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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

South Korea's Reoccurring Fear

Helen Jeong |
May 24, 2010 | 9:57 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Fear has spread across South Korea after North Korea sunk the Cheonan in
March. (Creative Commons licensed: S.KOREA KDN)

As a girl growing up in South Korea, I wasn't scared of ghosts in the closet or a grandma visiting from the grave, but communist North Koreans crossing the border and forcing me to say, "I abandon democracy!"  As silly as it sounds, back then, I used to go to bed with a butter knife under my pillow to fight off North Korean soldiers if they came to kidnap me.  

It has been almost two decades since I had overcome the fear.  But I wouldn't be surprised that, right now, all the way in Seoul, South Korea, a 7-year-old girl would do the same and go to bed with a butter knife under her pillow.

Since March 26, the southern part of the Korean peninsula has been in mourning because the South Korean Navy vessel, the Cheonan, was split in half by an explosion, killing its 46 sailors.  Last week, the South said evidence pointed to the North that Pyongyang's submarine had torpedoed the 1,200-ton ship.

My friends and ex-colleagues in Seoul tell me pictures of each sailor have been posted in the downtown area to commemorate the fallen soldiers.   

"It is hitting close to home for many Koreans," said June Chang, a Korean American journalist based in Seoul. 

The nation has been split into half for nearly five decades, and there have been countless moments of tension.  But this time, it is different.

"It is getting real," Chang said.

One of the sailors killed is my friend's uncle.  It's not just a story you read in the newspaper.  For many South Koreans, it's a story of their family, community and their country.

When the 46 people lost their lives, and their families lost their sons, fathers, uncles and friends overnight, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's dramatic announcement to demand a mere "apology" is a slap on the face.  

And this week, South Korea will join with the U.S. and Japan to push for a U.N. resolution to condemn North Korea's act. Sure, I think Kim Jong-il will be scared of a bunch of suits getting together and saying words like "condemnation" and "the denouncement of the horrific act."

Almost a year ago, North Korea test-launched a number of missiles and even conducted a nuclear test.  And the United Nations Security Council, with a push by the U.S., South Korea and Japan, adopted a resolution.  Clearly, that was neither effective nor lasting.

"I don't think South Korea should put up with North Korea anymore, " said Paul Cho, a Korean American businessman, who had immigrated to the U.S. more than 20 years ago. "How many times do we have to go through this [conflict]?"

Another Korean American expressed her frustration and said the "sunshine policy" toward the North never worked. 

"North Korea is bringing us all down," said Hyun Lee, who owns a Korean restaurant in Koreatown of Los Angeles, in her native tongue.  "[South] Korea is not just barely getting out of the recession.  And what North Korea is doing doesn't help."

I may not completely agree with many conservative Koreans like Lee and Cho, but I do agree that it's frustrating that no progress has been made between the two Koreas.

There's got to be a more fundamental solution to the situation.  It will not only require an international unilateral act but substantial and pragmatic policy-making based on lessons from mistakes.  

In addition to the usual suspects - South Korea, the U.S. and Japan - China and Russia have to get on board.   Seoul shouldn't stop short by just implementing a trade embargo on Pyongyang.

There's got to be more so that no more young fearful Korean kids have to go to bed with their butter knives under their pillows.  



 

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