'Unification Papers' for new Korea
If Koreans rise to the demands of this historic moment and see the current weakening of institutions in both the North and South as an opportunity for profound institutional innovation that is in the long-term interests of citizens, and then draft an inspiring constitution for a unified Korean Peninsula, the next step, logically, will be to convince the Korean people of the authority, legitimacy and wisdom of this brave proposal for a unified nation.
Only if an effective movement that highlights the historical inevitability of the constitution is launched will Koreans be able to embrace the constitution for unification wholeheartedly, thus giving it the organic vitality necessary to make that constitution more than words, but a living law of the people.
The final step after a constitutional convention should the promulgation of a series of “Unification Papers,” powerful writings and speeches by thoughtful Koreans that bring home the abstract language of the constitution for all Koreans and make it real.
In a sense, those “Unification Papers” will be a “speech act,” an expression in words that has an absolute transformative effect. One example of a speech act is when a celebrant presiding at a wedding states, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Those simple words change utterly the relationship between the two individuals involved.
The “Unification Papers” drafted in powerful language, perhaps even a new Korean language that brings together the language of North and South, will serve to transform the Koreans, and the Korean nation, by their promulgation and acceptance.
The concept of “Unification Papers” draws inspiration from the United States’ “Federalist Papers,” a series of 85 essays written by three of the most articulate advocates for constitutional governance in the United States — Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay (who contributed only six essays) — that address a wide range of institutional and ethical concerns relating to the establishment of a new nation. The Federalist Papers stimulated at the time a rational and scientific discussion on the nation’s future among committed citizens that led to the natural and effective adoption of the Constitution by all thirteen state legislatures.
Ratification of the Constitution in the United States became a movement of great intensity.
The power of the writing in the Federalist Papers made possible the broad acceptance of this vision for a new nation, despite considerable differences of perspective at the time. Without the Federalist Papers, the Constitution would have just been a beautifully written document that was detached from the actual governance of the nation.
In the Korean case also, the drafting of a Constitution for a united Korea must be followed up on with a similar series of essays, speeches, television broadcasts and social media discussions involving Koreans with deep insights on Korea’s past and future from North and South, and from around the world, that engage citizens and permit for the formation of a strong consensus concerning the concrete aspects of unification.
It is important to stress that because the Constitution defines what a nation is, and what it is not, it, therefore, cannot be created by elections, by charismatic politicians or by public opinion polls. It demands a small group of responsible and accountable individuals who have the bravery and the tenacity to engage in an honest assessment of what is required for governance, and to write it up in the most powerful and elegant language.
If Koreans can launch this process, there is a real possibility that the free and democratic Korean republic that emerges will become a model to inspire the world and that will encourage a return to true constitutional governance in Japan, China and even the United States.
Preston Moon has advocated a mass movement among the Korean people for unification that includes all citizens and inspires a new vision, starting with the assumption that if many share the same dream, it will become, perforce, a reality. That is precisely the model for the "Unification Papers."
The "Unification Papers" can be a chance for intense discussions between youth, ordinary citizens, professors, businessmen, politicians, and Koreans from every walk of life. The more that Koreans write about the value of the constitution of a united Korea, the more real it will become in their minds and hearts, and the more concrete it will become in the institutions and practices of Korea.
Emanuel Pastreich is president of the Asia Society, a researcher at the Council on East Asian Studies, Yale University and a senior fellow at Global Peace Foundation. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.