Dwight School Seoul

Why is it important to resolve the human rights issue in North Korea for
peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula in the future?

Hanseung Kim, Seungpyo Shin , Yuhyun Wang

Table of Contents

Introduction

Body
1. The Importance of Peaceful Unification

2. The absolute importance of Human Rights (and North Korean

human rights?)

3. Relationship between North Korean Human Rights and

Democratic Unification

Conclusion
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In the last decade, the topic of human rights became ubiquitous. The universal and

general definition of human rights is "the right that is believed to belong justifiably to every

person” according to the Oxford dictionary. However, the amount of rights and freedom that

is permitted differs considerably amongst the countries around the world. The political,

cultural, and historical aspects are some of the causes for this drastic distinction. But even

with these disparities, many countries have been moving in the direction of granting more

freedom to the citizens. Interestingly, there is a country that has not changed its stolid and

strict human rights policy for a long time. This country is North Korea, a country that is

considered a monarchy by some historians. North Korea has been in a state of an armistice

with South Korea. The war has been going on for more than 70 years and it caused deep

animosity between the two countries. The tensions are rising and the Koreans that came from

the same sprout have been diverging because of this war. The South Korean government is

looking forward to achieving unification. For the unification to happen, there are going to be

lots of problems to be discussed as well as the extreme effort that will have to be put in from

both countries. Nevertheless, before any of the negotiating and discussing happens, there is

one of the most critical and urgent problems to be fixed. This is the human rights problem, a

key to achieving great unification. Through the upcoming writings, we will be discussing the

significance of unification, demand, and importance of human rights and finally, the

connection between human rights problems and democratic unification to explain why

solving human rights problems is important in the final unification of the Koreas.

First of all, I would like to discuss why unification is important before solving human

rights issues in North Korea for unification. The Korean Peninsula has been divided into the
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south and the north, bordering the 38th parallel northward for about 70 years. Now, we

cannot unify the Korean Peninsula as easily as the unification of the three kingdoms of Silla,

the first unification of the Korean Peninsula. The reason is that unification through war,

which was possible at that time, is not possible at this moment. Therefore, for now, both

North and South Koreans should have "peaceful unification" that will not be hurt. People

these days wonder why unification should be done, so why should we do it?

Once we have peaceful unification, we can get North Korea's buried resources. As

everyone knows, the amount of natural resources North Korea has is really large. However,

they are a little less developed and technological than South Korea. If North Korea's many

resources and labor combined with the world's strongest technology, we can expect a huge

synergy effect comparable to that of the world's major powers.

The second reason is to reduce transportation costs when trading between countries.

Unification could lead to trade with China and Russia, which had been blocked by North

Korea. Starting in Busan and using various railways across Asia and Europe, transportation

time and costs will be drastically reduced while traveling, resulting in huge cargo transport

demand. In other words, in the event of peaceful unification, trade with other countries can

have a huge cost-saving effect on us. In other words, this is the biggest economic effect.

Another is the change in the nation's mandatory military system. Right now, North

Korea and we are in a truce where we don't know when war will break out. In other words,

there's still a war going on. Therefore, the military is mandatory for Korean men. We,

confronting North Korea, are spending 70 percent of our taxes on defense. However, if

peaceful unification is achieved, this large defense budget will also be used for our Republic

of Korea, as the military system changes from mandatory to recruiting.

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North Korea and South Korea are very different because they have lived as divided

countries for about 70 years. If we have learned the importance of peaceful unification so far,

we will explain why we should protect North Korea's human rights for unification.

Next, we are going to be focusing on the absolute significance and demand for human

rights. Before we get into specifics, let’s first understand the general concept of human rights.

The literal definition of human rights is “a right that is believed to belong justifiably to every

person”. Yet, what do they exactly mean by “a right”? In other words, to what extent is the

allowance of human rights seen as cruelty or as clemency? The area covered by human rights

tremendously varies depending on the different countries and their political beliefs. For

example, let us take a peek at the definition of human rights defined by the United States of

America. According to the American declaration of independence, it is stated that the

constitution recognizes freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, the

right to keep and bear arms, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a

fair trial by jury. These are a few laws relating to human rights in the US and are a modern

definition of human rights. Even if these laws seem basic or obvious, there are parts of the

world where these actions are limited and prevented. China is one of the biggest nations in

the modern world. The rising powers of China and its inestimable population has put their

place among the wealthiest and strongest nations in our society. However, in China, there are

censorships on the internet and the press as well as the oppression of religion. Its neighboring

country, North Korea, has even fewer human rights and has more limitations.

The North Korean human rights issue is an important factor that can determine the

future of the Korean Peninsula beyond simplicity. As mentioned above, North Korea has a

government system in proximity to a monarchy society. Originating from this system,

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“freedom” and “rights” in Kim Jung Un’s political system are nonexistent. While Nora

Korea is known for its extremely repressive and secretive society, there are few things we

know about. First of all, something as common as freedom of expression and belief is not

permitted. The North Korean government has the permission of Christianity and Buddhism,

this is not the case in reality. Things such as academic freedom, access to independent media,

and freedom to express political ideas are all forbidden as well. It is so strictly controlled that

about 120,000 people are imprisoned for expressing their political beliefs according to

Amnesty International. They are detained to harsh labor and torture as well as ill-treatment

and an abominable environment. Lastly, the country is simply “confined”. Unless the citizen

gets a special permit directly from the government, which is almost close to impossible, the

citizens are not free to roam around the country. This law is more harshly applied when the

travel is towards leaving the country. All these restrictions have put the citizens of North

Korea in a devastating environment.

The North Korean human rights issue is an important factor that can determine the

future of the Korean Peninsula beyond just the importance of human rights that everyone has.

While the pros and cons of reunification are being discussed, the issue of adaptation to each

other's society is directly related to this. As mentioned above, peaceful unification and

democratic unification are conditions that must be followed. The improvement of North

Korea's human rights issue must be followed because it should be South Korea, where

everyone can enjoy their human rights equally under liberal democracy. The human rights

issue should be resolved first, as everyone should prepare for a unified Korea, which we view

ideally. Human rights violations suffered by North Koreans include media control, coercion
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of ideas, and surveillance of privacy. After industrialization and democratization, our path is

peaceful unification based on the basic order of freedom and democracy.

South Korea and North Korea are countries in inevitable relationships. This is not

only because of their geographical proximity but also because they share the same culture and

history with the same people. Care about North Korea's human rights issues will come as an

opportunity for us to regain our cultural solidarity, more than simply providing assistance on

a humanitarian level. Furthermore, if we learn about our background and develop pride,

Korea can become a culturally infinite country like Kim Gu's Baekbeom Diary.