Imagine that you are separated from your parents or brothers and sisters for fifty years. In Korea, there are many older generations that have suffers this trauma.
As you know, Korea is the only country which remains divided from the cold war into North and South. In 1910, Korea was forcibly annexed by Japan and remained as colony of Japan until the end of the World War II in August 1945. Under the suppression of Japan, Koreans suffered similar injustice as Jews under the Nazi government. The saddest thing that Koreans experienced was the division of the Korean peninsula. In 1945, the Soviet Union divided the country north of the 38th parallel and with the US controlling the south. The two Cold War Powers lead to Korea’s current division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea.It has been about 60 yeas. Although the two governments have different beliefs and conflicts because of nuclear weapon, it is a national tragedy that many older generations were separated from their families because of the war. It was not the will of older Koreans to be divided as two nations. That division was caused selfishness of powerful countries.
Since many older people separated from family, North Korea and South Korea allowed them to have reunion once a year few years ago. Sometimes I watched the moment they met each other on TV and many people cried together. It was dramatic and emotional because they met their family after more than fifty years’ of separation. Also, they still cannot live together for rest of their lives. Since there have been man people who try to find their family, not every family can meet every year. Although they meet one time, they never know when they can meet again in the future. I thought that North and South government should allow them to live together for rest of their lives.
A few yeas ago, people felt optimistic about reunification of South and North Korea. However, these days few people are concerned about reunification. According to the article from Korea Herald, “30 percent of those surveyed students said they were interested in the inter-Korean relationship and 60 percent said the opposite.” As time passes, the gap between language, economy and cultures become bigger and it is hard to find similarities between people from two nations.
Nobody knows what direction two nations are heading. I understand it is not easy to be one nation after over fifty years’ separation. However, both governments should continue to exchange in order to keep peace between two nations
1 response so far ↓
This must be such a hard thing and I wish I could say I understand, but is just not possible for anyone to understand how hard it is for those families. However, I believe that the United States did the right thing in going into Korea and protecting the south. The spread of communism is something that cannot happen. Just like Vietnam, people do not think that we accomplished anything in going in but look at the world scale of communism now appose to 60 years ago. Back than 60% of the world was communist in one form or another and today it was decrease to something in the 20’s and maybe even in the teens. The reunification of a half communist and half non-communist country is just not plausible.
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