Reuniting North and South Korea Would Be Almost Impossible

There is no more deadly area in the world than the DMZ between North and South Korea. Millions of mines, and lots of guns and surveillance prevent anyone from crossing. But if tensions were to somehow stop and North and South Korea reunite into one country, it would still be almost impossible to combine their economies. Why would we not be able to use the lessons learned by the reunification of East and West Germany?

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[lucubrator]

Apart from Germany, Ireland and Italy are also interesting comparisons regarding the income per capita gap. The north south divide in Italy is even larger than east west in Germany

[ogerpinata]

North Korea is not like the GDR. East Germany at least tried to stay competitive instead of just relying on nukes.

[knpark]

Comparing two Koreas with two Germanies may have worked in the 2000s, but in 2024, it's no longer the case. On worldwide statistics North Korea is not compared with China, Vietnam, or Cuba, but instead compared with Somalia, Eritrea, and CAR. It might as well be wishful thinking to see it as a more difficult version of German Reunification. From here, the hypothetical may be seen as a game changer for South Korea, but not a panacea for all of its current problems.

[masterchinese]

I worked for a South Korean company when I was in Strasbourg. It was the early 2000's and reunification of neighboring Germany was still a common topic in the media. I asked my Korean boss, who was well-connected to Korean policymakers, whether the Koreas would reunify if the North collapsed. He told me that the South Korean government would parachute supplies to their northern neighbors and wish them good luck. He said that few really were interested in seeing that happen. (What to do with 23 million brainwashed people?)

[dlagazo]

Convincing the younger generation of South Koreans that North Korea is not 'another' country is an actual problem in South Korea now

[biaispravda]

Actually, North and South Korea use different names to designate themselves. North Korea calls itself "Joseon" after the Joseon dynasty, which ruled the Korean Peninsula before the Japanese invasion (the Japanese then used "Chōson" to refer to the region itself as whole), whereas South Korea names itself "Hanguk" after Samhan, a term that collectively refers to the three ancient kingdoms that shared Korea in the past.

[reonjohn]

I was an exchange student in Dresden in 2019. The East to this dates still feels like a different country with vast gap in infrastructure. As an international student, I was able to connect with people from West way more than East as they were more willing to communicate in English.

[Rgio]

I'm a Korean. I believe that unification of North and South Korea should be a result, not a goal. It is not easy for countries with different ideologies to merge. I believe that North and South Korea can travel with the goal of peace and common interests, and that exchanges come first. In addition to the national division of the Korean Peninsula, the ceasefire also resulted in the division of the country, preventing people from freely traveling to each other. I think resolving this national division comes first. Then, I think we can achieve national unification in the distant future.

[lucubrator]

6:40 Berlin might have the largest total GDP but per capita it only leads the east and is behind pretty much every city in the west. And that's only after receiving almost USD 100 bn in subsidies over the last 75 years. Only few years ago, Berlin was the only capital in the world that lowered the per capita income of the whole country.

[SkippingHellPHX]

7:50 The best idea that I have is to leave the DMZ as is. Tunnel underneath it for highway and rail connections, but then leave the area as a nature reserve/exclusion zone. It would certainly be faster and likely cheaper than getting rid of the land mines

[Elongated_Muskrat]

Sad to think that the cultural and economic gap is such that Korean reunification is a near zero possibility.

[holeeshi]

what would be a necessity for the North-South reunion is a period where North Korea operates separately as a market economy with South Korean investment and aid until it catches up.

[PeterDivine]

Honestly, i think the underdevelopment of North Korea and its natural resources is being _massively_ understated here, and I say that as a point of optimism for reunification. Should they ever re-unify, then either through private or public means, Korea will have a huge influx of opportunities for building factories, mines, housing, education centers, and any and all associated amenities with it. It would give an extreme shot in the arm to South Korea's population, who are highly over-educated and underemployed, as well as open up a bunch of freedom and working opportunities for NK's population of slaves to a corrupt farce of a government.

[ElSemih]

I think the best way would be to not reunite, but forming a korean-union, consisting of both countries with a single market. That way South and North Korea could explore ways to do business together, but without mass immigration from the north to the south and china would still have it's buffer country. Visa free travel could be allowed, but a visa should be required for north koreans trying to permanently settle in the South, so that there isn't a big brain drain.

[kingofrivia]

Germany did it. And while there are still differences as a 21 y old german i feel like one united country

[evryatis]

18:10 That was an incredibly interesting point that I had never considered. North korean education is relatively good, but they're up against south korea's standards, whose students rank among the best in PISA. Its going to be a challenge to reconciliate the south's industry with that fact.

[Player-remo]

I would say Romania and Moldova are more likely to unite, but even those countries are nowhere close. South and North Korea are centuries away from uniting!

[lonelychameleon]

Basically you’d have a situation where the north is just to serve the south through exporting raw materials and providing cheap labor, which will lead to resentment in the north and create political tension.

[fireironthesecond]

Uniting South Korea with North Korea would be like uniting Germany with the Roman Empire

[CryptoRoast_]

Kim gon be pissed you said North Korea instead of DPRK. 😂