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https://theconversation.com/north-korea-has-demolished-its-monument-to-reunification-but-it-cant-fully-erase-the-dream-222183>
"North Korea has demolished the Arch of Reunification, a monument that
symbolised hope for reconciliation with the South. The decision to demolish the
monument came shortly after the regime’s leader, Kim Jong-un, delivered a
speech declaring it an “eyesore”.
In the same speech, Kim said that the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas,
which have remained divided since August 1945, was no longer possible and
called for an amendment to the North Korean constitution to reflect South
Korea’s status as his country’s “principal enemy”.
Unveiled in 2001, the Arch of Reunification featured two Korean women wearing
traditional dresses – called hanbok (한복 “Korean clothes”) in South Korea and
chosŏn-ot (조선옷 “Korean clothes”) in the North. The women jointly held up an
image of the unified Korean peninsula, reflecting the North Korean government’s
genuine desire at the time to reunify the two countries.
This is not the first time North Korea has destroyed symbols of Korean
cooperation, dialogue and hope for unification. In June 2020, North Korea
recorded and released footage of it blowing up a joint liaison office with
South Korea near the border town of Kaesong. The site was opened to help the
the two countries communicate.
The following year, in August 2021, North Korea severed the Inter-Korean
hotline – a series of over 40 telephone lines that connect North and South
Korea – in protest against military drills jointly undertaken by South Korea
and the US. Kim did, however, restore the hotlines two months later and urged
Seoul to step up efforts to improve relations.
The Arch of Reunification’s demolition signals North Korea’s determination to
brand reunification as impossible. But, despite the physical erasure of this
monument, its depiction on five official postage stamps serves to immortalise
the monument and what it symbolised."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
