A Glimpse at the Growing Pains Connected with Reunification

While living in Korea, I was always surprised at some South Korean citizens’ belief that reunification, whenever it should happen, will be smooth sailing. Indeed, one would think that is the message the ROK government is trying to sell. Has anyone seen the video they play at the DMZ? I’m not sure if they’ve since changed it, but when I saw it, they had smiling, well-fed, healthy children running around a grassy field with butterflies and flowers and a little girl who appeared to be picking something off the barbed-wire fence separating North and South Korea. It looked like she was picking off buns or rice cakes or something. Anyway, I found it an odd image to portray, especially considering the significance of the area and what goes on on the Northern side of the DMZ. But I guess in retrospect, I can appreciate the symbolism — if I were to assess it from a South Korean citizens’ standpoint, that is.

Anyway, in reality, I do think that despite their lofty expectations about reunification, there are some (older?) South Koreans who acknowledge that when it does happen, it will bring many complications at first. I could list several potential growing pains, many which the peninsula has already dealt when North Koreans relocate to the South: discrimination of North Koreans by South Koreans; difficulties North Koreans would face adjusting to life in a highly developed, capitalist society; cheap North Korean labor creating more job competition and resulting in restless labor unions; self-segregation and the possible development of North Korean ghettos; the financial burden South Koreans would carry in process of rebuilding the peninsula and of course, legal issues.

The idea of cross-border legal grievances is an interesting one and it looks like South Korea is getting a sneak preview of what might happen in a reunified nation. Apparently, for the first time, a South Korean court has accepted a civil dispute brought forth by North Korean citizens. From the New York Times:

Four North Korean brothers and sisters have sued their late father’s second wife and that couple’s four children in South Korea for a share of an inheritance from the estate of the father, a successful doctor.

The suit claims at least a quarter of the father’s land and other property, worth about $8 million. He left North Korea for the South with his eldest daughter during the 1950-53 Korean War and never returned. In 1959, he reported that his first wife had died and married a South Korean woman, with whom he had four more children. He died in 1987.

[…]

The lawsuit was initiated last year by the eldest daughter, who still lives in the South. The lawyer handling the suit is Bae Geum-ja, who was involved in a similar case in 2001 that was settled out of court.

The article’s concluding sentence highlights the complications that could arise, depending on the verdict: “If the plaintiffs prevail in this case, every North Korean with a relative in South Korea will claim an inheritance.” Hopefully by then, some sort of legislation will be in place to determine how best to handle such suits. No doubt this will be a case study for aspiring South Korea lawyers.