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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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 Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:32 am Post subject: |
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| believe that the powers-that-be here were reluctant to let that voice be heard, because many South Koreans are as susceptible to that pseudo-marxist rant as their less-educated brothers and sisters across the DMZ. |
Or, perhaps its just because the government had lingering authoritarian tendencies and didn't want the people to hear anything critical. Prior to democratization, South Koreans were denied access not just to Radio Pyongyang but to a whole range of dissenting opinion. I suspect that the ban on short wave radios was just a holdover from the days when people were tossed in jail for translating Karl Marx into Korean and writing anti-government editorials. |
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indiercj
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:21 am Post subject: |
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| On the other hand wrote: |
Indiercj wrote:
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| Looking at how it has been going when South Korea being religiously devided of christians and buddists(about 50:50) without going through any major conflict(is there any similar cases in this world?) |
Indiercj, you're one of my favs here, don't get me wrong. BUT: that comparison just doesn't work. How much Buddhist-Christian harmony do you think there would be in Korea if:
A. Buddhists were living in a state of complete economic deprivation, including regular bouts of famine, while Christians were enjoying one of the highest standards of living in the world? AND:
B. All Buddhists had been taught since birth to regard Christianity, if not Christians themselves, as having for its sole aim the destruction of Buddhism? |
OTOH, you are one of my fav too. But here's my thoughts.
A is true. And that's why the two Koreas both look at reunification a slow step by step including an enough period of federal state. That's exaclty why doing more investment from the South to the Northen economy without fully opening the borders seems to be the most realistic solution at this point. Just like the unsettled agony going on between the two Germanys, the economic problem has the potential to be The biggest threat waiting for us.
From the various interviews of North Korean people in SK and China, I can only conclude that they already know the competition is lost. They all know how much developed South Korea is. If it were before 1990 I would still fear B but as for today I don't see it happening.
But as I said before, I believe the Korean Nationalism along with it's family concept and confucian tradition, which many of you see them so negatively, is strong enough to overcome several existing differences. Don't you think nationalism may play a positive role is this situation?
And by the way, do you think your A and B is why many countries go through religious(and racial) conflicts that result in extremly violent situation?
I apologize for my miserable english. |
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kiwiboy_nz_99
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Location: ...Enlightenment...
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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| But as I said before, I believe the Korean Nationalism along with it's family concept and confucian tradition, which many of you see them so negatively, is strong enough to overcome several existing differences. Don't you think nationalism may play a positive role is this situation? |
Nationalism produces racism and war, and is one of the most destructive forces on the planet.
Koreans seem to be under the illusion that they have an extra special love of family, they don't, they simply have an extensive set of formal obligations in that area.
Confucianism is not going to help anyone or anything. Confucianism will probably have to be completely eradicated before successfull unification, as it is profoundly out of step with democracy and modern life, and more in common with the Northern regime. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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Confucianism is not going to help anyone or anything. Confucianism will probably have to be completely eradicated before successfull unification, as it is profoundly out of step with democracy and modern life, and more in common with the Northern regime.
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Kiwi:
I don't like Confucianism any more than you do, but I don't see why it would have to be abandoned before unification could occur. If South Korea can function as a Confucianist society, why couldn't a unified peninsula do so as well?
If anything, the social disruption and economic chaos that would result from unification would make authoritarianism a tempting option for the elites. While I don't think unification is a feasible option right now, in the unlikely event that it did occur any time soon I think Confucianism, with its ideals of hierarchical deference and collective harmony, could play a vital(if not entirely benign) role in the process. At the very least, Confucian ideas and imagery would a big part of the regime's rhetoric. |
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kiwiboy_nz_99
Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Location: ...Enlightenment...
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 2:44 am Post subject: |
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Good points there OTOH.
My reasoning is that Confucianism holds back progress in the south, it's what is stopping the country from really developing, and it's out of step with democracy, so it's a force working against good government. And the south needs to get strong before unification right? So that's my reasoning, in order to be strong and stable the south needs to eradicate confusianism as part of the modernisation process. Then when the south is rich enough and stable enough, intergration can occur. |
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Gwangjuboy
Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Location: England
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 3:13 am Post subject: |
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| Son Deureo! wrote: |
IMHO the U.S. and China should share some of the economic burden of the reunification of Korea, should that day ever come.
Both countries played a major role in the division, so both countries should share some of the responsibility for the final outcome. So far as the U.S. side goes, this would probably be less expensive than maintaining a constant military presence and providing military aid to the South. |
There are too many people who underestimate the cost of reunification.
That's it. Send the Yanks home, scale-down Korean military operations, fill the factories with eager North Koreans, and hey, the tab is covered.
Nonsense. Reunifying the Koreas will make the cost of German reunification look like a day at the candy store. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 3:19 am Post subject: |
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Confucianism and Korean traditional culture, by its nature, is a dish of agar jelly to the bacteria of dictatorship and fascism. Just observing traditional culture in s.Korea alone, you can easilly see how a scenario like that existing in N.Korea could so easilly have arisen.
korea is a hotbed of nationalism, racial superiority ideologies, social conformity, acceptance and unquestioning of authority, paternalism, hidden inhumanity, suffering in silence, behind the scenes corruption etc etc. its not hard to see how a Kim jong Il got an easy ride into his position, the nature of korean society positively encouraged it. |
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