Maxwell Perspective: Korea Is Home
July 7, 2012
From Maxwell Perspective...
Korea Is Home
. . . to Maxwell’s Soonhee Kim, who has recommendations for those working toward reunification.
"I cannot imagine anything but peace in the Korean peninsula because so many blue-collar and white-collar workers in South Korea have been working so hard to build a democratic society along with economic development since the Korean War,” says Soonhee Kim, an associate professor of public administration and a native of Cheongjoo, South Korea.
At least once a year, Kim visits the country where her mother and siblings still live. For the past three summers, she has taught human resource management at the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy. Her research projects on South Korea include citizen trust in government, e-government, and local government innovations.
“Koreans don’t talk about it every day, but I know clearly that Koreans in South Korea want only peace for the Korean peninsula,” Kim says. “Any news on a peaceful dialogue and relations between the U.S. and North Korea should be good news in South Korea.”
Kim has several recommendations for the South Korean government:
- An incremental approach to building a relationship with North Korea through economic and social development, making sure the effort does more than support Kim Jong-il’s regime;
- Clear communication and collaboration with the United States;
- Good relations with China and Japan to promote regional peace;
- Transparency in explaining the policy on the North to the South Korean people; and
- Cooperation with international NGOs to influence civil society capacity building in the North.
Take those steps, and reunification should result, Kim says.