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| President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hug each other after signing the Panmunjeom Declaration, Friday, against a backdrop of Mount Bukhan. / Yonhap |
By Choi Ha-young, Lee Suh-yoon
The most frequently used word by the leaders of two Korea during their summit last week was "minjok," or "ethnicity," which appeared over 30 times in speeches and texts.
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed "homogeneity" between the divided Koreas. In his welcoming speech, Moon quoted a North Korean poem: "Now we have met, let us not part again. If we repeat this history of pain and suffering again, the hearts of minjok will burst and die."
Moon and Kim did not need a translator because they speak the same language. Kim's jokes instantly made South Koreans laugh out loud and reporters of the rival Koreas could share their note-takings. These are evidence of their similarity.
However, the outside world could see it as ethno-nationalism.
"South Koreans like it as long as their individual interests are not hurt," said Professor Cho Jung-hun, head of Ajou Institute of Unification.
"If Kim proposes dispatch of 100,000 North Korean workers to the South in preparation for unification, what would happen? South Korean youths will be up in arms against the foreign workers. Clearly, unification is a matter of cost."
This hypothesis is reminiscent of the stir around the inter-Korean women's Olympics ice hockey team. Young Koreans were reluctant to embrace North Korean athletes, sticking up for fair compensation for South Koreans who trained hard for the Winter Olympics.
Such an atmosphere remains unchanged despite Moon's high emphasis on "minjok." The young generation has more distant ties with ethnic identity. However, this never means they oppose inter-Korean rapprochement or get hawkish on North Korea.
"Young people tend to approach unification from a pragmatic and economic perspective," said Jung Woo-jin, leader of Korea Peninsula Policy Consensus, a student organization on unification.
Still, such a pragmatic view ― which was touted by ex-President Park Geun-hye's "unification jackpot" ― has not fully filled in the vacuum of ideology. That's why President Moon revisited "minjok" for the keyword of the summit.
"The term was adopted because the two Koreas have no alternative," culture critic Lee Taek-gwang said. "The Koreas need to come up with a universal value in moving toward unification."
The slogan based on ethnicity could deepen inter-Korean ties, but could draw fire from neighboring countries, Cho said. The backlash was palpable particularly in Japan, which took issue with a mango mousse dessert with a decoration of the Korean Peninsula including South Korean islet Dokdo that Japan also claims.
"Without support from the U.S., China, Japan and Russia, the two Koreas can't achieve unification," Cho said.
He urged strategic measures to persuade outsiders. When U.S. President Donald Trump once asked Moon why unification is necessary, Moon cited the sorrow of divided families. The tragedy could be a pressing issue for Moon, a son of North Korean refugees, but could fail to impress outsiders, he said.
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