We Are (Not) One

When I reported to Korea for my first tour there, I recall walking around Yongsan with another Army officer looking at all the Korean civilians and wondering how many were North Korean  sleeper agents.  Hey, even paranoid people have enemies.   I remember that officer saying, “I don’t claim to be able to tell North Koreans from South Koreans.”  I laughed, but that was before I actually met any people I knew to be North Koreans. 

My views have since changed:  there are pronounced differences in posture, mannerisms, eye contact, and physical size.  If the individual left North Korea recently, the difference is pronounced and visible, even to a non-Korean.  This graphic from today’s Joongang Ilbo pretty much says it all:  Korea is not one.

This article is most definitely worth reading in its entirety, as it speaks of how this difference will complicate the reunification process.  I agree.  I also think that the  most understated problem will be the mental health effects of traumatizing 23 million people for their entire lives.  It’s difficult to comprehend the effect that this will have on some people.

Some statistical data on that here (see tables 11 and 12, page  25).