The chairman of the ruling Grand National Party, Representative Hong Joon-pyo, has visited the inter-Korean joint industrial complex in North Korea’s border city of Gaeseong. There is speculation that the first-ever Gaeseong visit by an incumbent chairman of the conservative ruling party in South Korea signals a thaw in the chilled inter-Korean relations. Representative Hong traveled to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex on September 30 to inspect South Korean businesses operating there and to listen to their difficulties. He inspected the industrial park’s facilities, such as a filtration plant and a waste water disposal plant. This is the first time that the government approved a Gaeseong visit by an official who is not related to the industrial park project since the government enforced punitive measures against North Korea on May 24 last year. The move was made after the North’s deadly torpedo attack on a South Korean warship. Some say Hong’s visit fell short of expectations, because he did not meet any North Korean officials in Gaeseong. But Cho Bong-hyeon, a researcher at the Industrial Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute, has a different opinion.

It seems that Hong kept a low-profile, because his meeting with North Korean officials in Gaeseong during the strained inter-Korean relations could send a wrong signal that Seoul is pursuing a major shift in North Korea policy. Rather, I imagine he sought to examine the difficulties of the industrial park project first-hand through an on-site inspection. Amid the chilled relations between South and North Korea, the Gaeseong visit by an incumbent chairman of South Korea’s governing party can provide momentum to jumpstart the stalled inter-Korean ties. Hong’s visit may be followed by measures to resolve the industrial park’s difficulties. This is the outcome of Hong’s recent Gaeseong visit.

After his trip, Hong said he would discuss with the government ways to execute the so-called May 24 retaliatory measures in a more flexible way. That is, the GNP chief will make efforts to resolve the problem of a shortage of workers at Gaeseong, expand financial support for the business venture and improve the industrial complex’s facilities. He also urged the government to engage in dialogue with North Korea to ease restrictions on border passage, customs clearance and telecommunications, which are three major obstacles standing in the way of the Gaeseong project. Most of all, Hong stressed that the government should change its policy stance on North Korea from strict reciprocity to flexible reciprocity.

At present, the principle of the government’s North Korea policy is to elicit a change from North Korea based on strict reciprocity. To achieve this goal, however, it is necessary to demonstrate flexibility as a strategy. Of course, South Korea needs to control North Korea’s unreasonable military or political provocations and take corresponding measures. In view of economic cooperation, on the other hand, Hong’s remarks suggest that a more flexible approach is necessary.

Meanwhile, the government is moving to operate the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in a more muscular fashion, as it has started taking necessary steps to build a fire station and medical facilities there. The Unification Ministry recently asked the Public Procurement Service to find a contractor for the fire station. In 2009, the ministry allocated funds for the fire station project, which has been delayed due to the deadlock in inter-Korean ties. Construction will begin this month, scheduled for completion by the end of next year. The government will also convene a meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation and Promotion Committee to decide on the provision of the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund for the construction of an emergency clinic inside the Gaeseong industrial park. The government will design the clinic this month and break ground in April next year.

The Gaeseong Industrial Complex has facilities aimed at running factories and those for providing necessary services to laborers and officials, including an emergency clinic. There is a clinic named “Green Doctors,” but emergency patients are not treated there but sent to South Korea. It’s absolutely necessary to build a facility capable of providing basic treatment in an emergency at the industrial park. There is a fire station, too, but it cannot cover the 123 companies doing business there. It’s also necessary to expand the facility so it can handle emergencies more effectively.

In addition, the Unification Ministry will start repairing a road between the city of Gaeseong and the industrial complex as soon as the consultation with North Korea is completed. In fact, North Korea has repeatedly demanded that the road be fixed. Attention now swings to whether the positive movements in the political community and in the government in Seoul may help the two Koreas restore their relations and reinvigorate bilateral economic cooperation.

It will be hard for the Seoul government to lift the May 24 sanctions altogether without a clear apology from North Korea. Still, it is possible that the punitive measures will be eased to some extent, considering that South Korean firms are actually doing business at the Gaeseong industrial Park and resolving difficulties there will prove beneficial for the South Korean companies. If North Korea shows a change in attitude in return, the two sides could discuss the resumption of the suspended Mt. Geumgang tour program and the business projects of South Korean companies in Pyongyang and other inland areas, other than Gaeseong.

The government has restricted South Korean visits to Gaeseong, but some predict that a number of South Korean officials will visit North Korea down the road. Then, it is possible that the number of people staying in the industrial complex may expand. The number once amounted to 1,000 but was reduced to 500 after Seoul’s sanctions imposed in May last year. Today, it lingers around 700. But it will be hard to expect new investment in the industrial complex anytime soon, since the investment ban is one of the key points of the May 24 measures.

The Gaeseong Industrial Complex is a symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation and exchange, contributing to easing tension between South and North Korea, even now. So, the two sides need to maintain it, regardless of political or military issues. In this respect, the authorities of the two sides should come up with additional measures to develop their joint-Gaeseong project. For example, they could attract foreign firms to develop it into a global industrial complex. It’s urgent to resolve the difficulties that businesses face there. While developing the industrial park in cooperation, South and North Korea can build trust naturally. This is an important factor to improve bilateral relations. In brief, the two sides should work out a strategy aimed at facilitating and expanding the industrial complex.

Through the GNP chairman’s North Korea visit, the South Korean government has delivered to the North its intentions, indirectly, yet clearly, to keep the Gaeseong project going. The government hopes this will create a mood for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation. We hope the two sides will be more committed to invigorating the Gaeseong complex and building mutual trust so the joint business project will serve as a stepping stone to a thaw in inter-Korean ties.


[Interview]Vice Principal of Yeomyung School Devoted to Helping Students from N. Korea

Cho Myun-sook, vice principal of Yeomyung School, an alternative school exclusively for students from North Korea, received the “2011 Youth Ilga Award” last month. She says she is happy to win the award but she feels that it also weighs heavy on her shoulders.

People tend to be arrogant when they receive a prize. I’m still young, and I’m afraid that I could become different because of this award. I feel heavily burdened about winning the award honoring Pastor Kim Yong-ki, who spearheaded the Saemaeul or New Community Movement. It feels like I’m in “sacred” shackles. I’m happy, of course, but I feel uncomfortable at the same time. I think they may have valued me too highly, compared to what I’ve actually done. Also, I feel sorry for those who keep a low profile and work hard.

The Ilga Award is an international award established in memory of rural community leader Kim Yong-ki, who also founded Canaan Farmer’s School. Ilga is the late Kim’s penname. Ms. Cho was given this award in recognition of her contribution to educating North Korean defectors as self-respecting South Korean citizens. Her special relationship with North Korean defectors dates back to ten years ago.

I majored in Chinese characters. As a university student, I engaged in work helping foreign workers from 1993 to 1997. I got married in 1997 and went to China for a honeymoon. There, ethnic Koreans suffering industrial accidents who had received help from me in Korea asked me to meet and help some other people, who they said they couldn’t turn away. They were North Korean defectors. That was how my husband and I met defectors unexpectedly while on our honeymoon. It was hard to turn a blind eye to those miserable people. We began to help them in China, running off and crossing the border with them.

After witnessing the tragic reality facing North Korean defectors in China, Cho and her husband were determined to help. The couple settled in China and began to live with the defectors. Cho is the first South Korean citizen to bring North Korean defectors to South Korea. The 13 North Korean people who came to South Korea with her in 1997 were treated like human ping-pong balls, as they had been repatriated to China via Vietnam and later sent back to Vietnam before finally reaching South Korea. Going through the grueling journey together with the defectors, Cho realized that what they needed the most was education.

I thought it wouldn’t be enough to simply help the defectors come to South Korea. I wondered how they could live their lives without help. It came to me that they needed education. As a person who studied education, I thought it would be necessary to set up a school. So, we founded Yeomyung School in 2004 with support from Christian churches.

Yeomyung School offers different classes for middle school students, high schoolers and those preparing for the college entrance exam. Yeomyung means “dawning” in Korean. Here, 120 students are studying under the instruction of 28 teachers. The school is focused on helping the North Korean students adjust to South Korean culture and to build their character through experience programs. In March, Yeomyung School became the first alternative school for North Korean defectors to be approved as an official school by the Education Ministry. That means Yeomyung graduates are recognized on par with individuals who completed regular schooling. In addition, Ms. Cho is running a night school named “Jayuteo,” meaning a “place of freedom.” So, she devotes herself to teaching North Korean students at Yeomyung School during the day and at Jayuteo School in the evening. She dreams of a school dedicated to curing, caring and educating students.

I hope to “cure” North Korean students in school. The concept of “health in school” is found in the U.S. That is, children who were once sick but are recovering, and students from underprivileged and extremely poor families who seek to promote their physical and mental health in school, while learning academic subjects. I thought such schools should be established in Korea. I hope Yeomyung School will serve as that kind of school. My dream is to set up a school with those functions.

Ms. Cho also says the North Korean expatriates are her true friends and teachers who taught her what life is all about. We hope she will be able to realize her dream some day soon.