Sangjun JeongSeoul National UniversitySouth Korea Mending Wall?The War over History in South Korea Abstract: Until Korea was divided into North and South in 1945, it had maintained its territorial unity on the Korean peninsula for well over 1,000 years. Then, two young US officers drew an arbitrary line along the 38th parallel. Developing into a heavily militarized zone only several years later, ironically called the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ), that division has lasted for decades and into the present. Recently, several symbolic acts were performed in the zone and innovative plans were suggested to make the land strip into a peace park as a symbol of ideological reconciliation and ecological paradise. Yet to many Koreans, the zone is still inscribed as a wall permanently bisecting the peninsula not only physically but also culturally. Through an analysis of Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall,” this article contemplates the divisions within South Korean society over the North –South divide as a war over the telling of history. This history, however told, must be understood alongside the sentiment of han, a Korean word loosely defined as frustration, anger, and sadness, something that has been shaped by centuries of suffering from wars, invasions, colonization, injustice, and exploitation. Keywords: Korean Peninsula, Political Divisions, History, War, Demilitarized Zone
Artykuł dotyczy sytuacji na Półwyspie Koreańskim, który nieprzerwanie od 1953 roku pozostaje w stanie wojny. Po konflikcie pomiędzy Republiką Korei a Koreańską Republiką Ludowo-Demokratyczną nie zawarto pokoju, utrwalony został podział półwyspu na dwa państwa koreańskie, które mają sprzeczne wobec siebie interesy. Autorka podjęła próbę przeanalizowania działań jakie są podejmowane przez Pjongjang oraz Seul, zmierzających do zjednoczenia Korei.
EN
The article concerns situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is at war since 1953. After the conflict between Republic of Korea and People Republic of Korea, peace treaty has not been signed and the division of the peninsula into two Korean states, representing opposite interests, is consolidated. The author undertake an attempted to analyze activities taken by Pyongyang and Seoul to unify Korean Peninsula.
Artykuł dotyczy sytuacji na Półwyspie Koreańskim, który nieprzerwanie od 1953 roku pozostaje w stanie wojny. Po konflikcie pomiędzy Republiką Korei a Koreańską Republiką Ludowo-Demokratyczną nie zawarto pokoju, utrwalony został podział półwyspu na dwa państwa koreańskie, które mają sprzeczne wobec siebie interesy. Autorka podjęła próbę przeanalizowania działań jakie są podejmowane przez Pjongjang oraz Seul, zmierzających do zjednoczenia Korei.
EN
The article concerns situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is at war since 1953. After the conflict between Republic of Korea and People Republic of Korea, peace treaty has not been signed and the division of the peninsula into two Korean states, representing opposite interests, is consolidated. The author undertake an attempted to analyze activities taken by Pyongyang and Seoul to unify Korean Peninsula.
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