[imText1]“Both North Korea’s human rights issue and South Korea’s self-esteem are important. But more significant is to manage the situation at manageable level and to put peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula first.”
A statement from President Roh Moo Hyun’s Liberation Day speech reminds us our subconscious North Korea-phobia.
Although the Sunshine Policy is not equipped with standardized system of ideology, there are two major beliefs substantiating the policy, according to statements of the officials in the Cheongwadae (President’s Office of South Korea) and the South Korean government.
One is confidence of South Korea being a ‘bigger brother’ of North Korea since the former surpasses the latter in every aspect; economic might, military power, international status and so on. So South Korea must tolerate North Korea like a father does for his prodigal son and then North Korean leadership would transform its behaviors. The other is anxiety due to North Korea’s unpredictability, or North Korea-phobia. Because Pyongyang is not an easily expectable and manageable partner, it must be treated warily.
During Kim Dae Jung administration, Sunshine Policy’s confidence portion was emphasized compared to anxiety one. However, Roh Moo Hyun administration’s North Korean policy seems dominated by North Korea-phobia rather than confidence.
Reason for this change is, most of all, Roh administration’s so-called 386 generation staffs’ misguided perspective on North Korea such as; exaggerated fear that North Korea’s pride would explode if provoked, overemphasis on North Korea’s control over its people and bond between the regime and people, and lack of knowledge on human rights violation in North Korea.
This kind of mistaken concept on North Korea amalgamated with their decades-long anti-Americanism along with changing international order since 9.11, and resulted in a weird trend. After Roh’s inauguration, 386 generation’s anti-American sentiment converted to a confidence to change the society under their leadership. And as the war on terrorism started by the United States, it is now changed to a fear of US hawkish policy. Confidence and North Korea-phobia, pro-North Korean and anti-American sentiment and now anxiety toward the US all combined and created a chaos.
Roh administration’s North Korean policy so far, President Roh’s Liberation Day speech, controversy over redemption of wartime operational responsibility all of the above represent various perspectives in the administration with perplexity.
Let’s look at North Korea with ‘revolutionary’ perspective
On the other hand, the Sunshine Policy’s emphasis on cautious and gradual approach toward North Korea based on misinterpreted securitism and conservatism on North Korean issue.
To say it bluntly, it is an approach indifferent to North Korean people’s lives and their sufferings. The approach only advocates peace and stability, and rejects any ‘revolutionary’ change in North Korea. It even indicates some selfishness that only cares about welfare of us, South Koreans.
President Roh’s use of a phrase ‘managing the situation at manageable level’ plainly describes such egoism. In other words, it is a declaration of abandonment of North Korea since the current North Korea is not ‘manageable’ by South Korean government. Indeed Ryu Si Min, current Health and Welfare Minister and Roh’s closest aide, once commented that he is against abrupt change in North Korea because if ‘ North Korea collapses, that day will be a cheerful one, but next day a disaster will follow.’
Being afraid of North Korea’s provocation of war is not the only case of North Korea-phobia. Fearing North Korea’s change is also North Korea-phobia and it resulted in a critical error in North Korean policy.
Asking politicians, who are both rational and realistic, to conceive from North Korean people’s point of view is too improbable. Nonetheless, considering North Korea’s past, present and future, ‘revolutionary solution’ either from below or above is the only way to improve the situation in North Korea and to lessen the suffering of North Korean people.
In contrast, those who believe in the possibility of reform under Kim Jong Il regime are actually contributing to prolong the inhuman living condition of North Korean people. If this is the case, we living in a free world should at least support North Korea’s democratization from outside, if not do it within North Korea. And such is a duty of those who fought for South Korea’s democratization decades ago.
