South Korea Case Study

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One way to assign a level of importance to a state 's interests and assess threats is to evaluate the scope of those items on a timeline. In the case of South Korea, educational development and economic reform are both interests to be addressed on a structural level over time as are corresponding threats that have developed in the existing political, structural, and social climates. Decline in individual health resulting from educational structure and regional economic competition both lie on a similar long-term scale, meaning time will be necessary for results to demonstrate whether a solution will prove beneficial in regards to South Korea 's longevity. However, as increased regional aggression is an imminent threat to the Republic of Korea, …show more content…

Although South Korea has pursued peaceful unification of the peninsula in the past, the policies and political values of their northern neighbor are both very different and alarming. First of all, North Korea’s political values are not conducive to peaceful unification. Yoon and Lim outline a central difference between the two, arguing that in North Korea, pursuit of individual and state security are seen as one and the same. The state’s top priority is to protect its leader - followed by military members and officials and finally individuals loyal to the Korean Workers’ Party (146). So, the state (represented by one man under the authoritarian regime) is centered around the leader as an individual and vice versa. Absent from this list are all other citizens of the state. Furthermore, North Korea’s policies pursue stability and greater power for Kim Jong-Un and his heirs above all other goals (147). This idea of extending protection to a single ruler at the cost of security and care for the masses directly opposes the basic democratic ideals - “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” To suggest that North Korea could peacefully absorb South Korea is groundless; therefore, unification would have to come at either the expense of South Korea’s sovereignty or on South Korea’s own

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