Ireland’s Lessons for the Koreas
The discourse around unification in South Korea for the past decade was dominated by one “perfect” blueprint: the reunification of Germany (subject of countless conferences in Seoul). But as inter-korean relations improve and direct contacts resume across the 38th parallel, less ideal but more plausible models are getting attention.
Dong Jin Kim’s book is a case in point: “Irish peace process” isn’t in the title, but Kim’s thinking is deeply informed by his knowledge of the “imperfect peace” in Northern Ireland, gained from his academic perch at Trinity College Dublin.
He is also steeped in the theoretical literature on peace and conflict studies, which he deftly applies to the Korean question. He untangles the history of how inter-korean relations have factored in the complex evolution of civil-state relations in South Korea. He shows how civil society actors can use the concept and techniques of “strategic peacebuilding” to fill the gaps that must develop when peacemaking is left to the politicians. His insight that high-level negotiations are bound to come short in the absence of a “sustainable platform” of people-to-people peacebuilding couldn’t be more apt in the wake of the Hanoi summit. But one crucial dilemma Kim fails to grapple with fully: how can civic actors engage a country like North Korea, where civil society essentially does not exist?
Kim’s thinking is informed by his knowledge of Northern Ireland’s ‘imperfect peace.’