Korean Unification Foreign to Oberlin Students
Bush Decision Prompts End to North-South Cabinet Meetings
BY ADRIAN LEUNG

Last week, President Bush unravelled almost all reunification prospects between North and South Korea, which were better than ever at the end of the Clinton administration.
On March 7, Bush told South Korea that he did not plan to continue talks with North Korea. Six days later, North Korea called off high-level cabinet meetings with South Korea in Seoul. And this Wednesday, North Korea issued some of its toughest warnings to the United States since reunification efforts began. 
In an article published March 15, The New York Times said, “[North Korea called] the United States ‘a cannibals’ nation,’ charging the Bush administration with ‘escalating its provocative and reckless diatribe’ against the North. The Communists pledged a ‘thousandfold revenge’ if ‘the U.S. imperialists turn to confrontation.’”
Throughout these recent developments, most Oberlin students seem aloof. “People at Oberlin don’t know about it at all,” junior Grace Han said, “When I tell them about it, the only response I get is anti-Bush without any understanding of Korea. I think Americans in general don’t understand the situation due to their ideas of United States exceptionalism. Even though students claim to be socially conscious, Oberlin’s no different when it comes to this.”
Rationalizing his decision to halt talks, Bush said, “We’re not certain as to whether or not they’re keeping all terms of all agreements.”
But only one agreement exists between the United States and North Korea. In 1994, North Korea agreed to stop the plutonium processing at a suspected nuclear weapons plant. At a briefing the same afternoon as Bush’s announcements, two senior administration officials reported that there was no evidence that North Korea was violating that agreement.
Another White House spokesman interpreted Bush’s statement, saying the president was referencing future agreements, even though he used the present tense. The official said, “That’s how the president speaks.”
The recent turn away from reunification is a major blow to South Korean President Kim Dae Jung’s past dialogue efforts. Last year, Kim was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in promoting reunification.

The Korean War, often called “The Forgotten War” by historians, began in 1950, The United States escalated its troop presence in the strategic peninsula fearing the rise of communism in Asia. A cease-fire ended the fighting in 1954, but today, there is still no resolution. A demilitarized zone was established on the 38th parallel, which still separates North Korea and South Korea. This border remains one of the heaviest armed borders on Earth, with 37,000 troops stationed there.
Some speculate that Bush’s concern with North Korea might be a justification for what has become one of his administration’s major priorities: a national missile defense capability. By considering North Korea a threat, the President would have reason to complete a missile defense system, something like former President Reagan’s Star Wars program.
In the wake of an Oberlin Korean Students Association Conference, the campus’s failure to address these recent developments is troubling to some. Senior Lisa Collins said, “I want people to be informed enough and have a real opinion. It doesn’t even have to be anti-Bush. They could support his actions with Korea, but I want them to know why they think that way. I feel a lot of people make blind statements, but they can’t back them up, or understand what they’re really talking about. I don’t want people to just say, ‘it’s messed up.’ I want people to be educated and not be complacent in just feeling that it’s wrong.”

Han thinks the College’s attitude toward these events reflected a more general attitude towards Asia. “People think that things happening in Asia are so far away. And when Asia is addressed, the focus remains on Japan and China. Even within the East Asian Studies Department, Korea and other countries are overlooked,” she said.