11 or 12 centuries ago. The capital of the country was in Kyeongju - in the southeast corner of the country. Since Baekjae was one of the last to join the alliance, there continues to be a strong bias against the southeast corner of the peninsula. The unified country was called Koryo - where our modern "Korea" evolved from. Koryo lasted about 400 years, then became Chosun in about 1392. Chosun was a golden age for Korea, and the dynasty lasted until the Japanese occupation in 1910.

Still with me? Good.

More modern times brought great changes for Korea - Korea had long fought the influence of the outside world, but the Japanese occupation ended that. The Koreans were treated with incredible harshness by the Japanese, who nearly succeeded in eradicating the Korean people. There remains a great deal of hostility from Koreans toward Japanese.

An important point to remember is that under Confucian law, there are three great rulers - the father, the teacher, and the king. The supreme leader of the country is infallible. Everyone owes him their allegiance. Thus, when the Japanese came and supplanted the Korean leader with their own, it was a blow to the entire system. The Japanese were aware of this and took full advantage. The Korean psyche for generations had been carefully cultivated to look to a supreme leader. After the Korean War, when the US tried to institute democratic changes they encountered a lot of difficulty. Korean people are used to having trustworthy leaders on whom they can rely - like a benevolent father. Thus the veneration of Kim Il Sung in North Korea and several of the early presidents in the South. The South, after decades of education and free-thinking, have been able to get rid of much of that thinking, embracing the full democratic processes of free speech, free press, education, etc. The North does not enjoy the same kind of freedom.

I was in Korea when Kim Il Sung died. It was an incredibly difficult and tense time. South Korea has enjoyed incredible economic success. It has literally risen from the ashes of WWII and the Korean war to become a powerhouse in the region and world. In education, manufacturing, engineering, financial services, etc. So there's a lot of jealousy on the part of the North. They think it's all a show - what little they do see. We were nervous - we had water and food stockpiled and were ready for the worst. It never came.

Things have been tense there for a long time. I don't know if they ever become completely immune to it, but I think there's a general attitude of "put up or shut up" that pervades the South. On one hand, they feel a strong and immediate kinship with the North. Their greatest desire and goal is reunification. The wise know it will be difficult and favor a phased in approach. But even getting North Korea to the table is difficult - those in power are loath to share it, which extends to both sides of the table. So it's hard.Now it appears that the demise of the second illustrious leader - Kim Jong Il - is imminent. Who knows what that will mean for the country. Perhaps these displays are just bright lights to attract attention for when he is gone (that would be my guess). North Korea is struggling - barely able to provide food for it's people.

Personally, I am not worried. My in-laws are not concerned - going about their daily lives with barely a thought for the happenings to the north. They are busy, happy people who work hard and love their families. Besides, what else can you really do?

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