Saturday, November 19, 2016

Legitimacy of North Korea

During the class discussion the question was raised how a country like North Korea can have legitimacy and a group like ISIS cannot. Of course, one of the most important answers is that North Korea is recognized by the international community as a legitimate state and ISIS is not. But in order to answer the question why North Korea was recognized as a legitimate state (and ISIS is not), we have to look at the historical events that created North Korea as a state. Naeem Inayatullah stresses the importance of history in analyzing why states do not exercise positive sovereignty and are not taking care of their citizens. When looking at the history of North Korea, it can help to better understand how North Korea became a legitimate state.

The Korean peninsula was under Japanese occupation for 35 years until after the end of World War II. The allies decided what to do with Korea after Japan surrendered and divided the country at the 38th parallel. After the war, the Soviet Union occupied the north and the US the south. After North Korea was officially established in 1948, the Soviet Union left the country to its own fate and North Korea decided to invade the south. After the war, the international community officially divided the two countries at the 38th parallel again. While South Korea was recognized as a legitimate state soon after, North Korea was only recognized by communist states. However, many other, non-communist states decided to recognize North Korea as a legitimate state during the years following the war. Therefore, the occupation by foreign countries eventually led to the creation of two states, which eventually led to the legitimacy of North Korea.


On a side note, last weekend, my family and I drove to an observation point an hour north of Seoul. At this observation point, which is on a hill on top of a river that separates the two states, you not only have the chance to look at North Korea, but you also learn a little bit more about the history and the sad stories of family separation. There was a period under Kim Jon-Il where hope was raised for reunification. During the so-called sunshine years, railroad tracks were built from a town in the south of North Korea to a town in the south, and there were also family reunions made possible by the Red Cross. Unfortunately, however, the sunshine years ended when Kim Jon-Il decided to engage in nuclear proliferation. During this visit, I asked myself many times what would have happened had Japan not invaded Korea. What would have happened if the UN had not divided the two countries at the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union had not occupied the north?

References
BBC. "North Korea Profile - Timeline." Accessed November 20, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612

5 comments:

  1. Hi Christine - thanks for sharing some background historical information! I would say some of the differences between North Korea and ISIS, besides the support of legitimacy by the international community, is that North Korea may threaten nuclear attacks and commits egregious human rights violations, they are not actively at war with the Western world, like ISIS. North Korea mainly keeps to itself (despite attempts at international attention regarding human rights/nuclear bomb practice) and ISIS is trying to take over already defined nations Syria, Iraq, etc.

    In regards to how it was historically divided on the 38th parallel by the Allies - this is another example of how the more powerful nations were involved in creating a nation without taking time to think about culture, family, etc. We witnessed this with the African continent that was divided into nations by those outside of the continent.

    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Jessica,

      Thank you for your comments. You are right about ISIS and the fact that they are at war with the Western world and North Korea pretty much keeping to itself. However, during the Korean war, the Western world was fighting a war with North Korea because North Korea invaded the south!

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  2. Christine, This example of North Korea is a great illustration of Inayatullah's point, and I'm glad you bring it to the blog. While the North Korean leadership has been horrendously harmful for the people, and has led to North Korea being where it is today, the history is critical to remember. The international community shouldn't look at North Korea and say, "Well aren't they crazy!" without also looking at the role of other states and the UN of getting them to this place. While it can't be undone, it is helpful to remember the history and attempt to learn from it. Thanks for sharing your perspective from South Korea!

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    1. Hi Erica,

      Thank you for your comments. You are right, what is done is done, but it is important to learn from it. Unfortunately, it is so much easier to just point the finger at North Korea now than asking the question why are they the way they are? What if the Soviet Union never occupied the north? Maybe the communist party would have never gained so much ground in North Korea in the first place.

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  3. Christine, I really enjoyed your direct application of Inayatullah's historical perspective to the examples of North Korea and ISIS. It seems like the main difference is WHO occupies the land. In your example, while only communist states recognized North Korea after the war, they were still occupied by a state that was recognized by the international community. Whereas ISIS is occupied but not by another state that is recognized internationally but merely a group of people that has self identified themselves as a state and religious group. There is no external legitimization other than their followers. - very interesting opportunity to compare and contrast!

    I also appreciate the link to the North Korea profile timeline. What a great review!

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