One Korea forum seeks to put unification back at center of debate

Calls for South Korea to take the lead in shaping the unification agenda, rather than focusing on managing the division of the Korean Peninsula, took center stage at the International Forum on One Korea 2026, Oct. 2.

The forum drew some 400 scholars, policymakers and civil society leaders to the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul hotel in Yeouido, including 140 Korean Peninsula experts from 20 countries.

Launched in 2016, the annual event was co-hosted by the Global Peace Foundation, which holds special consultative status with the United Nations, and Action for Korea United, a civic coalition advocating unification.

Speakers called for a strategic shift toward pursuing a free and unified Korea, arguing that unification could address North Korea’s nuclear and human rights issues while opening new economic opportunities.

Hyunjin Preston Moon, chairman of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), said North Korea’s abandonment of its long-standing unification policy has given South Korea an opening to take the lead on the issue.

In his keynote address, Moon urged the government to adopt the Korean Dream, a unification vision rooted in the Korean founding principle of "Hongik Ingan," broadly translated as "benefiting all humanity," as a national vision.

He also proposed establishing an advisory body to maintain a consistent unification strategy across administrations and incorporating the Korean Dream into elementary and secondary school curriculum.

Moon argued that managing the status quo while accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea would not address the fundamental problems stemming from division. He called for a citizen-led unification movement to build public support at home, reach people in North Korea and rally international backing.

James Flynn, global president of the Global Peace Foundation, said in his opening remarks that the Korean Dream offers a Korean-led vision for unification that seeks to advance security, human rights and economic opportunities based on freedom and the rule of law.

He said unification rooted in the universal ideal of Hongik Ingan could also contribute to global peace, calling for greater civic education, access to information and international cooperation to build broader support for unification and translate it into action.

Rep. Song Seog-jun of the People Power Party, chair of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, stressed the need to uphold the constitutional goal of unification, warning that a two-state approach could further entrench the peninsula’s division.

Former National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and other participants also called for broader public and international support for unification, emphasizing a greater role for civil society in advancing it.

Robert Joseph, a senior fellow at the National Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. under secretary of state for arms control and international security, similarly called for a change in approach.

Joseph argued that North Korea’s nuclear weapons and human rights abuses should not be treated as separate issues, describing a free and unified Korea as a potential solution to both. He also called for unification to be viewed as a strategic investment rather than simply an economic burden.

David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, argued that policymakers have spent too much time dealing with the consequences of division rather than addressing division itself.

“Unification will come first and with that then denuclearization and peace,” Maxwell said, calling for greater efforts to expand North Koreans’ access to information and prepare for unexpected opportunities for unification.