Walking in Their Shoes

Peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula have spanned over 70 years. More specifically, 78 years have passed since Korea was declared independent from Japanese Occupation in 1945, and then both North and South Korean governments were established in 1948. Unfortunately, five years after liberation, the Korean War broke out, which lasted for three long years. This active conflict ended with an armistice agreement on July 27, 1953, but the Korean War has never officially ended.

One person who has spent his lifetime thinking, teaching, and researching to find answers for peace on the Korean Peninsula is Dr. Han S. Park. Dr. Park is University Professor Emeritus of International Affairs and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Global Issues (GLOBIS) at the University of Georgia. He was born in Manchuria (China), grew up in Korea during the Korean War, and then immigrated to the United States as an adult. Dr. Park has both personal and academic qualifications to speak and write about peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Recently, Dr. Park’s book, Quest for Peace: A Memoir, was translated from Korean into English (2023). In his memoir, he details his life experiences and personal involvement for peace. Dr. Park explains, “People outside of North Korea look it in a totally different way than people inside North Korea view the world. People looking from outside interpret the DPRK from the perspective to which they are accustomed, even forcing that perspective on North Koreans. It is impossible to properly understand the DPRK with that approach” (Park, pg. 38).

This is similar to my own experiences in North Korea. Before I started traveling and working in North Korea, all I knew about the country was what was portrayed on the media or in books. However, once I started working and living inside the nation, I came to face a completely different reality. North Korea has a unique worldview that, unless you spend time on the ground in the country, is very difficult to understand.

In Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea, I expanded on this by explaining that “I believe that talks with North Korea are largely unsuccessful because the two sides come from two different worlds. We neither speak each other’s language nor understand one another’s cultures. We interpret each other’s actions and intentions from our own perspectives without taking into consideration the other’s perspective. It is like we are shooting arrows away from our targets not because we cannot aim but because we’re confused about where our targets are” (Yoon, pg. 23-24).

Nuclear issues remain a major concern on the Korean Peninsula. In 1994, a visit by former President Jimmy Carter helped defuse pre-war tensions between the U.S. and the DPRK, which then led to the Four Party Talks from 1997-1999. Why was former President Jimmy Carter well received by the North Koreans? When President Carter was in office, he pledged to withdraw troops from South Korea. Unfortunately, this was likely one reason why President Carter lost the bid for reelection in 1980.

Since his presidency, Jimmy Carter became widely known as the President who did the most good after leaving office. He established the Carter Center in 1982 with the mission of “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, and Building Hope”.  With peace a top priority, Carter believed that in order to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, both North and South Korea needed to denuclearize. North Korea was well aware of former President Carter’s peaceful intentions. I believe this opened the door for him to visit and negotiate with unique favor with North Korea for denuclearization.

As Dr. Park explains it, “The reason that North Korea developed nuclear weapons in the first place was to secure military means to ensure its security” (Park, pg. 51-52). Denuclearizing the entire Korean Peninsula would ensure North Korea’s own security. From North Korea’s perspective, their military development is meant to detour war. North Koreans have experienced extreme trauma from the Korean War. They do not want to experience war again.

“The United States often paints North Korea as a volatile nation, completely unpredictable. But if we look at the stance of the nation, what they stand for, and the length of time they have been heading down the same path, we can see that they are, in fact, predictable after all. Perhaps we just do not understand where they are headed, who they are, and for what they stand” (Yoon, pg. 24). The question is: Does the rest of the world want peace on the Korean Peninsula?

On March 3rd, Representative Brad Sherman reintroduced the “Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act” at the 118th US Congress. The bill was co-sponsored by 18 other members of Congress, and it has received 46 signatures from both Democrats and Republicans. This bill needs bipartisan support. Contact your congressional representatives to give your support for H.R. 3446.

 Works Cited

 Park, Han S., Quest for Peace: A Memoir. Catholic Institute of Northeast Asia Peace. 2023.

 Yoon, Joy E. Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea. Klug Publishing. 2018.