North Korea, South Korea, and the Korean-American Diaspora

Introduction: Two Very Different Koreas

South Korea is known today as one of the rising economic giants of the industrialized world. The nation is a respected U.S. ally and a center for fashion and technology, among other industries. While South Korea's star is on a constant rise, its neighbor, North Korea, continues to live as a tightly closed society with restrictive and degrading practices, whereby its citizens are almost like robots — not allowed to think for themselves, eat properly, or explore their world. The difference between the two countries is stark, and in order to even begin to understand South Korea's ability to progress so much, one must analyze its history.

For the purposes of this paper, three main questions are addressed in an initial examination of both countries: first, South Korea's path of democratization in the 1980s and 1990s is described; second, North Korea's policies in the 1990s are examined; and third, the Korean diaspora, with a focus on America, is discussed.

South Korea's Path to Democratization in the 1980s and 1990s

Korea was supposed to be a mix of "cheap and disciplined labor, talented technocrats," high GNP, equal distribution of wealth, and citizens who "never said Yankee, go home," according to Bruce Cummings, who writes about the phenomenon in his book Korea's Place in the Sun, upon which the following paragraphs are based. However, according to Cummings, this model did not quite work out. Until 1992, every single Korean republic in the South was ended by either a coup or a massive uprising. To illustrate this, Cummings separates the period from the 1960s to 1992 into two segments.

The first period runs from 1961 to 1979, ruled by Park Chung Hee, and is known as the Third Republic. This period ended due to a coup that ultimately resulted in Park's murder "at the hands of his own intelligence chief," according to the author. The second period, from 1980 to 1987, was under Chun Doo Hwan and represented the next longest period in South Korean history. It began and ended with popular rebellions "that shook the foundations of the system," according to Cummings.

In the late 1980s, however, things began to change, leading toward a more stable period beginning in 1992 under Kim Young Sam. Before this could happen, the leader of the Fifth Republic had a few loose ends to tie up. Despite "nationwide distaste for Chun's" government, states Cummings, "in 1987 he determined to handpick his successor and continue to hold power behind the scenes." The tight control the government maintained over society was evident in every way, and is reminiscent of North Korea today.

According to Cummings, the Chun regime entered a crisis that would eventually lead toward democracy — much the same way it happened elsewhere in the world, such as in Latin America or Eastern Europe. Among the signs of this shift was a resurgence of political parties that had previously been stifled, along with a more urgent press for democratization and revolution. Furthermore, the sudden appearance of books and magazines "long suppressed by censorship" was another way in which the revolution began to take shape. Older institutions, such as trade unions, professional associations, and universities, were converted from agents controlled by the government into instruments for the expression of ideas that challenged the regime. Finally, grass-roots organizations emerged, arguing for freedoms that had been repressed under authoritarian rule.

Cummings notes that the tipping point for all the growing frustration was the torturing and killing of a student dissident in 1987. Coupled with the phenomena described above, this event — and its eventual cover-up — sparked nationwide demonstrations in support of human rights. It was then that "a mass movement for democracy, embracing students, workers, and many in the middle class, finally brought a democratic breakthrough in Korea," according to the author.

The period that followed was somewhat unstable but saw an increase in union membership and a vast improvement in living and working conditions for most of the South Korean population. When the 1992 elections took place, the military was retired, and the new president brought former dissidents back and placed them in his cabinet. South Korea had emerged as a new democratic nation poised to prosper in a booming era. The South Korea of today is prospering and is a respected — even enviable — travel destination. Despite some media portrayals, the country remains open to Americans and Westerners in general. As recently as 2002, the country called upon America to support North-South reconciliation and to relocate military bases outside of Seoul.

Conclusion

Though reunification seems a long way off, South Korea and North Korea remain two of the most fascinating countries to study. While the South is prospering, the North is becoming ever more entrenched in its ways, with no sign of progress — a hard cross for its citizens to bear, many of whom grow desperate. The events analyzed in each section above reveal how these two countries evolved throughout the most crucial decades of their existence, and it is precisely these decades that cemented their current trajectories. As for Koreans in America, one can only hope that a day will come when they feel fully integrated into American life — and perhaps that day will only arrive when the two Koreas are finally united.