President Lee Myung-bak stressed bringing an era of peace and cooperation and urged North Korea to take responsible actions in a speech commemorating the 66th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonialism on August 15. Lee said that unification is the wish of all Korean people and will lead to true liberation. He also said that South and North Korea have lived in an era of confrontation over the last sixty years but that the two Koreas should now open a new era of peace and cooperation. To this end, the president added that it is most important for the two sides to build mutual trust through responsible actions and a sincere attitude. Cho Bong-hyeon at the Industrial Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute briefs us on Lee’s speech with regards to North Korea. Cho says this year’s speech is a departure from last year’s.

As far as North Korea is concerned, Lee’s Liberation Day address mostly stresses a change from North Korea. In last year’s speech, Lee made specific proposals, including the introduction of a new tax to help shoulder the cost of unification. This year, however, Lee’s message was more about emphasizing the principles of his North Korea policy, such as Seoul’s adherence to its prior position, a change from North Korea before any development in inter-Korean relations and the importance of establishing mutual trust. Lee also urged the North to put an end to its provocative actions. Overall, Lee demanded a genuine change of attitude from Pyongyang in this year’s message.

Experts interpret Lee’s remarks on “mutual trust through responsible actions” as another call for North Korea to change its attitude concerning its two military provocations last year, namely, the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents. South Korea remains firm on its previous stance toward Pyongyang. Some had expected that the president would deliver a new message about inter-Korean relations, citing the recent inter-Korean denuclearization talks in Bali, followed by the rare North Korea-U.S. dialogue in New York. Lee’s recent comments were also noted, indicating that South Korea must not remain mired in poor inter-Korean relations prompted by last year’s provocations by the North. Contrary to expectations, however, this year’s Liberation Day speech simply stressed the basic principles of Seoul’s North Korea policy.

The president seems to have stressed that North Korea must accept Seoul’s previous demands. Despite South Korea’s consistent efforts to send dialogue messages to North Korea and to improve inter-Korean ties, Pyongyang’s provocative actions have continued. For instance, the North unilaterally threatened to dispose of South Korean assets in their joint tourism site at Mt. Geumgang. More recently, North Korea fired artillery shells across the Northern Limit Line on the West Sea. The North denies it, though. With North Korea showing no signs of changing its attitude, President Lee seems to have focused more on eliciting a change from the North than on making a new proposal.

Experts were also wondering if Lee would make a dramatic proposal regarding the so-called “unification tax” that was mentioned in his Liberation Day speech last year. This year, Lee did not make any specific comment on it, but the government has already been working on detailed measures in relation to the tax since it formed a task force team last year, such as conducting opinion polls and policy research. On August 11, a few days before Liberation Day, the government held a symposium and announced its estimates that between 55 trillion won and 249 trillion won will be needed to fund unification in the first year, supposing that unification comes about in 2030.

The estimates are based on the assumption that South and North Korea are unified 20 years from now. Under the estimates, if South Korea accumulates 0.8 percent of its domestic tax over the next 20 years, 55 trillion won would be needed for covering the unification costs. If such preparations are not made, however, 249 trillion won could be required to fund the integration. The unification costs include the funds for unifying the militaries, administrative and legal systems and economies of the two Koreas and those for supporting vulnerable groups in North Korea. Given the huge costs of unification, it is important to examine ways to secure the source of necessary funds thoroughly. A specific plan, when finalized by the Unification Ministry, will go through a legislation process in the National Assembly. But there are concerns that the proposal of the unification tax might provoke North Korea and that an additional, massive tax may prompt a backlash from the public. Therefore, it’s necessary to properly coordinate the timing of discussing, disclosing and implementing the proposed unification tax.

The president’s Liberation Day speech also contains the government’s view on assistance for North Korea. Lee said that South Korea would continue humanitarian aid for children and natural disaster victims in the North. The government has recently approved a civic group’s request to send flour and ultrasonic equipment detecting malaria to North Korea. Seoul has also offered the provision of flood relief supplies to the North. Citing the positive developments, some predict that Seoul’s North Korean aid may expand further. Mr. Cho says there could be a change in Seoul’s North Korea policy, in a shift from the government’s suspension of almost all assistance for North Korea in May last year after the Cheonan incident. But he also says South Korea is unlikely to provide massive aid to the North.

South Korea will expand its North Korean aid gradually, in line with the developments in the North. But I don’t think large-scale assistance will be provided all at once. The level of aid will be adjusted depending on how extensively North Korea will cooperate in securing transparency in distribution. South Korea will continue to provide flood aid and humanitarian assistance for the time being, but massive aid is unlikely. Still, the resumption of humanitarian aid for North Korea signals a major shift from Seoul’s punitive measures against the North that were adopted on May 24 last year. I imagine Seoul will stay the course on its policy of improving inter-Korean ties through humanitarian aid.

As the South Korean government is expected to remain unchanged in its North Korea policy, some predict that it will be hard to expect a major change in inter-Korean relations.

I don’t think there will be a big change in current inter-Korean relations. However, bilateral ties may not deteriorate further at least, since North Korea can work out various strategies to gain economic benefits from South Korea through dialogue.

Lee’s Liberation Day speech drew attention because it reflected the policy direction for the remaining period of his term. While it’s hard to expect a major change in inter-Korean ties, the positive move to resume humanitarian aid to North Korea should help both Koreas establish mutual trust and promote dialogue in regional diplomacy.


[Interview] Musical Portrays North Korean Human Rights Situation
Amid the growing interest in the North Korean human rights issue, such as concentration camps, public executions and people starving in North Korea, a musical depicting the reality of the communist nation’s human rights situation has been on stage at Munhwa Ilbo Hall in Seoul since July 1. The musical, entitled “Until the Day,” portrays a romance between Ju Myung-sik, the deputy head of the propaganda department of North Korea’s Worker’s Party, and Kang Soon-cheon, a member of an art troupe in the North. The story unfolds as Myung-sik, a man from the upper class, is determined to defect from his home country in order to escape the unstable political system and the miserable North Korean society where more and more citizens are starving to death. Director Choi Jong-ryul stresses that the story, though it is fictional, is focused on conveying the reality of North Korea accurately through meticulous research.

The title “Until the Day” means the day of unification or the day when Korean people on this divided peninsula finally become one. To depict the dismal human rights situation in North Korea, I listened to vivid testimonies of many North Korean defectors myself and studied a book containing similar testimonies. The musical is based on true stories. It is interesting to watch some performers from North Korea changing their costumes quickly while dancing. We learned this technique and present it perfectly on the stage.

While director Choi was holding theatrical performances at Hanawon, a rehabilitation center for North Korean defectors, a defectors’ group recommended him to put the musical “Until the Day” on the stage. But people around him asked him why he would necessarily use the theme of North Korean human rights again, pointing out that the 2006 musical “Yoduk Story,” about a concentration camp in North Korea, had already created a sensation. But the director says such issues as unification and North Korean human rights cannot be emphasized enough.

Many people are interested in North Korean human rights, but most of them, including myself, have only a superficial knowledge of the humanitarian issue, simply feeling sorry for the dire human rights conditions in the North. While analyzing the cases of human rights abuses to produce this musical, however, I came to feel the pain of North Korean people acutely. I had a choking feeling in my heart, just like suffering from a nightmare. I hope the audience members will empathize with the suffering of North Korean people while watching the musical and make up their mind to help North Korean newcomers here with various things, though they may be only trivial.

While the theme is rather gloomy, the musical has many bright elements because the director hoped to break away from the stereotypical depiction of North Korea. Some shocking scenes and testimonies do highlight the human rights abuses in North Korea, but actors and actresses use the bold and cheerful North Korean accent, featuring a superb combination of tension and comical elements. The musical makes the audiences smile and moves them deeply at the same time, reminding them once again of the reality South and North Korea face today.

...Oh, it was so touching. I’d say it is sort of an indirect experience. I’ve heard about homeless North Korean children through TV or radio programs before, but I find this musical based on true stories more appealing. It was a good opportunity to experience the humanitarian issue indirectly through a cultural piece.

...I have thought of the North Korean human rights issue only superficially so far, but it feels like I realized the misery of North Korean people firsthand after watching the musical. I think I have to do something helpful for them.

The musical is exposing the South Korean public to the depressing human rights situation in North Korea and also serving as a bridge linking South and North Korea. We hope there will be many more performances like this and the universal value of human rights will eventually take root in North Korea.