Korean reunification
The Korean reunification is the possible future unification of North Korea and South Korea under a single government.
After the end of rule by Imperial Japan, Korea was divided into two countries. Ever since 1945 there were efforts to solve the Korea problem, originally by the ministers of the Soviet Union, the United States and United Kingdom. It was decided that a common government for the whole of the peninsula should be established. The governments of the Soviet Union and the USA agreed to admister the peninsula jointly until it could reach independence, but ideological differences interferred and two different states were declared in 1948. This division led to the Korean War which cemented the division.
- See also: Division of Korea, Korean Demilitarized Zone
Despite being now politically different entities, both Korean states proclaim eventual reunification as a goal, that is, the restoration of Korea as a single state. Even though Korea is no longer a state in real political terms, it is very much alive in the minds of Koreans and as an ethno-cultural space critical to Korean national identity. A unified Korean team marched in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but the North and South Korean national teams competed separately in sporting events. There are plans for a truly unified team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Similarly, in the 1991 table tennis world championships in Chiba, Japan the two countries formed a unified team.
There are fears amongst some Koreans that the length of the division makes a reunification difficult, since the culture of both halves developed independently. However, the traditional Korean culture is equally shared amongst the North and the South. Many families have been split by the division of Korea, a fact that troubles elder generations more than younger ones.
The economic difference between South Korea and North Korea also are a cause of concern. With an eye to the German reunification it is apparent that South Korea does not have an economy as strong as that of West Germany; and it is widely thought that the state of the North Korean economy is worse than that of East Germany.
Currently political issues, such as diametrically opposite forms of government, and the dominance of the US government in South Korea, cause most concern. There is also a growing reluctance of younger people to potentially give up the recently gained fruits of luxury made possible by a rapidly growing South Korean economy. The feeling of oneness with the Koreans in the North is on the wane, although it is still very strong.
See also