Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Julius]

Do you see any advantages to you if reunification happens?

Personally, I'd be happy if the 2 stay separateso,

NO for 2 reasons:

1) It would increase the rampant nationalism and anti foreigner vibe here enormously
1) that they would concrete over the beautiful DMZ in weeks

[Julius]

-however, i think i would enjoy exploring NK and travelling freelly up there.

[pest2]

I voted yes because I am sick and tired of seeing my own taxes go to pay for my country's military presence in this stupid place. Presumably, unified Korea > no need for US military aid. I dont want to spend a single cent of my own country's money helping these nationalistic jokers out.

Best thing would be if the USFK left Korea the day after I left and then the North attacked the next hour...

[RACETRAITOR]

Why does the end of North Korea have to mean reunification? Why not just replace their government with a new one and keep the countries separate?

I would really like to get up there too.

[jinju]

[lastat06513]

True....
The US and USFK has made it abundantly clear that they intend on staying on the peninsula EVEN after reunification.
Hell! Kim Jeong Il even said that the American military would be wlcome to stay on after reunification.
However, I do see some kind of friction occurring between Japan and a unified Korea after years of built-up hatred, so you might see the US having to choose between keeping and maintaining bases in Japan, which is astronomically expensive compared to the costs to keep bases in Korea, not to mention the direct proximity Korea offers the US military to its 2 major concerns- China and Russia

Another drawback is the possible ultra-nationalism that might engulf the nation after such a "historic event"

But I don't see the Koreas reuniting any time soon for 2 reasons:

1. The terribly high cost of reunification.
2. The massive migration of North Koreans heading south to look for work (at this stage, you might see the end of the Industrial Trainee program and of businesses shunning Korean-Chinese as the labor pool would be virtually saturated with low-cost, highly-skilled North Korean labor).

What I find silly is that the only people enthusiastically awaiting reunification are the South Korean men who hope to marry one of those "North Korean beauties" because many South Korean women are choosing to remain single so they can stay in the job market as long as possible.....pathetic!

[CentralCali]

[CeleryMan]

Enough already with this nonsense. The Korean Peninsula is merely water-cooler banter in the White House. No one cares, this includes Castro and Chavez.

[RACETRAITOR]

[LuckyNomad]

It won't be unification, it'll be absorbtion.
I don't think there will be a clear point at which the two countries become unified. It'll be gradual economic absorbtion by the South, similar to the way the Japanese took over Korea. First they build the trains and build the factories. Then they start buying the property, taking over the banks and the media. I'm guessing it'll be around 2040 or 2050 when Korea is Korea again.

[jinju]

[mindmetoo]

Japan has no pressing threat but the American military has many bases there. So a re-united Korea would, no doubt, still be attractive to America for military basing. One can argue whether or not those dollars are spent for Korea's defense or America's own self interest, today or tomorrow. But I would suggest a reunited Korea that now feels threatened by China without any kind of American trip wire would feel the need to implement a nuclear deterrent. That's not in the interest of America, certainly.

Seems to me America gets its money's worth.

Regarding the unification matter. There would be a certain guilty joy in seeing Korean hubris trying to explain why they went from a wealthy nation to slipping way way down in the rankings as they spend billions and billions trying to pull NK out of the slime hole it's built itself. NK males are going to be treated like country dogs, if they're lucky. NK females are going to flood south. SK females are going to be told "why would I ever marry you when I could have a traditional, docile NK woman?" The status of women is going to take a huge step back.

But then Korea has a way of changing on a huge dime and defying critics.

[pest2]

[newton kabiddles]

North Korea has high quality garlic, it's much better than Viagra.
The North Korean ladies are the most beautiful in the world - prettier than even South Korean ladies. Can you believe it? North Korean men are very small and not attractive, South Korean men are more handsome. When Korea unifies South Korean men can take a nice Korean wife from North Korea and we won't need anymore foreign brides, like Vietnamese or Filipino. Foreign brides have many problems with Korean men and it causes violence in the Korean family. So when we unify there will be more peace in the family.

[jinju]