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Yes, but just think how easy it will be for American corporations to sell them shiny objects. I'll bet Disney and McDonalds and Marlboro and Sara Lee and Monsanto and Home Shopping Network and Fruit of the Loom and Cialis lick their lips when they hear people talking about reunification. The only freedom America cares about is the freedom to buy things.
Yes, and I tell you that is so much worse than work camps and starvation.
I think the South Korea gov't has a "reunification fund" set aside, with lots of money in it... $50 billion I think.
They're prepared for it, and it won't be smooth, easy, or fair, but I'm not sure it'll happen anytime soon. It will probably take a skirmish to trigger it or possible an all out war between the two. Which is scary considing how much artillery is aimed at Seoul.
The difference between North and South Korea is vastly greater than that between West and East Germany during the Cold War. Let's be honest - North Korea is a prison state.
Yes, and I tell you that is so much worse than work camps and starvation.
Per capita, the number of North Koreans in "work camps" or any other form of incarceration is smaller than the number of Americans who are incarcerated, half of them for non-violent crimes, and tens of thousands of whom are simply accused and awaiting trial.
I think the big stalemate right now, is who will take over who? They can't integrate the two, without one almost entirely and completely conforming nearly 100% to the other.
That basically means North Korea will have to cease to exist, and South Korea would 'take' them.
However, North Koreans, have a ton at stake with their own unique culture, worldview, history, heroes, etc., to completely bow down to having pretty much everything about them 'erased' to just be a part of South Korea.
My guess is, if Korea were to "unify" there would be some kind of seminal event that would precede unification. The most likely scenarios in my mind would be some kind of political uprising or coup, or some kind of war that resulted in NK surrender.
Calling it "unification" is perhaps a bit inaccurate since I don't think there would be much more than SK culture/society annexing NK as basically a territory acquisition. In the long run this should significantly benefit both countries, and I don't see how you can possibly take some kind of average of the two and really "unify" them in the true meaning of the word. This is just not going to be politically palatable by any country in the world, except perhaps China.
I do agree with others that there will be some major change at some point and the two countries will become one. A scenario that no one has mentioned in this thread that could be a catalyst is if China becomes a democracy and the government in that country essentially becomes unsupportive of North Korea. The government in the PRC seems to have an increasingly icy relationship with the North Koreans, and that could play a factor in a variety of "end game" scenarios.
If they ever did unify it would be a culture shock to most of them
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
Yes, but just think how easy it will be for American corporations to sell them shiny objects. I'll bet Disney and McDonalds and Marlboro and Sara Lee and Monsanto and Home Shopping Network and Fruit of the Loom and Cialis lick their lips when they hear people talking about reunification. The only freedom America cares about is the freedom to buy things.
jtur, I think you're looking for this c-d forum thread...
and I think it is not as important what freedom America cares about (in you context) but rather the freedom that the individual cares about that will matter and make a difference in their lives.
Just my two cents...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
How do you know so much about North Korea? What do you think someone who escaped from an American prison would say about this country?
If someone escaped from an American prison he/she/they would be caught sooner or later and he/she/they would say...wow, big mistake!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
Per capita, the number of North Koreans in "work camps" or any other form of incarceration is smaller than the number of Americans who are incarcerated, half of them for non-violent crimes, and tens of thousands of whom are simply accused and awaiting trial.
I don't think it will happen for a very long time, the two are very economically different. The south is booming and capitalist, while the north is very underdeveloped and socialist. I don't think Kim jong in would let the unification happen without unified Korea being socialist, same thing goes for the south.
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