When North and South Korean leaders meet

What is the meaning of the second North and South Korean leaders’ meeting to Korea? There are two major topics. One is the discord of opinions between internet netizens and public media. The other focuses on the meaning of this meeting in political and economic aspects.

Not a few bloggers are against the critical perspectives of major conservative newspapers about this meeting. Neocross shows reactions of major conservative newspapers after the encounter of the two leaders.

나름 역사적인 날이죠. 비록 김대중 전대통령때와 같은 기분은 아니지만 7년만에 남북정상의 만남은 뜻깊은 할 수 있겠다.
여기에 각 언론들은 어떻게 반응할까요? 내용이나 페이퍼 내용은 내일 봐야 알테니 넘어가고, 일단 언론사닷컴들의 모습만 봅니다.
뭐 다들 비슷한 느낌을 주긴 하지만… 역시… 조선닷컴…별 의미를 두지 않는 듯 싶네요. 잘못 기억했는지 모르겠지만, 한나라 경선때 이명박 후보가 뽑혔을 당시 위의 통으로 떳던 것 같은데… 남북정상회담은 그보다 격이 낮은가 봅니다.
조인스닷컴은 제목은 잘 모르는 이라도 한번 까보고 싶은 의도를 읽을 수 있겠네요. 무표정과 포옹없음..ㅋㅋ
공과는 나중에 엄격하게 평가하게 되지만, 굳이 시작부터 찬물을 뿌릴 필요가 을는지.

In a way, it is a historical moment. Even though it’s not as the same as the first meeting with previous president Kim Dae-jung, it is a meaningful meeting seven years later.
How does each media group react?…they are quite similar… of course… Chosun.com doesn’t give any special meaning. I might not remember clearly, but when Lee Myung-bak was elected as the final candidate for the presidential election beating Park Geun-hye, the news was on the first page… maybe the meeting between North and South Korea is not as important as his victory.
Joins.com (Joongang Newspaper internet site) seems that they’re not so happy about it once you read the title of the news. No facial expression and no hug… haha
We can talk about whether this meeting accomplished something meaningful in public later, but is it really necessary to pour cold water from the beginning?

Sandman compares how foreign and domestic news interpret this meeting differently.

참 해도해도 너무한다. 도대체 어느 게 우리나라 언론인지 모르겠다.

저렇게 저주와 패악질 만을 일삼는 신문이 1등 신문이라니…

못한 거 못했다하고 잘한 거 잘했다 하는 게 그렇게 어려운 건가?

무조건 칭찬만하라는 것도 아니고 의미와 해야할 일을 조목조목 짚어 보도해도 될 일을 저렇게 씹어대는 거 보면 이번 남북정상회담 관련 기사는 도대체 왜 발행하는 지 모르겠다.

This is way too much. I’m confused which one is Korean media.
The top-selling newspaper even curses and reproaches…
Is it that difficult to recognize good things are good and bad things are bad?
They just attack without any reasonable reports, such as the meaning of the Second North and South Korean Leaders’ Summit and what to do. I do not say they should praise this event without any condition.

Some bloggers are more agressively against the major media.

MBC 방송 – 조선 , 중앙 , 동아 일보가 , 심각한 거짓 보도를 하고 있다고 밝힘.
다른 나라 신문 ( 외신 ) 에서 , 인용했다면서 쓴 부분도 , 모두 거짓으로 밝혀짐.
일부러 단어를 빼고 해석하고 , 아예 없는 말을 지어내기까지 한다고 함.
외신에서 , 노무현 대통령을 긍정적으로 평가한 기사까지 모두 왜곡됨.

www.joase.org/technote/board/opercom/upfile/media03101702.WMV

동영상 끝까지 다 봐주길 .. 얼마나 심한지 , 보면서 어이가 없었다

너무 많지만 , 그 중 아무거나 하나 예를 들자면, 외신에서는 노대통령이 ‘ 악의적 비판 ‘ 을 받고있다며 , 한국 언론을 비판했는데.오히려 조중동은 단어를 일부러 뺀 채 ‘ 비판 ‘ 받고 있다고 인용함으로써, 마치 전국민이 남북정상회담을 비판하는 냥 기사를 쓰고 ( 실제로는 정반대죠 )
AP 통신에서 인용했다는 말도 , 조사해보니 전혀 사실무근이고 ,, 등등. 너무 많아서 여기 다 못 적으니까 , 동영상 한번 꼭 보길 .. 웃기면서도 어이가 없다.
대부분의 국민들이 , 오늘 방송 보면서 , 다들 훈훈해하고 감격해하는 분들도 계셨는데
신문사에서만 왜 그러지 ? 누구 밑에서 자랐길래 , 그렇게 사고 방식이 비뚤어졌지 ?…

MBC TV News Broadcast exposed that Chosun, Joongang, and Dong-a Newspapers show serious fake reports. What those newspapers said that they cited from foreign newspapers is also exposed as all fakes. Intentionally they omitted words and, based on it, they analyzed foreign news. They even distorted positive articles from foreign news.

Look at this video clip… how serious it is.. I was speechless.

There is one example of abundant ones.

Foreign news reported that Korean media give ‘vicious criticism’ to the Korean President. But those newspapers omitted the word, ‘Korean media’ and just used ‘criticize.’ So it looks like all Koreans seem to criticize the meeting (it’s not true). Checking what those newspapers got from AP correspondence, I found it was baseless… etc.
There are so many… Please check the video clip. It’s absurdly funny. Most citizens were impressed with today’s event. What’s wrong with these newspapers? Why are their thoughts so erroneous? …

Two extreme media opinions are not welcome to some bloggers.

어쨌거나 7년 전 김대중 전 대통령의 역사적 평양 방문이 우리에게 감상적으로 다가와졌던 것에 비해 이번 노무현 대통령의 평양행은 차분하면서도 실무적인 만남의 인상이 더 짙어보인다. 향후 남북 정상회담의 정례화를 위해서는 이런 모습이 오히려 더 자연스러울듯도 하고 그만큼 남북간에 풀어야 할 현안이 많다는 의미도 될 것이다….
반면 이번 남북정상회담을 위해 방북한 노대통령에 대한 국내의 시각은 역시가 극과 극을 치달았다. 대통령의 당연한 직무행위를 역사적 구국 충정의 길이라 칭송하는 것도 역겹고 분단의 벽을 허물기 위한 한발짝의 전진을 허벅다리 후리기 한판으로 매다꽂는 식의 평가절하도 눈살을 찌푸리게 만들었다.

While the visit to Pyongyang of Kim Dae-jung seven years ago approached us emotionally, the visit this time seems more quiet and pragmatic. For more regular meetings from now on, it will be more natural and better to solve the pending problems between North and South Korea. ….

On the other hand, internal perspectives about this visit are divided into extremely conflicting ways. It doesn’t look good to praise his duty as the president for historical and patriotic meanings, and doesn’t look good to criticize his one-step forward in order to destroy the wall of division either.

Every detail has been analyzed.

…그리고 노 대통령이 북한에 방문했을때의 김정일 국방위원장의 태도도 지난번과는 많이 달랐다. 같은건 옷차림 뿐이라고 해야하나?? 우선 김 국방위원장은 7년전에 김 전 대통령이 방문했을때와 사뭇 다른 태도를 보였다. 7년전에는 서로 포옹을 하며 서로의 인사가 끝나자 50분이 넘도록 동승해서 대화를 했지만, 이번 노 대통령 방북 때에는 둘은 그저 악수만 할뿐이었고 노 대통령을 먼저 보내고 자신도 곧 사라졌다. 그리고 김 국방위원장의 표정도 7년전과는 다르게 경직되어 있었다.
두 정상이 나눈 대화는 “반갑습니다”라는 한 단어가 거의 전부였다. 육•해•공군 의장대 사열을 받으면서도 김 위원장은 표정을 드러내지 않았다. 노 대통령이 미소를 지으며 북한측 고위인사들과 일일이 악수를 나눴지만 김 위원장은 조용히 뒤에서만 지켜볼 뿐 특별한 말을 건네지 않았다.
이에 대해서도 여러 해석들이 있다. 김 국방위원장의 건강 악화설도 있다. 이젠 너무 노쇠하지 않았나 하는 평가다. 반면에 두번째 회담이어서 첫번째와는 달리 별로 감흥이 생기지 않았기 때문이라는 분석도 있다. 또 이번 회담을 실무적으로 끌고 가겠다는 의도를 내비친 것으로 볼 수도 있다. 특히 노 대통령이 임기말인 만큼 많은 선물을 약속해도 정권이 바뀐다면 휴지조각이 될 수 있다는 생각도 표정을 밝지 않게 만들었다는 관측이 있다.

…and Kim Jong-il’s attitude was quite different from the last time when Kim Dae-jung visited. Maybe the only thing the same was his clothes…? When Kim Dae-jung visited seven years ago, they hugged each other and got on the same car. Their conversation in the car lasted for 50 minutes. But this time they just shook their hands together and they didn’t get in the same car. Compared to seven years ago, Kim Jong-il’s face was stiff.
What they said in the first encounter was just “glad to see you.” Kim Jong-il didn’t show any expression while the military parade was shown and when Roh Moo-hyun shook his hands with other high government officials. He didn’t say anything and just watched Roh Moo-hyun behind. There are several interpretations of this. One is Kim’s poor health now. People assume that he is old and weak now. The other theory is that he was not so impressed because it was his second time. Or he intends to lead this meeing practically. It is almost the ending of the Roh government. Even though he promises a lot, it could be nothing if the government changes.

About the meeting, someone has been heartedly welcoming.

남북정상상봉장면.
감격에 전율입니다….
모두 가슴을 뜨겁게 합니다. 그리고 눈시울이 뜨거워집니다.
남북정상회담이 우리 국가와 우리 민족의 번영과 평화정착에 기여되기를 희망합니다.

The scene of meeting of North and South Korea.
It made me shudder with the impression….
My heart and the edges of my eyelids are hot…

Others are questioning why it has to happen now and concerned about the influence on the economy in South Korea.

2000년 김대중 전 대통령이 하늘을 날아 북한으로 갔지만..
2007년 어제는 노무현 대통령이 걸어서 군사분계선을 넘었다….
이번 정상회담에 대한 개인적인 내 생각을 밝히자면..
두 정상이 만나는 것에 대해 적극 찬성이다.
평화와 번영을 위한 그리고 나아가 통일을 위한 중요한 디딤돌이 될 것이기 때문이다.
하지만..
솔직히 너무 늦었다고 생각한다.
이제 12월이면 대통령 선거고, 다음 해 2월이면 대통령 이취임식이 있다.
제대로 일 할 수 있는 시간이 4개월 반 남짓 남은 것이다.

물론 노무현 대통령 계산대로 한다면 지금 참여정부를 계승할 수 있는 정권이 탄생해 자신의 정책을 끝까지 유지하길 바라겠지만..
솔직히 지금 현 상황을 보면 그렇게 될거 같진 않고..

아무튼.. 노무현 대통령은 자기가 해 줄 수 없음에도 불구하고 김정일 위원장을 만나고 있다는 것이다. …
대통령 4개월 반밖에 안 남겨놓고 왜 지금 가야 하는지.. 참 이해가 안된다.
적어도 2004년엔 갔어야 되는거 아닌가?무슨 사업이라도 제대로벌였을거 아닌가..

…대선에 영향을 주려는 거라니.. 뭐라니 이딴 소리는 안하겠다.
…국민들은 평화는 원하지만 예전처럼 그렇게 통일을 갈구하지는 않기 때문이다.
가뜩이나 우리 먹고 살기도 힘들어 죽겠는데..
통일하게 되면 통일비용을 고스란히 국민들이 부담해야 할테고..
경제는 더 휘청거릴테고..
물론 정기적인 안목으로 본다면
통일은 우리에게 꼭 필요한 것이다.

…하지만 지금 대한민국에는 ‘평화’ 보다는 ‘경제'가 먼저라는 것은 누구도 부정하긴 힘들다…

In 2000, former president Kim Dae-jung, previous president visited North Korea by flight.
In 2007, Roh Moo-hyun crossed into the North on foot.
As for my opinion of this meeting… I completely agree with the two leaders’ meeting. For peace and prosperity, it will be an important step for unification.
However,
I think that it is way too late.
We have a presidential election in December and the inauguration ceremony of the new president next February. That is, we have four months left to work as president.
Of course he must hope that the government of the same color with his succeeds him and continues his policies… it seems that it will not happen.
Anyway… even though he can’t do anything, he is now meeting Kim Jong-il.
I really don’t understand why he had to go there with 4 months left. Didn’t he have to try it in 2004?….
…I am not going to say the intention is for influence on the coming election.
…people want peace, but they do not long for the unification as much as before. If unification happens, that means we have to take care of the expenses of unification. That means the economy will not be stable …
Of course, in the long term, unification is necessary for us.
… but it is hard to deny ‘economy’ has more priority than ‘peace.’…

There is another theory, political unification with economic interdependence first.

< 투자없는 과실(果實)은 없다.>
아마도 이 말은 비즈니스의 기본일 것이다.
< 코커콜라>가 해외시장을 개척할 때 쓰는 수법을 보자. 처음에는 무조건 무료시식이다.
‘입맛’을 들이면 꼼짝없는 고객이 되고 만다.
같은 이치이다. 지금 ‘퍼주기’라고?

일본의 예를 보자.
그 동안 일본은 동남아 각국에 < 경협자금>을 엄청나게 뿌려댔다.
이제, 뿌리내렸던 일본자본의 과실(果實)이 속속 일본 본토로 보내지고 있다.
그 놀라운 ‘장사 수완’이 오히려 부럽다.

이제, 남북관계에 있어서…이제 남은 것은 남한(=대한민국)으로의 < 경제 예속화>에 의한 통일뿐이다.
북한이 남한에게 ‘엮여들도록’……더 많이 퍼주어야 한다.
몇 년 후, 남한 없이는 홀로 설 수 없도록 북한의 기초경제에 더 많이 투자하라.
< 개성공단> 같은 산업단지를 더 많이 만들어, 북한으로하여금 < 자본주의>의 ‘꿀맛’을 느끼게 하라….

북한이 애초에 누구의 땅이었는가.
북한에 살고 있는 동포가 누구인가.
우리 민족이다.

우리 민족의 땅에서… 우리 민족끼리 잘 살기 위해서 노력하겠다는데,
언 넘이 ‘감 놔라, 배 놔라.’ 하겠는가.
주변 강대국의 농간에 휘말려서야 되겠는가….

만일에 있을지도 모르는 갑작스러운 북한 붕괴에 대비하여, 붕괴 이후 일어날 혼란을 최소화하기 위해서라도, 미리미리 북한 스스로 자생할 수 있는 길을 열어두는 것은 현명한 판단이다.
골방에 틀어박혀 ‘책상머리 볼펜’으로 끌쩍대는 < 민족주의> 관점에서 바라본 북한의 붕괴와 < 흡수통일>은 기대하지 마라.
경제논리로 풀어가자.
….

It’s the basic principle in the business world.
Let’s see how explored the world market. The first one was free-tasting.

If people start being used to the taste, they become customers. It’s the same principle.

About this meeting, ‘scooping out’?

Let’s see Japan.
Japan has poured in Southeast Asian countries.
Now, those fruits rooted by Japanese capital go back to Japan. I am jealous of their surprising ‘business tactics.’

Regarding relations between North and South Korea…what we can do is unification by with South Korea leading.
We should give more to North Korea in order to hook up to South Korea.
Several years later, we will see North Korea can’t stand independently without South Korea. We should make more and give the ‘honey taste’ of to North Korea.

Whose land is North Korea?
What people live in North Korea?
They’re our people.

On the land of our people… we do our best to live together. Who dares to intervene and judge our directions? Why are we bothered by nearby powerful countries?…

Preparing for the sudden collapse of North Korea, in order to minimize the confusion after it, it is a wise action to teach North Korea how to grow in advance.

Don’t expect the collapse of North Korea based on and based on pens and thoughts.
Let’s solve the problem with economic principle…

6 comments

  • I’ve posted a bloggit about re-unification at the Blog of the Two Hands Approach to the English Language
    http://twohandsapproach.org/pmachine/comments.php?id=232_0_1_0_C
    and also to the blog at the UK Telegraph
    http://my.telegraph.co.uk/stedawa/#wrapper

    I do not know the exact details of the agreement, and of course for South Koreans, the expense at rebuilding North Korea would be enormous.

    But, then again, just think of in one area alone: housing. North Korea has lots of land and scenic spots, reading and ripe for developers to build new condo towers and complexes. The price might be less than what they currently are in South Korea (very expensive). Young people could “go north” to the new frontier, and help lead the way. Housing might be cheaper there. They could even try co-housing or an arcology, if they were really into housing, town planning, and architecture.

    If they defused the tension and siphoned off some (or a lot) of the funds from their enormous military expenditures, there would be lots of cash that could be apportioned to reconstructive projects.

  • Bob Chen

    Thank you for telling us your domestic rections on the issue.
    We here(China) give it a very positive comment, calling it greatly practical and significant on our headlines.
    Compared with Taiwan and mainland, I am so curious which unification will be sooner. (They seem to be both communist vs. capital, though, you know, not so purely).

  • Paz para as Coreias unidas.
    Abaixo o terrorismo Norte-americano!

  • The differences in opinion between the international press and the mainstream Korean press prove what most observers already know. The heavy conservative bias in the Korean press gets in the way of objective reporting. Nothing President Roh does will ever be reported positively.

    And if Kim Dae-jung did indeed bribe the North US$100 million to attend the 2000 summit, no wonder he got a smile and a warm reception.

  • mahathir_fan

    HyeJin,

    did you not approve my last post? I wrote that it is unnecessary to invite US and China to a Korean War peace treaty because of technical reasonings. It is not appearing.

    I will say the gist again. US does not need to be invited because the US is not technically at war with North Korea. It is the United Nations that is fighting the Korean War for South Korea. (Go to Panmunjom and you will see UN flag, not US flag).

    China also does not need to be invited to a Korean war peace treaty because the Chinese government TECHNICALLY did not participate in the Korean War. The Chinese government went through the trouble of ensuring this technical classification through the creation of the People’s Volunteer Army. There is no more Volunteer Army.

    So technically, for a Korean War peace treaty, the parties that need to be invited are:
    1) Roh Moo Yun as the President of South Korea
    2) Kim Young Nam as the Premier of North Korea
    3) Ban Ki Moon as the UN secretary General

    Bob,

    I would not even dare to compare China-Taiwan with North Korea-South Korea.

    there is no urgency in Mainland china-Taiwan reunification. Most people from both sides are practically reunited. Both sides watch and listen to the same TV programs or music. Both sides can visit each other anytime. The only division is political division.

    North-South Korea are not even reunited at the society level yet. Very few South Korea have friends in North Korea (except those separated by war). They can’t even visit each other freely yet.

  • J J

    This post is lies.
    This text is frame up, for propaganda of the left faction nationalism.
    It is CNN News. Please read this.
    ———————————-
    http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/01/koreas.summit/index.html

    The Koreas summit comes in the final months of Roh’s scandal-ridden term, and some analysts suspect the South Korean leader is hoping the Pyongyang meeting will boost his sagging approval ratings and help position his party in the upcoming elections against the conservative opposition.

    A joint statement following the 2000 summit between Kim Jong Il and Kim Dae-jung indicated the next meeting between the Korean leaders would take place in Seoul.

    Roh’s decision not to push for a meeting outside the North Korean capital was criticized by Bruce Klinger of the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center in a recent article titled, “Seoul’s Impetuous Summit Initiative.”

    “It is indicative of Roh’s eagerness that he failed to insist on holding the summit in the Kaesong special economic zone in North Korea to highlight the flagship initiative of Seoul’s engagement policy,” Klinger wrote.

    But one South Korean woman said she believes the summit “is our last chance” to negotiate the freedom of hundreds of Korean prisoners of war and abductees, including her father, a fisherman on a boat believed abducted by the North more than 30 years ago.

    Other South Koreans have protested the summit — including one man who set himself on fire during a demonstration in Seoul — demanding that Roh push North Korea on its human rights violations during the talks.

    South Korean investigators later revealed that Kim Dae-jung paid hundreds of millions of dollars to secure the meeting, the first between Stalinist North Korea and capitalist South Korea.

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