Week Five Korean Academy Korean History Homework

Hey guys! Today my blog will be about Korean History. Truthfully this is a topic I had mixed feelings about, not because of any of the events that had occurred but my seriously bad basic historic knowledge. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t do history. However as I was researching the various historical events in Korea, I was amazed to find out that a lot had happened that I was simply unaware about.

I found this timeline on the BBC’s website which briefly lists historical events that occurred in South Korea

Insert link for curious people: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15292674

Choosing an historical event to talk about was not easy but I had eventually decided on the ‘Sunshine Policy’ as I was intrigued on how the policy was enforced between the North and South Koreans and what the result of it was.

Let’s dive into some history!

The term ‘sunshine policy’ was influenced by one of Aesop’s fables, The North Wind and the Sun. The fable is about the Windy cloud and the Sun who argued about who was better and an innocent man was put through gusty winds and blistering hot weather to try and to get him to take his coat off and in the end, the sun succeeded and the wind agreed that the Sun was stronger than he was. In relation to North Korea and South Korea, this policy demonstrates how the South tried to soften North Korea’s opinions and attitudes towards them by encouraging communication, participation and economic assistance.

 President Kim Dae-Jung

In 1998 Kim Dae-jung, 김대중 was placed as president in South Korea and he pursued “sunshine policy” which offering unconditional economic and humanitarian aid to North Korea. The policy stated three basic principles;

• The South actively seeks cooperation
• No armed provocation by the North will be tolerated
• The South will not attempt to absorb the North in any way

The strategy also stated two fundamental policy components. The first is the division of economics and politics. When placed in the policy, this meant that the South would become less strict with its restrictions on their private sector of investment in North Korea and also aimed to not limit their involvement essentially due to humanitarian aid. The reason for this component was to improve the North’s economy and to encourage change in the North’s economic policy. This was initially meant both to improve the North’s economy and to induce change in the North’s economic policy; however the second goal was later, officially was reduced to a goal of unimportance.
The second part of the policy that was a requirement was suggested by the North. At first it was envisioned that both states would treat each other as equals, both making comprises and concessions. The South would provide aid without expecting an immediate or specific form of exchange. As the “elder brother” of the relationship, The South also had to provide humanitarian assistance without any expectations of concessions in return.

The policy aimed to respond to North Korea’s economic and humanitarian needs in regards to chronic food, energy and currency, to focus on tasks and issues that can be resolved and overcome by both parties and for the South to encourage allies to actively engage North Korea. 

Many changes happened over the time that the policy was in place and the North Korean’s attitude has changed significantly. A few facts that demonstrate that is;

• 11,000 South Koreans visited the North
• More than 29,000 South Koreans toured Mount KumGang
• North Korea has established diplomatic Relations with South Africa , Brunei, Italy, Australia & Philippines Germany, UK, Spain & Netherlands and conveyed their intention to establish relation
• On August 15th two hundred North Koreans meet their relatives in the South in a highly-charged, emotional reunion.
• Reconnecting of The Kyongui railway through DMZ
• Building a four-lane highway (5.5km on the South, 12Km on the North)
• In June 2000 – Summit in Pyongyang between Kim Jong-il and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. North stops propaganda broadcasts against South.
• In August 2000 – Border liaison offices re-open at truce village of Panmunjom. South Korea gives amnesty to more than 3,500 prisoners.
• Kim Dae-jung was awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
• 2001 – Opening of Incheon International airport, built on tidal land off port of Incheon.
• March 2002 – Group of 25 North Koreans defect to South Korea through Spanish embassy in Beijing, emphasizing the predicament of tens of thousands suppressing in China after fleeing famine, repression in North.

A big criticism of the policy was that there significant backpedalling by the South on this principle when faced with unexpected rigidity from the North. It ran into trouble just two months into the Sunshine era, when South Korea requested the creation of a reunion centre for divided families in exchange for fertilizer assistance; North Korea denounced this as horse trading and cut off talks. A year later the South announced its goal would be “flexible reciprocity” based on Confucian values, and trying to meet their goal of peace and reunification.

The logic of the policy was based on the belief that, even in light of its continuing shortages and economic duress, North’s Communist regime will not collapse, disintegrate, or reform itself, even if the South were to apply strong pressure. It was believed that military tensions can be lessened through mutual frameworks. This emphasized the normalization of political and economic relations between United States and North Korea as well as Japan.

These principles were meant to convey the message that the South does not wish to absorb the North or to undermine its government; the aim of the policy was to achieve peaceful co-existence instead of regime change.

After the passing of President Kim Dae-Jung, President Roh Moo-Hyun sustained the policy of his predecessor. In 2003, the issue of the North’s possession of nuclear weapons was raised again; however the South Korean continued to provide the North with humanitarian aid. The Kaesong Industrial Park started with South Korea spending the equivalent of just over $324 million on aid to the North in 2005. Both the North and South Korean Governments agreed to hold a summation Pyongyang on August 20, 2007, but this was later postponed to October. President Roh travelled from Seoul to Pyongyang overland by car on October 2. President Roh made a stopover at Panmunjeom and crossed the Military Demarcation Line by foot, stating that his gesture would symbolize the future reunification of Korea.

 President Roh Moo-Hyun

Legacy and Ending – On October 9, 2006, after the nuclear and missile tests, South Korea deferred aid shipments to the North and placed their military on high alert status. There was a lot of concern as to how South Korea can sustain a cooperative policy with the North when such provoking acts that proved otherwise took place. Nevertheless, the government of South Korea maintained that various aspects of the Sunshine Policy, including the Mount Gumgang Tourist Region and the Kaesong Industrial Region would continue.
Conversely, from March 2008, the new president of the South, Lee Myung-bak following President Roh Moo- Hyun’s unfortunate death, and his party took a harsher attitude at North Korea, and the South Korean government stated that any development of the economic cooperation at the Kaesong Industrial Region would only happen if the North resolved the international standoff over its nuclear weapons. Relations became again ice-cold, with North Korea making military moves such as a series of short range ship-to-ship missile tests.

After the 2009 North Korean nuclear test, the relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang was again strained. According to Jungmin Kang writing in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “Because of the post-1998 ‘Sunshine policy’, many South Korean nongovernmental organizations and the public weren’t concerned about North Korea’s threats, believing that Pyongyang would never use nuclear weapons against them.” South Korea’s response to the nuclear test, although diminished by the recent death of its former President Roh Moo-hyun, included signing the Proliferation Security Initiative to prevent the shipment of nuclear materials to North Korea.

In November 2010, the South Korean Unification Ministry officially declared the Sunshine Policy a failure, thus bringing the policy to an end.

That was so long to type. But I enjoyed researching it and I hope you enjoyed reading it, please say you do because a lot of effect went into this! Hahaha

Now for my opinion, I shall keep it short and sweet to avoid possibly saying the wrong thing which is highly likely… I think that the Sunshine Policy whilst in place did bring out many positive effects and showed great promise but the apprehension from both parties placed a strain on the policy as they did not place an equal amount of trust in each other and was suspicious of one another. I think that the policy should be placed once again for future positive and peaceful unification of both parties. This policy managed to soothe the rigid attitude of the North once, will it be able to do it again?

 

S x