70 years of Korean Freedom?
For those familiar with modern Korean history there are clear tensions in celebrating 70 years of Korean independence from Japanese colonial rule. The most uncomfortable fact is that while Korea is free of foreign rule, it remains divided, and Koreans in the North...
Lincoln’s Legacy and Korean Reunification
This year marks the 70th year of Korea’s independence, but also its division. As Koreans contemplate the challenges of unification and the “reconstruction” of one nation, there are some lessons perhaps that can be offered by the leadership of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham...
우리의 소원은 통일 – Looking Back at the Original Unification Song
The composer of the original Korean unification song, Ahn Byung-Won, lamented in a interview that, “We shouldn’t sing this song any more. When we wrote this song, we thought unification would come sooner.” John Cho reported this quote on his piece in the Korea Herald,...
Spreading the Korean Dream
In the past few years, the idea of a “Korean Dream” has been building momentum in Korea and around the world. Although many continue to focus on the idea of Korean reunification from economic and political perspectives, people are beginning to realize the importance...
The Legacy of Genghis Khan
For centuries since his passing, Genghis Khan has taken on mythic proportions as a blood-thirsty barbarian who destroyed and plundered his helpless and hapless victims during a horrific reign of terror. Yet, in what is only recently being discovered, is what...
Unification Tree
We called it the Unification Tree. A simple paper tree that started the day with branches empty, but began to “sprout” leaves as passersby jotted down their thoughts and hopes for Korean Unification. One leaf had “Our hope for unification” the title of an old song...
Our Hope for Unity
“Uri e sowonun tongil,” her voice waivered as she sang the lines of the song commissioned 70 years ago. It was initially a song longing for liberation, but rewritten as a song for unification after the prolonged division of Korea. Her eyes were closed, her retina...
Panmunjeom
An uninhabited village on the western coast of the Korean peninsula lies squarely on the Demilitarized Zone. The Joint Security Area is located in this village, used until recently by the United Nations to host negotiations between North and South Korea. North and...
70 Years After Liberation, Korean Unification Still Unresolved
As Korea approaches its 70th year anniversary since its independence from colonial rule, Korean communities around the globe have plans to celebrate with commemorative events and programs. Yet, the “elephant in the room” is the one that asks: what about Korean...
Countering Radicalization of Youth through One Family Under God
The rational-choice theory that has been so popular up until now suggests that, given the right incentives and punishments, human beings and thus human societies will make rational choices. And yet, clearly, that has not been the case. War is not rational; violence is...
Serving Nepal as One Family Under God
Through service, everyone becomes a catalyst for building connections and collectively generating solutions. The timeless ethic of serving others engages everyone, both foreign and local, in the process of building better and more sustainable families, communities and...
EXPERTS SAY RUSSIAN ECONOMIC RELATIONS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO KOREAN UNIFICATION
“Up until now, every discussion on unification has been consumed with the “process” of unification, usually seen through the lens of Cold War geo-politics and interests…I believe such a framework only exacerbates the social, political and economic divide between the...