A few weeks ago things were seemingly kicking off again between North Korea and South Korea… So I decided to write a little bit of a different kind of post. Rather than writing about something I have actually gone out and done whilst in South Korea, I’ve decided to give a little insight into the situation on the Korean peninsula from the point of view over here.
The situation between North and South Korea was something I knew pretty much nothing about before I thought of teaching here. All I knew was that North Korea were trying to develop nuclear weapons and this was annoying a lot of people. Seeing it in the media was always pretty scary, I thought. Then when I saw a job advertisement for English teaching positions in South Korea I thought “Nah bit risky…” But I realize now how uneducated I was to think that.
The relationship between North and South is far from perfect. The more I learn about Korean history the more and more I realize they’ve all had it pretty rough. Korea has been divided into North and South since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Before this it had been under Japanese rule since 1910 until the start of the war in 1945. (see my previous posts about Seodaemun prison and the house of sharing for more information on that)
http://annyeonghaseyoh.weebly.com/1/post/2014/01/seodaemun-prison-the-house-of-sharing.html
Once Korea became divided the south was ruled by a series of oppressive autocratic governments until 1987 when it became a democratic country. Since then it has developed rapidly. Meanwhile North Korea was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union, and established a communist government. Kim Il-sung became the supreme leader and ruled until his death in 1994. After this his son, Kim Jong-il, took power until his death in 2011. You are probably all know the name of the current leader, Kim Jong-un, the son of Kim Jong-il. Until 1991 the economy in North Korea had been doing pretty well…after this point it started to decline and a terrible famine hit in the 1990s which the country has struggled to recover from.
When the war “ended” in 1953, it never actually ended. There was no peace treaty. Instead there was an armistice agreement. However, this has been repeatedly breached by North Korea. The main thing we see North Korea in the news for is when they breach this treaty. They constantly threaten South Korea with a ‘sea of fire.’ Now, to me this is pretty scary. Why would anyone want to live here? Well turns out when somebody threatens you over and over again it gets a bit boring and you start to doubt that it will ever really happen. I get the impression that this is how the people of South Korea feel. If I ever try and ask an adult about the situation they very rarely have much to say about it. If I ask the children, they see it as a joke. There seems to be very little fear on the Peninsula.
So, after that wee history lesson I feel like I can finally get to my point. Since the execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle in November things have seemed a little tense in the media. Three weeks ago especially, things seemed to be heating up. I’ve seen facebook friends (who are NOT in South Korea) posting to warn people to stay safe. I’ve also had a few friends messaging me asking what the situation is really like over here and asking if I’m OK. Yet, here no one is really talking about it.
I’m sure the government is aware and ready for the worst possible scenario but the general public are unfazed by it. I completely understand why. If a country had been threatening the U.K. with a sea of fire for 50 years I’m sure we would be ready for an attack, but the general public would be over it by now. The whole North/South Korea situation seems to get a little bit too much media attention in a part of the world that it doesn’t directly concern.
Recently there has been a couple of stories in the news about the U.N. report on North Korea. This is an issue I feel deserves a lot of media coverage to raise awareness in the western world. However, I still feel that this story got a lot less coverage than the stories of tension and about nuclear weapons. [If you’re not aware of the situation inside Korea I recommend you read “Escape from Camp 14” by Blaine Harden. This is just one part of the situation]. Another documentary I recommend is “Educating North Korea” by BBC Panorama. Both cover two completely different lifestyles in the North but both involve a lack of freedom.
When most people hear the word “Korea” the first things that pop into their head are: “North” “Kim Jong Un” “Nuclear weapons.” This is a little bit sad, when right next door there is such an amazing little country. The Republic of Korea (South Korea’s official title) has so much to offer. It’s completely different to it’s neighbours in the North and China to the west.
If you’re considering travelling Asia I do recommend The Republic of Korea as a place to visit. Don’t be afraid of what you see in the news. Even when I originally started looking at jobs in South Korea a handful of people tried to warn me off it a little...
The situation between North and South Korea was something I knew pretty much nothing about before I thought of teaching here. All I knew was that North Korea were trying to develop nuclear weapons and this was annoying a lot of people. Seeing it in the media was always pretty scary, I thought. Then when I saw a job advertisement for English teaching positions in South Korea I thought “Nah bit risky…” But I realize now how uneducated I was to think that.
The relationship between North and South is far from perfect. The more I learn about Korean history the more and more I realize they’ve all had it pretty rough. Korea has been divided into North and South since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Before this it had been under Japanese rule since 1910 until the start of the war in 1945. (see my previous posts about Seodaemun prison and the house of sharing for more information on that)
http://annyeonghaseyoh.weebly.com/1/post/2014/01/seodaemun-prison-the-house-of-sharing.html
Once Korea became divided the south was ruled by a series of oppressive autocratic governments until 1987 when it became a democratic country. Since then it has developed rapidly. Meanwhile North Korea was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union, and established a communist government. Kim Il-sung became the supreme leader and ruled until his death in 1994. After this his son, Kim Jong-il, took power until his death in 2011. You are probably all know the name of the current leader, Kim Jong-un, the son of Kim Jong-il. Until 1991 the economy in North Korea had been doing pretty well…after this point it started to decline and a terrible famine hit in the 1990s which the country has struggled to recover from.
When the war “ended” in 1953, it never actually ended. There was no peace treaty. Instead there was an armistice agreement. However, this has been repeatedly breached by North Korea. The main thing we see North Korea in the news for is when they breach this treaty. They constantly threaten South Korea with a ‘sea of fire.’ Now, to me this is pretty scary. Why would anyone want to live here? Well turns out when somebody threatens you over and over again it gets a bit boring and you start to doubt that it will ever really happen. I get the impression that this is how the people of South Korea feel. If I ever try and ask an adult about the situation they very rarely have much to say about it. If I ask the children, they see it as a joke. There seems to be very little fear on the Peninsula.
So, after that wee history lesson I feel like I can finally get to my point. Since the execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle in November things have seemed a little tense in the media. Three weeks ago especially, things seemed to be heating up. I’ve seen facebook friends (who are NOT in South Korea) posting to warn people to stay safe. I’ve also had a few friends messaging me asking what the situation is really like over here and asking if I’m OK. Yet, here no one is really talking about it.
I’m sure the government is aware and ready for the worst possible scenario but the general public are unfazed by it. I completely understand why. If a country had been threatening the U.K. with a sea of fire for 50 years I’m sure we would be ready for an attack, but the general public would be over it by now. The whole North/South Korea situation seems to get a little bit too much media attention in a part of the world that it doesn’t directly concern.
Recently there has been a couple of stories in the news about the U.N. report on North Korea. This is an issue I feel deserves a lot of media coverage to raise awareness in the western world. However, I still feel that this story got a lot less coverage than the stories of tension and about nuclear weapons. [If you’re not aware of the situation inside Korea I recommend you read “Escape from Camp 14” by Blaine Harden. This is just one part of the situation]. Another documentary I recommend is “Educating North Korea” by BBC Panorama. Both cover two completely different lifestyles in the North but both involve a lack of freedom.
When most people hear the word “Korea” the first things that pop into their head are: “North” “Kim Jong Un” “Nuclear weapons.” This is a little bit sad, when right next door there is such an amazing little country. The Republic of Korea (South Korea’s official title) has so much to offer. It’s completely different to it’s neighbours in the North and China to the west.
If you’re considering travelling Asia I do recommend The Republic of Korea as a place to visit. Don’t be afraid of what you see in the news. Even when I originally started looking at jobs in South Korea a handful of people tried to warn me off it a little...