The Key Issues in the Process of Inter-Korean Unification from the Perspective of German Unification

Despite differences between Korea and Germany, German unification provides valuable lessons for Korean unification. Maintaining a dialogue channel between the two Koreas is critical for keeping peace and promoting reconciliation. It is also imperative that South Korean humanitarian work resume in the North. With humanitarian projects, South Korean NGOs can increase contact with ordinary North Korean people. “Change through contact” is a crucial method of demonstrating love for those in North Korea, promoting relationship-building and trust that may facilitate in creating a foundation for rebuilding North Korea and ultimately reuniting the Korean people.

Download Full-text

German Unification: Lessons for Korea?

Review of Economics ◽

10.1515/roe-2012-0303 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Ulrich Blum

Keyword(s):

World Bank ◽

Open Economy ◽

Adjustment Costs ◽

German Unification ◽

Medium Term ◽

South Korean ◽

The World Bank ◽

Korean Unification ◽

International Openness

SummaryWe analyze the similarities and differences in terms of the demographic, social, political and economic situation of the two Germanies and the two Koreas before unification. Based on the German experience, we inquire whether there is room for economic policy unification strategies. An important issue is the degree of international openness which, under “stone-age” type conditions, is much lower in North Korea than it ever was in East Germany. This may create additional adjustment costs, especially if institutions change.We go on by showing how transition and integration interact in a potential unification process based on the World Bank Revised Minimum Standard Model (RMSM) and the Salter-Swan-Meade model. In doing so, we relate the macro and external impacts on an open economy to its micro-sectoral structural dynamics. Theoretical findings and evidence from Germany suggest that limits to accelerating unification from an economic perspective are important factors to take into account.We then consider unification as an “investment” and track down the (by-and-large immediate to medium-term) costs and the (by-and-large long-term) benefits of retooling a retarded communist economy. We conclude that, from a South-Korean perspective, Korean unification will become much more expensive than German unification. This may pose severe political and strategic problems.

Download Full-text

독일통일 30년: 경제통합의 평가와 시사점(30 Years of German Unification: Assessment of Economic Integration and its Implications for the Korean Unification)

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3911747 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hyung-Gon Jeong

Keyword(s):

Economic Integration ◽

German Unification ◽

Korean Unification

Download Full-text

Probing vacancies and structural distortions at individual defects in ceramics using EELS

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100165859 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 678-679

Author(s):

D. J. Wallis ◽

N. D. Browning

Keyword(s):

Structural Information ◽

Core Loss ◽

Nearest Neighbors ◽

Ceramic Materials ◽

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope ◽

Real Space ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Structure Property ◽

Scanning Transmission ◽

Key Issues

In electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), the near-edge region of a core-loss edge contains information on high-order atomic correlations. These correlations give details of the 3-D atomic structure which can be elucidated using multiple-scattering (MS) theory. MS calculations use real space clusters making them ideal for use in low-symmetry systems such as defects and interfaces. When coupled with the atomic spatial resolution capabilities of the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), there therefore exists the ability to obtain 3-D structural information from individual atomic scale structures. For ceramic materials where the structure-property relationships are dominated by defects and interfaces, this methodology can provide unique information on key issues such as like-ion repulsion and the presence of vacancies, impurities and structural distortion.An example of the use of MS-theory is shown in fig 1, where an experimental oxygen K-edge from SrTiO3 is compared to full MS-calculations for successive shells (a shell consists of neighboring atoms, so that 1 shell includes only nearest neighbors, 2 shells includes first and second-nearest neighbors, and so on).

Download Full-text