The Great Blight North #2

Saemi H. is an English teacher in her twenties who has traveled outside of Korea and lives in Central Seoul. I sat down with her this past week to pick her brain about the her brethren to the North.

WorkingAndPracticing: What's your earliest memory of North Korea (DPRK)?
Saemi H.: I was really young, I was just plain scared. I thought the North was a different world and they still wanted war. I remember images of soldiers marching in Pyongyang and especially the Mass Games being held in a big theatre.

WAP: Are you still scared the North will attack?
SH: No, not really, but I think us South Koreans have the lowest level of fear regarding the DPRK. We should be more aware because nowadays they have new weapons and I am especially scared about the West Sea where they continually test their weapons and cross over national boundaries.


WAP: Do you wish for reunification?
SH: Do I want reunification? Honestly, I haven't thought a lot about it. I think it will take time, but in the end we must. We are all taught growing up that one day we will eventually reunite.

WAP: Are you in favour of the American Forces' (USF) presence here on the Korean Peninsula?
SH: I have complex feelings about this.  I don't think that the ROK's army is is strong enough on its own if something happens, but the USF have a very bad image in my mind. We know how they treat us Koreans and what they think about us. They are up there looking down on us. They create a lot of problems like pollution. After the USF leave a location they leave behind hazardous chemicals and our government has to spend thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess! Add to that problems of off-base sexual crimes and the USF seem to get off Scot-free. Rarely do any of their people face prosecution for crimes committed on Korean soil as they can just escape to the US. Despite all this, I think we still need them.

WAP: Are you in favour of Lee Myung Bak and his new hardline policy towards the DPRK?
SH: That's a really hard question. The DPRK politicians are very clever and no matter what, they gain the upper hand in their dealings with us. Whatever we do it seems they are able to take advantage of it, but I think we still think we need to soften our approach and keep with the "Sunshine Policy."

The Great Blight North #1

Activists frequently set up shop in the center of Seoul's main shopping district to decry the horrible human rights abuses perpetrated by a repressive regime against its seemingly peaceful citizens. Extrajudicial killings and wanton torture are all palpable in graphic colour photographs posted next to petitions urging help. Yet the call to action is not to fight Kim Jong-il and his henchmen, but the Chinese authorities for their persecution of Falun Gong practitioners!

Living here in the wealthy suburb of a relatively rich country - surrounded by the apex of consumer goods consumption - it is easy to lose sight of the fact that mere kilometers away lies one of the worst totalitarian dictatorships left on the planet. Movies like Children of the Secret State offer truly depressing portraits of what life is like for rural North Koreans not lucky enough to be part of the military cadre, yet the mainstream media in the South seem uninterested in publishing much more than the most recent diplomatic brinkmanship in the cat-and-mouse nuclear talks. Understandably, South Korean news agencies do not want to inflame tensions on the peninsula by sending in undercover reporters.

However, the media's lens is tightly focused above the 38th parallel and as a result a clear lack of open dialogue and reflection exists in this country with regards to the North Korean question. How does President Lee Myung Bak's hardline policy of engagement resonate with his compatriots? How do people here feel about reunification?

Funny you should ask, because this and many more questions will be answered in a new weekly post called "The Great Blight North." These posts will aim to tell interesting stories and gauge the everyday citizen's opinions on the North.

This week starts off with an short interview of Ginger, a thirty-something English recruiter who lives in Busan.

WaP: What is your earliest memory of North Korea or its people?

G: We were taught in elementary school that the communists are bad and I didn't realize that it wasn't a fair education for a long time.

WaP: Do you live in fear of the North attacking?
G: No, I don't live in fear. But there were times that I got nervous but I don't think they will attack without any warning.


WaP: Do you want re-unification?



G: Re-unification is ideal thing to happen but it's not as ideal as it sounds I think. I'm hoping that we can go there just like we travel to other countries and all the divided families can meet their families in North freely.


WaP: How do you feel about the presence of American troops on the peninsula?
G: Well, I think it's a necessary evil because we don't spend as much money for military.

WaP: Is the "Sunshine Policy" the right way to engage North Korea?


G: I can't say it's right way but I like it better than Lee Myung Bak's way.