The Reunification of Germany and Korea - Paper Example

Introduction

Reunification is regarded as a process that brings together two states separated before into a single State-nation. The unification process comes after prevailing factors within a nation are unbearable to either of the two fronts. Many states and new nations have been formed through separation, unlike unification, which brings countries together to one. Not all the time unification works; some countries like the Peninsula of Korea have been in talks for an extended period. One of the significant reunifications was that of Germany after both the first and the second world war. After the second world war, Germany was separated into several zones that merged to form two states between 1989 and 1990 (Breuilly & Speirs, 2005). The east and west blocks were referred to as the Federal Republic of Germany and the Democratic Republic of Germany. The federal republic was regarded to have quality and available social facilities and a well-established economy and leadership. The Democratic side was, on the other hand, not well off in all the three schemes. The inequality between the two sides contributed to the urge to bring them together for Germany's universal development (Breuilly & Speirs, 2005).

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One of the challenges faced by German reunification was the West's superiority sentiment towards the East due to their weak economic, social, and political structure (Ganssmann, 1993). The West had developed enough and had an excellent GDP as compared to the Eastside. The West constitution was transferred to the East, and they were now to be guided by policies made by their counterparts. The takeover was good news to the East since they had no alternative but to accept the absorption. The inferiority did not affect them in performance, and mentally, the East people had to fight this with mental confidence. Later the Eastside started feeling strong due to what they had achieved, like a good healthcare system and pleasant stay amongst the people. Today the disharmony always plays part whenever talks relating to their past is discussed.

Challenges Faced by Germany during Reunification process

Another challenge that emerged is the increased cases of employment. The disparity in economic strength meant that the East German Economy was absorbed by the West German competitors (Faustmann, 2006). The economy takeover contributed to the decrease in industrial production, and eventually, less workforce was needed. It is believed that about a third of the East German young people became unemployed, which is double that of West German. The effect didn't only happen during reunification, but even today, many East German employees earn low salaries compared to West German. The difference has contributed to persistent bitterness amongst the East people to date.

One of the common challenges that occur when many people in society are unemployed is moving from their areas to other employment areas. Migration from East German to West German started, and nearly 10% of the East population moved to West German (Faustmann, 2006). Today, many East German areas are sparsely populated, and eventually, this has contributed to less or no development in what was initially called Democratic State. The migration also contributed to social disparity, which involved a decrease in child rate. Many women would deliver one child or none, which was not the West German side's lifestyle, whose population increased.

The challenges can be a trues reflection of the problems associated with reunification. Globally, reunification means absorption on one state by the other. However, the state or nation with more vital abilities takes advantage of the available opportunities and develops them to uplift the disadvantaged state. For instance, the Korean Peninsula case, which the European Union has always tried to unify but in vain. South Korea is much developed in all sections of the development, unlike North Korea (Lew, 2000). In case a unification happens, the North will be subjected to what East Germany went through.

Korea Reunification Possibilities

I believe unification between South and North Korea is possible. According to the history of Korea, the separation of the Korean Peninsula was affected by external powers. Today the same external forces that are Asian Superpowers advise the North Korean president to form a good relationship with America and South Korea (Ku, 2017). The agreement can contribute to some of the sanctions put in place against North Korea removed or relaxed. The low economic strength in North Korea will depend more on developed South Korea for it to grow. The external powers can help boost South Korea upon the absorption of North Korea to strengthen its economy.

Problems Facing Korean Peninsula Reunification

Some of the factors facing Korean reunification are disparity in the economy, social, and leadership structure. South Korea has a stable system globally, while North Korea has a feeble economy and culture. Again, the supremacy battle between the United States of America allied to South Korea, and China, who is a partner with North Korea, might make the process slow and complicated (Ku, 2017). Finally, the fear of the economic weakening of South Korea in cases of reunification with poorly managed North Korea.

Conclusion

In conclusion, reunification is a gradual process that requires both parties' participation and willingness to shelf their interests and embrace each other. There is always a sacrifice of the developed State-nation to share their resources with the other. Germany's reunification has proved it is possible though there are challenges to overcome until today. Eventually, there is universal development between the States-nations and also peace stability.

References

Breuilly, J., & Speirs, R. (2005). The Concept of National Unification. Germany's Two Unifications, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230518520_1

Faustmann, H. (2006). Challenges of Reunification: The Case of Germany. https://www.academia.edu/367075/Challenges_of_Reunification_The_Case_of_Germany.

Ganssmann, H. (1993). After Unification: Problems Facing the German Welfare State. Journal of European Social Policy, 3(2), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879300300201

Ku, Y. (2017). Inter-Korean relations and reunification. Politics in North and South Korea, 192–214. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315627014-11

Lew, Y. I. (2000). BRIEF HISTORY OF KOREA JJK reformat. https://www.koreasociety.org/images/pdf/KoreanStudies/Monographs_GeneralReading/BRIEF%20HISTORY%20OF%20KOREA.pdf.