Lessons from German Unification for the Korean Peninsula

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Region: Far East grade: 85% = 20/A-/GPA 3.7 Peking Universität (School for International Studies) course: International Securtiy in East Asia language: English abstract: Germany achieved what Korea still can achieve namely peaceful unification. There are several similarities between the divided Koreas and the formerly divided Germanys. In both cases the division grew out of the Second World War and the following Cold War. The divided nations have totally different systems of government. North Korea as a communistic one-party state is similar to the GDR and South Korea as a democratic republic is similar to the FDR. Major differences are apparent in the economic development between North and South Korea which again corresponds to the situation in Germany at the end of the 1980s. In light of these similarities an important question to answer is the following one: what lessons can the Korean Peninsula learn from German unification? Thus this essay will proceed as follows. Firstly the developments in Germany leading to the opening of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent unification will be described and analyzed. Secondly the economic and socio-cultural outcomes of the unification will be briefly analyzed. Thirdly recommendations for the Korean Peninsula will be formulated and finally the essay will conclude its findings.