Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ronald]

A year ago, I would have automatically said the North. Now that I've been here a while, I wonder if the South doesn't have more to lose. For example, a cheap labor bureaucracy made up of a mandatory military service.

However, now it seems the South's mouth is watering over all that cheap labor.

[Milwaukiedave]

I've heard that the North Koreans who do make it here are very much looked down on.

I tend to agree, South Korea has more to lose. It will cost trillions of dollars to bring North Korea's infrastructure out of the stone age. Many have argued that, if it happens, it will be much tougher then the reunification of East and West Germany.

I don't think if North Korea collapsed tomorrow (not that it will), that it would automatically mean the two countries would reunify. There are too many political differences between the two countries.

[RACETRAITOR]

Everybody seems to assume the future of the Koreas is for them to reunite. Maybe the North government will collapse, but that doesn't mean they'll join back together. It would be nice to see two independent democratic states.

[betchay]

i wonder why, but most koreans i know are not in favor of reunification...

[Ronald]

Maybe it's because that's the way they've been educated?

[bassexpander]

They're not in favor of reunification because they know it will cost them personally.

Taxes, etc.

It's sad to say, but the truth is that they dream of a united Korea, but don't want to have to pay for it, therefore they are against it. I've heard this same sentiment echoed by student after student.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... if the walls came down today, a lot of NK elite would become richer than rich, while the poor would still remain poor (although they would eat). Within five to ten years, there would be another revolt/war/whatever by the poor of the North who would by then have seen just how rich "everyone else" is.

Let's not forget that the reason the Korean war began was because people in the North were easily swayed due to their feelings of being taken advantage of by those in the South.

[Passions]

Koreans want anything and everything as long as it doesn't cost them a penny.

[Captain Corea]

[Ronald]

You're right, I shouldn't have said agriculture.

[Roch]

[Milwaukiedave]

Roch,

Do you happen to know what the name of the thinktank your student worked at? It would be interesting to read what they've published.

Then again, I guess I could Google it. I guess I'm feeling lazy.

[Ilsanman]

I will answer predictably and say it's mostly KJI's fault for no reunification.

[jvalmer]

It is not in Japan's, the US's or anyone's interest in seeing both SK and NK going bellyup. Also, China would prefer a stable Korean peninsula than one that is tettering on the verge of an econmic collapse. All countries that have interests in Korea and the region will be as financially generous as possible, very very generous, in hopes to stabilize Korea as fast as possible in the event of a sudden collapse of NK. Assuming it's NK that collapses.

[Roch]

[GoldMember]

Fools! It's never a Korean's fault, it's the fault of the USA!