What Kind of Unification are We Talking About? European Lessons for Korean Unification

On January 28, KEI hosted Dr. Sangmin Bae and Dr. Martyn de Bruyn of Northeaster Illinois University for a luncheon presentation of their paper. Korean unification is a hot topic. But how to approach it and at what speed and through what models are matters for much debate. In their paper, Dr. Bae and Dr. De Bruyn argue that while important negative lessons can be learned from German unification, there are equally important positive lessons from the European Union (EU), which incorporated century old enemies into an economic union that built friendship through institutionalized interdependence and trust. They suggest that an institutional approach in preparation for possible future Korean unification is recommended over gradualism, and they highlight the great economic cost of German unification and compare it to the political and economic process of EU integration. The luncheon presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion.