Koreans look forward to a reunited homeland
When the presidents of North and South Korea met to discuss reunification efforts at the beginning of October, many Korean immigrants in New York looked forward to the prosperity they believe could come with a united Korea. The three-day meeting between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean President Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang was only the second of its kind since the country was divided in 1945. There are over 70,000 foreign-born Koreans living in New York City, according to the 2000 census. Many of these immigrants say they came to pursue better opportunities than they had in Korea. “I came here alone in 1986,” said Hyo-Bu Shin, owner of Deli Marché on 5th Avenue and 22nd Street, in Korean. “Why did I come? To make money, of course, like everyone else.” Shin enjoyed his job as a coat salesman in South Korea more than his current job as a deli owner, but he said the move was necessary to provide for his family back home. However, the recent technological and economic boom in South Korea may be turning Korean immigrants’ attention back to their homeland. “People get paid more for the same job in Korea now. And Korea’s so much cleaner and better to live in – many new immigrants move back because New York is too dirty,” Shin said. Shin’s own daughter refuses to come to the United States because her life is better in Korea than it could ever be if she joined her father here, he said. The summit in October heightened the expectation that Korea could rise to be a better alternative to New York. Many South Korean immigrants here were excited about the possibilities that may come with reunification. “I’m so happy about it. I love the idea,” said Mihe Kim, an accountant from Manhassett, Long Island, who has lived in the New York area for 29 years. But Eunju Na, who moved to the U.S. only four years ago and is currently teaching Korean at New York University, was more hesitant. “As a Korean, I want to unify my country. But I don’t think it’s something that can happen in one or two years,” she said. “It might take more than 10 years.” At the end of the summit, the two presidents signed a declaration pledging to embark on joint projects to build economic and security ties between the two countries, indicating that reunification will be a prolonged process. Still, Na clings to her lifelong dream that one day she will be able to travel Asia and Europe by car – something that will only be possible when she is free to drive from South Korea to North Korea. Five years ago, Na walked the width of the Korean peninsula in the Demilitarized Zone through a special program for tourists. On the trip, she got to visit Kungang Mountain, a popular tourist location in North Korea. “It was one of the cleanest, most beautiful sights I’ve seen, but it was so strange because there were praises of Kim Jong-Il and Kim Il-Sung carved on the rocks,” Na said, referring to the only two presidents in North Korea’s history. Reunification would make it possible to share North Korea’s beauty and resources with South Korea, which could accelerate the country’s development into a world power, Shin said. When North and South Korea split at the end of the Korean War, Na’s brother-in-law’s father, who lived in what is now South Korea, was separated from his own brother, who lived in what is now North Korea. As the generation immediately affected by the division ages, time is running out for separated family members to reunite.
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