Defectors should
be in the lead; this was the message of yesterday’s Daily NK seminar, “The Role
of Defectors in Korean Unification.”
Ever since
President Park Geun Hye made the controversial “unification as jackpot” comment
at the beginning of 2014, there has been more unification debate in South Korea
than for a number of years. However, the concrete role of defectors in the future
process of unifying the country has not been adequately explored.
Seeking to
redress the balance, Professor Park Sang Bong of Myongji University envisioned twin
roles defectors can and should play, both now and in the future.
Pre-unification they must “bear witness and point to North Korea’s human rights
violations,” he said, whilst in the post-unification era their role should be
that of “societal mediator,” providing the best bridge between the two Koreas, which
have increasingly divergent state structures.
However, Professor
Park was critical of President Park’s conception of unification as “the
jackpot.” Declaring that South Korea has a history of failing to address its
national interest personally, he said that today’s defectors have been rendered
into a shared global responsibility. There is some benefit to this, of course,
but he pressed for a more active role by the South Korean government. “If we
can’t even protect our own people,” he asked, “how are we expected to achieve
unification?”
Therefore, South
Korea must explain to the world that defection is first and foremost a national
responsibility, and keep the promise to assist and defend their rights and
interests, he said. “Only then we can actively and sincerely pursue
unification.”
In the
second presentation, Kim Jung Tae stressed the importance of understanding
“North Korea’s true nature.” Kim, a former director of Hanawon, South Korea’s
resettlement center for new defectors, went on to say that the defector
community is a crucial resource in this quest for understanding. However, “Only
when we learn to appreciate our differences can we understand them.”
As far as
the role of defectors in unification is concerned, Kim said that by keeping
alive the desire for a better life with which many of them escaped North Korea,
and being persistent and tenacious in reconstructing their lives in the South,
defectors make perfect role models for their fellow citizens.
Concluding
events, senior defector Seo Jae Pyung, who heads the Committee for
Democratization of North Korea, the organization formed and led by former
Workers’ Party International Secretary Hwang Jang Yop, said that defectors need
to adapt to South Korea’s democratic, capitalist system in order that to be
well positioned to return to the North post-unification and aid in regional
development.
