Roundtable9 opinion leaders stress importance of dialogue for peace on Korean Peninsula

Participants of the Korea Times Roundtable pose during a session in Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Jeffrey Jones, chairman of Ronald McDonald House Charities Korea; violinist Han Soo-jin; Gregory Hill, chief administrative officer of the University of Utah Asia Campus; Ivan Jancarek, Czech ambassador to Korea; Lee Young-hoon, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church; Emilia Gatto, Italian ambassador to Korea; Georg Wilfried Schmidt, German ambassador to Korea; Kim Hyo-jun, former chairman of BMW Korea; and Oh Young-jin, president and publisher of The Korea Times. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Experts and religious leaders gathered for a Korea Times Roundtable on Tuesday, emphasizing the urgent need for dialogue and mutual respect as essential foundations for achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula.

At the event held in Seoul, participants discussed South Korea’s role in global peacemaking, shifting generational attitudes toward North Korea and recent incidents that have exposed social divisions.

Lee Young-hoon, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, opened the discussion by describing peace as a shared global responsibility that requires persistent communication across borders.

“Many people around the world are worried because of wars and conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and Iran and the Middle East,” Lee said. “In times like this, I believe the most important thing we need is peace. We must respect one another and work together to create a peaceful future. This cannot be achieved by one nation alone — it requires cooperation, understanding and sincere communication among all countries.”

The roundtable, moderated by Oh Young-jin, president and publisher of The Korea Times, brought together Georg Wilfried Schmidt, German ambassador to Korea; Jeffrey Jones, chairman of Ronald McDonald House Charities Korea; Kim Hyo-jun, former BMW Korea chairman; Emilia Gatto, Italian ambassador to Korea; Ivan Jancarek, Czech ambassador to Korea; violinist Han Soo-jin; and Gregory Hill, chief administrative officer of the University of Utah Asia Campus.

Korea Times Roundtable panelists listen to Georg Wilfried Schmidt, right, German ambassador to Korea, during its latest session in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

German reunification offers lessons

Schmidt drew parallels between Germany’s Cold War experience and Korea’s current division, describing West Germany’s Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy) as a dual approach that balanced strength with openness.

“One hand was like this to say, 'You cannot and should not bully us,'” Schmidt said, showing one palm toward the panel. “And the other hand was stretched out for dialogue. We will always talk. I think this is something I often think about also between North and South Korea — if you’re locked in a confrontation, you should make sure that you shouldn’t be bullied out but you also have one stretched-out hand.”

Schmidt emphasized the importance of listening to North Korean defectors already living in South Korea, expressing concern about the lack of opportunities for South Koreans to learn about ordinary life in the North.

“I’m often surprised that there’s no place where South Koreans, especially young South Koreans, can learn about ordinary life in North Korea,” he said. “I mean, just look at it — when the football team came, people looked at them as if they were aliens from another planet.”

His comment referred to the recent visit by Naegohyang Women’s FC to Korea for the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League semifinal match against Suwon FC Women in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, an event that drew intense public curiosity and media attention.

Generational divide on reunification

The panel acknowledged a stark generational shift in attitudes toward reunification, with younger South Koreans showing far less interest than their parents’ generation.

Jones, a longtime Korea resident, described the transformation bluntly: “There is a large segment of the South Korean population willing to sacrifice for North Korea who are fading away,” Jones said. “The older generation — people in their 70s and older — feel we should sacrifice to be unified and make North Koreans’ lives better. But young Koreans do not feel that way.”

Hill, who lived in Korea in the 1990s before returning in 2020, observed a big change in how South Koreans view reunification.

“I first arrived in Korea in 1993, and at that time I knew many people who were passionate about reunification and still had family in North Korea,” Hill said. “When I returned in 2020 after 25 years, the perspective had shifted greatly — from 'how do we reunite as people' to 'how will this impact me economically.'”

Hill proposed education reform as a way to bridge the growing divide between North and South Korean identities.

Former BMW chairman Kim reframed the reunification debate by pointing to South Korea’s unresolved domestic challenges.

“Actually, during the last several decades, we as a nation really pushed ourselves for economic growth. It was the only mission for us,” Kim said. “But these days, the big issue is how to convert these financial outputs or financial values to social value. For young generations, the social issue is so big that that (they can’t) afford to think about North Koreans.”

The Korea Times Roundtable panelists listen during its latest session in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Violinist Han offered a different perspective rooted in humanitarian concerns and artistic collaboration.

“We need to think of the daily lives of those in the North, the common people, their sufferings,” Han said. “For the past decade, we have focused on technical perfection and standing in the spotlight, and we’ve achieved that globally. But now what we need to teach the next generation is to listen to the sufferings of those who are less privileged.”

Han proposed cultural exchange as a pathway to peace, suggesting Korean performers collaborate with artists around the world to “build something to put our narrative into the global tapestry.”

Italian diplomat Gatto drew connections between South Korea’s rapid development and the shifting priorities of younger generations who did not experience the hardship of previous decades.

“The new generation could connect with the old generation by thinking about culture and the enormous heritage you have — 5,000 years of history that people outside don’t know,” Gatto said. “This could bring the young and old together on a common project of preserving and restoring cultural heritage. For us in Italy, it’s national pride that unites us.”

Jancarek of the Czech Republic offered cautious optimism about eventual reunification.

“Unification will happen not because we protest. It will happen by chance because it’s the same — in ’89 in Europe, nobody predicted the Berlin Wall would fall,” he said. “It (unification) may happen in five or 40 years, but one day it will happen. What’s nice about history is that it’s always different.”

Social divisions highlighted by recent events

The panelists also touched on the recent Starbucks controversy that exposed lingering sensitivities around Korea’s history. The coffee chain faced public backlash over its “Tank Day” promotion which reminded people of military tanks used to suppress pro-democracy protesters and citizens during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.

Jones expressed bewilderment at the company’s marketing decision: “I’m flabbergasted by what Starbucks did. On May 18, tanks were sent to Gwangju to basically kill and control the people. Why would they have 'Tank Day' and why would they (say) 'slap it on the desk' knowing that it could be a reference to these very sensitive political issues?”

Schmidt noted the incident as a warning about politicizing commercial products: “It shows the danger if you sell a product and if you politicize it, you take it away from the marketing and people because the product is not bought on the strength of price competitiveness, but it’s a political statement. That might work well, but you can really ruin your business as well.”

Lee closed the discussion with a personal reflection on his own family’s division, revealing that he has relatives in Pyongyang who he has never met.

“I know they are still there. If we have reunification of our country, we can hold hands together, we can worship together,” he said.

The Korea Times Roundtable panelists listen to Georg Wilfried Schmidt, right, German ambassador to Korea, during its latest session in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul