An Editorial By Garrett Shiflet
The year was 1945, and the Second
World War came to a vaporizing nuclear close. After 6 years, of the worst atrocities
orchestrated in human history ranging from the Rape of Nanking to the Holocaust
and the ferocious unrelenting total war that left Europe in ruins, the world
breathed the air of peace. The Allied powers victorious, went to dividing up
the spoils. Thousands of miles needed to be occupied and be restructured entirely
and it at this moment another war began: The Cold War. Like Hegelian Dialectics,
there is a thesis, its antithesis (its opposite) which battle it out until it achieves
synthesis (equilibrium) to an idea. Bolshevik Communism and Western Capitalism
had destroyed Fascism together yet now they stared down at each other at a place
like at Berlin, opposites to each other.
The enemy was crushed, now the enemy of the enemy was no more, a wartime friendship
turned sour. It is from this that in 1945, the occupation of a small Asian peninsula,
conquered by the Japanese, received a rather unfortunate deal when it was divided
along the infamous 38th parallel. American Capitalism to the South, Soviet
Communism to the North. And just like in Berlin Wall, the tensions on either
side surmounted as now Koreans were divided and fed ideologies.
Then in 1950, the situation hit its
boiling point. The occupation period was over yet now the Soviets with new
Communist Chinese allies backed up the North Korean Communist regime of Kim
Il-Sung and to the South a democratic South Korea laid defenseless without
American soldiers, with Soviet military weapons the first proxy war of the Cold
War began. Often called “The Forgotten War”, the Korean War was bitter conflict,
often overshadowed by its brutal brother the Vietnam War, though it still is
one of most important wars in American and global history. North Korea obtained
near domination of Korea until America deployed and routed them and drove them literally
past North Korea and into China, which lead to some American military controversy. The Chinese fought back and in 3 years the war
ground to a halt, a stalemate roughly back along the 38th parallel. And so, it
has been for decades. A ceasefire but never a treaty, two Koreas at constant vigilance.
Now in the year 2018, the first
glimpse of hope for a synthesis to this debacle may be in reach. The turbulent first
term of President Trump has brought the Korea peninsula back in the spotlight
as now two nations on the brink of war since 1953, have a chance and the possibility
to change. The opportunity to let the division end. Though it is a hard and arduous
task, North Korea has been under a quasi-despotic Communist regime with Supreme
Leader Kim Jong-Un, now the third of his line, ruling with an iron fist with a
cult of personality comparable to Hitler or Stalin. Yet as the North rescinded to
hermit status, South Korea blooms and thrives as a capitalist tech power with a
strong democracy. The two are thesis and antithesis clearly, yet at some point
is it possible they could reach synthesis? Can there be a unified Korea?
Well, a Lake-Sumter student thought
it might just be possible or at the very least the end goal. Jin Woo “Jay”, is
a South Korean native and exchange student who was raised in South Korea coming
to America to go to school, recently going to UCF through LSSC’s popular
Direct-Connect program. When asked about the whole situation he had an insight
to say:
“There are some people who take the
recent events as a positive sign that two Koreas will be unified, and we don’t
have to worry about the war anymore. But at the same time many people are
skeptical that North Korea is just acting and Kim Jung-Un is faking it. But I’m
just glad North Korea is communicating with South Korea”
But here is where it gets more
interesting, did you know that all South Korean males are required to join the
military? Well yes, they do. Under laws of compulsory conscription, South
Korean youths must be drafted and serve as the threat of war with the North is
constant and persistent. Its under this that many like Jay may also just want
not to be strapped on into military fatigues and ready for a war of attrition
with North Korea, its not a pleasant thought. So even Jay laughed, “Maybe it won’t
be mandatory, hopefully, or my service shortened”.
“With that, young men can focus on
their study and be more productive, the War Department can loosen spending, more
work opportunities, foreigners will invest more in Korea now not afraid to lose
it all due to a war. And families, separated by the war…So I support
reunification”
But what of the war? The bloodshed,
can that wound heal?
“Since the
war was taken in our grandparent’s lives, the young generation doesn’t have
that direct influence from North Korea. Though there is still a lot of anger
and hatred still, 빨갱이 is an insulting word for communist. The word 빨갱이 came from the color red. You know
red is a symbol of Communism.”
빨갱이- Pronunciation:
ppalgaeng-i
빨갱이, of course being
a lot like America’s derogatory terms for Communist like “Commies” or “Reds”.
In fact, we had two “Red Scares” and the famous catchphrase “Better dead than Red”
was used to show off American patriotism as an affront to Communism. The Cold
War has morphed our language, just as it has Korea as now the two speak different
dialects of Korean with some completely different words.
And now, the precipice of synthesis is
upon Korea, and like many like Jay and most Americans peace is all we want. No
one wants to be dragged in the war, especially someone like Jay who will have
to soon return to Korea for his mandatory service and if tensions were to go
back would be one of the first to fight. The time of diplomacy and to reach out
and talk is paramount, for all of Korea and its inhabitants and the world. The
tale of North and South Korea must draw to a peaceful close, it is a vestige of
a decades long feud that ended in 1991, we must right this wrong and push for a
peace. Maybe reunification may take decades, or maybe never but peace if
anything is a step in the right direction.