‘CAN’T ASK FOR MORE’
Hope for the Koreas
Thomas Yoo stayed up almost all night watching the peace talks between North and South Korean leaders.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” the Ottawa Salvation Army pastor said Friday.
Yoo, who is South Korean, says he watched the live coverage of the historic summit, despite the 13-hour time difference, on his smartphone into the early hours of the morning.
“This isn’t just good news in the peninsula, this is worldwide good news,” he said.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in released a joint statement on Friday in which they vowed to pursue a formal end to the Korean War and also rid the shared peninsula of nuclear weapons.
In his role as a pastor, Yoo has previously helped North Korean defectors in Ottawa and Toronto settle in Canada.
“Many of them work so hard to learn English, the culture, the lifestyle, and they are struggling,” he said. “So I just help them.”
Part of that assistance includes helping them learn English, find a social circle and community support, get registered for school or volunteer.
One of the defectors Yoo helped is Michelle Jang, who lives in Toronto. She fled North Korea in 1999 after she and her father both fell ill. She said her family was starving, as were many others. When she came to Canada in 2011, she said Yoo welcomed her into the community and the church.
Jang, who also stayed up all night watching the summit unfold, said she feels “cautiously optimistic” about the peace agreement.
“With these talks, the most important thing is closing the nuclear weapons, but in the statement that is only one sentence,” she said. “So maybe they could talk a little bit more.”
Robert Hahn, head of the Ottawa chapter of the National Unification Advisory Council, said, as a Korean-Canadian, he is “very happy,” if only cautiously optimistic, with the agreement between North and South Korea.
“We realize that it’s a long process and it’s only the first step, but we’re very hopeful that this is a positive step toward everlasting peace, and hopefully down the road the reunification of the two Koreas,” Hahn said.
In speaking with members of his community and in reading comments on Facebook, he said many feel hopeful the agreement will make things better in their home country. But, he added, not everyone feels that way.
“They tend to be the older generation who actually experienced the Korean War, and they ’ve seen what North Korea is capable of doing.”
Some, he said, are worried the talks won’t lead to anything concrete.
Jang said she knows any change will take time.
“I’m trying to lower my expectations,” she said. “But I’m going to keep watch.”
With these talks, the most important thing is closing the nuclear weapons, but in the statement that is only one sentence.