Living across the border from Kim Jong Il

With North Korea's imminent launch upon us, I figured I should say something. But, honestly, I'm not really sure what to say. It is intimidating that North Korea has been as volatile as they have been over the last several months. I have grown up with a healthy fear of North Korea, but quickly learned when I began researching my move here, that North Korea is a world away from the country I live in. Yet, it is still less than 50 miles away. North and South Korea are technically still in a state of war, as they have been since the demilitarized zone was established after the Korean War in 1953. There are about 28,000 US troops in South Korea. You can tour the DMZ (which I have not yet done), and you can even do a tour inside of North Korea (closely monitored, of course). I have 2 friends who went on a trip to North Korea last year - they said it was terrifying and incredibly sad, and they were only able to go to a camp right across the border. Imagine actually entering the heart of North Korea, or witnessing the death camps that are purported to be larger than those of Auschwitz.

Living so close to North Korea, I feel somewhat fascinated by, and at the same time callous to, what we see and hear on the news. Most South Koreans don't ever seem bothered in the least by the "antics" of Kim Jong Il's regime. I get most of my information about North Korea from foreign new sources, not from within Korea - though my language barrier would obviously require that. I do know the US evacuation plan in the case of an emergency, but it just doesn't seem to be a major concern here - or I should say that the general population does not seem concerned. South Korea is a country that, despite the recent economic downturn, has grown in leaps and bounds. While it is, of course, completely different in many ways from America, daily life here is not all that different. Everyone has cell phones with the latest technological advances, many of them superior to what is available in the States. Public transportation is easy and convenient, pretty much anything you might need is available here. Life in South Korea is pretty much status quo - things are good for the most part, and people are prosperous (if you don't count the fact that they also have one of the highest rates of personal debt in the world).

My students love to discuss whether or not North and South Korea should unite again - a prospect that is becoming more and more remote as I write this. It must be hard growing up in a country that is split like Korea. There are people in South Korea who have not seen their relatives in North Korea for over 50 years. The fact that North Korea has a despicable and loathsome leader, does not change the fact that there are millions of people in North Korea who are just that...people. Who are being starved and shut off from the rest of the world. Estimates say that between 2 and 3 million people have died of starvation in North Korea since 1995. It is impossible for my students, or me for that matter, to fathom the lives that the North Korean people lead. The only difference between the North Korean people who are living lives of poverty, and the South Koreans who are living lives of prosperity, is where they were during and, more importantly, after, the Korean War.

And sometime this weekend North Korea is expected to launch a "satellite" into space. Really? Where is the justice in this world? How much money does North Korea spend on its nuclear warfare program? How much exactly will this "satellite" cost? Why wasn't that money being spent to feed the people of North Korea? Because Kim Jong Il is a dictator, and he doesn't care at all about human rights.

So, sometime today, or in the next couple of days, we will see what the fallout of this launch will be. Will Japan shoot down debris as it has said it will? Will South Korea or the US have to take any sort of military action? Will China and Russia condemn North Korea for its actions? Will there be consequences for this launch? And, ultimately, will it be a satellite? or a missile? If it is a missile, as most people believe, what are the far-reaching repercussions?

I am going to go for a walk today and enjoy the cherry blossoms and the appearance of spring. Life goes on, despite the terrible things that happen in places all over the world.