Korean Americans Conflicted Over North Korea

After North Korea fired off missile tests and stunned the world, many Korean Americans joined the chorus to impose sanctions on the country, but also feared for their North Korean cousins, writes Aruna Lee. Lee is a NAM contributor and monitors the Korean-language press.

By Aruna Lee, New America Media

SAN FRANCISCO - July 14, 2006 - In dealing with North Korea in the aftermath of unannounced missile tests, South Koreans face a major dilemma: many support punishing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, but simultaneously they know the North Korean people will suffer.

For nearly a decade, South Korea has been trying to build friendly relations with North Korea, sending millions in financial and humanitarian aid, as well as promoting increased contact through business investments, tourism and occasional reunions between families divided by the Korean War. Through these efforts, South Koreans have come to feel a strong affinity for their long-estranged northern neighbors.

But a survey conducted by the Korean Broadcasting System, South Korea's national radio and television station, over the issue of sanctions revealed that 49.8 percent of South Koreans favor some form of sanctions and diplomatic pressure. The results indicate a radical shift from attitudes prior to the North's missile launches which tended to favor less aggressive policies. Similarly, 37 percent of respondents said they supported financial and humanitarian aid to the North, a 10-percent drop from the period before the missiles were launched.

Several Korean American groups, including the Korean Marine Corps Veterans Association and the Korean Senior Center in Orange County, Calif., have issued statements in protest against the North and have called for a stronger stance from South Korea.

Sang Woo Shim, director of the Korean Marine Corps Veterans Association, says he is "disappointed that South Korea has not taken a more active role on North Korea's missile launches."

Others feel that the millions of dollars of aid sent to North Korea under South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's Sunshine Policy contributed to Kim Jong-il's efforts to maintain his regime.

"We sent money to the North, money that I worked hard to earn, and it went directly to the building of missiles for Kim Jong-il. I strongly support the sanctions," says So Yeon Kwon, who lives in Seoul.

"There is no way to guarantee that North Korea uses the aid it receives for humanitarian purposes," says Yun Hee Kim, who lives in San Francisco. "The problem is that the North Korean people desperately need whatever aid they can get, and sanctions will only further limit their access to aid."

Many South Koreans fear for the fate of North Koreans residents should sanctions come to bear, and, according to a report in the Korea Daily in Seoul, while many still want sanctions they still want to continue to send aid to the North.

Hyun Ah Seo, a nurse working in Manhattan, says "the only ones to suffer from [sanctions] will be the North Korean people, not its leaders, who are the ones responsible for the situation."

Young Dae Kim, the director of the Spiritual Awakening Mission (SAM), a humanitarian aid group that has been sending medical supplies to North Korea, says he fears that sanctions will severely limit the amount of "badly needed" medicine and supplies that get through to the North. He says that financial donors are also less willing to give money when the situation worsens. The group also runs an orphanage for North Korean children in Shanghai, China.

Yoon Jong Park, a small business owner in New York, favors sanctions. Echoing the sentiments of the older generation, Park says he thoroughly distrusts North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "I believe justice needs to be done before any progress is made, and that sanctions should be imposed." He is concerned, however, that sanctions will also result in an escalation of tensions. A major concern among South Koreans, is the possibility of an American pre-emptive strike against the North.

Kathy Song, a reporter with the Korea Daily New York, says she thinks sanctions will have a detrimental effect on South Korea's relationship with the North, a relationship the South has been steadily trying to improve over the last decade and disturb the delicate balance in the region. She seeks a more diplomatic resolution from outside countries. "I do think the U.S. should engage the North in direct negotiations," says Song.

The emotional ties between North and South Koreans that have emerged over the past decade have in many respects transcended political differences, giving hope to many in South Korea that reunification will one day be possible. The North's missile tests and the response from the international community have sadly brought international politics back into ascendance, threatening this fragile relationship.