Paul Hsiao ’08, who has family in both Hong Kong and Japan, fears for the safety of his family after North Korea’s alleged nuclear test last Sunday. He believes that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il is a “greater threat [to peace] than Saddam Hussein ever was” and that he is “evil, or at least deluded.” Furthermore, he thinks that “the time for diplomacy is over” and that the U.S. should use force against North Korea. Hsiao’s views, once confined to the far-right wing, have become commonplace since the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea announced that it had tested a nuclear weapon on Sunday night, U.S. time. At 10:36 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the U.S. Geological Survey measured a 4.2 magnitude tremor on North Korean soil. Shockwaves from this explosion quickly spread across the globe, affecting students at PA with friends and loved ones in the region. Some students recognized the test as a hollow threat, while others saw it as an intimidating change of stance; regardless, most were worried that these events could cause the shaky situation on the Korean Peninsula to deteriorate further. In reading the New York Times online as she does every morning, Michaella Chung ’07, whose parents are currently living in Seoul, South Korea, was one of the first students on campus to encounter the startling news of North Korea’s nuclear development. Scanning across the online text, Chung soon pieced together the facts of the incident. Chung said that she was so struck by these events that she “nearly broke down” in one of her classes where the issue was discussed. Chung stated, “One of my friends had to hold my hand so that I didn’t start crying.” Chung later requested personal time from her International Relations class where the topic was sure to come up again. Searching for strength, Chung confessed her concerns to her friends who similarly had family members in the region.. Jane Shin ’08, who lives in South Korea, felt that the test was in some ways a clear threat to the safety of those in the area. However, she hesitated to believe that North Korea was making clearly aggressive move. Shin noted that South Korea’s “sunshine policy,” which sends food and supplies to North Korea in the hope of creating a unified Korea, might deter North Korea from attacking them. She reiterated many times that South Korea’s main goal was to rejoin with North Korea as one country. Unfortunately, this nuclear test has undermined decades of political negotiations. “South Korea is saying that by them declaring and testing nuclear bombs, our attempt to become peaceful with them is a failure,” she said. “In my opinion, they’re not trying to attack other countries. The nuclear weapon is a form of them trying to say that they have power and other countries can’t just step all over them.” She continued, “The other countries feel the threat because they think North Korea will [aim] at them. Japan is not on good terms with North Korea…But I feel that the whole purpose of having a bomb is more of a political thing than a physical attack on a country.” Sayoko Kumamaru ’08, who is from Tokyo, Japan, said, “In Japan, the problem about North Korea and nuclear weapons is really big because we all think that they’re threatening to use the nuclear weapons against us. I feel like our prime minister is trying to be as friendly as we can but still, it’s a major threat to our country.” She then admitted that her mentality obviously varies from that of a South Korean. Increased kidnappings on the shores of Japan have nurtured strong anti-North Korean sentiment in Japan. Shin argued, “You’re just assuming that they’re going to attack other countries, just because of the communist regime. How do you know what purpose they’re going to use it for? You can’t just assume that they’ll use it for something bad. Yes, it could be for attacking, or [for] protecting their country.” Both agreed that it’s a matter of perspective influenced strongly by the media. “But many say [the test] wasn’t as successful as it should have been. We’re not sure if it’s even legit,” said Shin. She said, “People need to look at it from a different point of view, other than hearing things and assuming things. We all lack info, perspective, and we all don’t really know what’s going on… 45-50% of this school’s students didn’t know whether [or not] South Korea had a democratic government and if North Korea had a communist [one]. For me that is appalling. And for people to freak out about the nuclear thing, [when] they don’t know the simplest thing about the country, shows that they should not be talking about these complicated politics.” John Shin ’07, from South Korea, said that North Korea shouldn’t have gone through with the testing and that Kim Jong-Il is now in deeper trouble because he thinks he can do whatever he wants. “North Korea has nothing. It’s just cold, barren land; no infrastructure, no anything,” he said. “And the weird thing is, no one expects North Koreans to bomb South Korea. [Instead,] they think that North Korea will bomb Japan,” he said. “We’ve been giving them a lot of money and they chose to invest it nuclear technology.” The economic implications of the nuclear test also weighed heavily on the minds of some. “North Korea is definitely violating the peace in Asia and since Hong Kong is a port of major international commerce it’s definitely affecting us directly by destabilizing the whole economy,” said Hsiao. Jean Pak ’07, also from South Korea, said, “It’s terrifying! Why are they building these weapons? Kim Jong-Il just uses South Korea’s money to make more military bombs. They’ve been doing it since the 38th parallel was created. At first it was terrifying…now it’s getting old…they still live in the 50s…we’re not in the 20st century anymore.” She noted that the Korean anti-American mentality was due in part to the American occupation of South Korea, which divided the country up. “One-half of the population has an anti-U.S. feeling,” she added. “We want to Korea to be united again, but it would probably end up like Germany and go into economic depression.” Jae-Kyu Lee ’08, from South Korea, has conservative, pro-America beliefs since he is related to the prime minister under the former president of South Korea. South Korea’s current party is more liberal and has tried to “befriend North Korea while becoming more anti-U.S,” he said. However, [the president] hasn’t met expectations and his approval rating is about 10 percent. We gave North Korea so much, and what have they done for us? We have made a mistake and [the current government] is making a mess of things.” Still, others feel more strongly about the threat. The general consensus of students from the surrounding areas is that the world has to step back and study the issue from all sides. “People need to be patient and not make assumptions,” concluded Jane Shin. “They should stay informed.” Conor McKinnon and Pete Smith contributed reporting for this article.
