Vito wrote:
"katy" wrote

Our oldest son is a professor of English in Pusan (Busan) and has a
Korean wife. His take is that whatever we here in the States know
about Korea is corrupted by the American press. When we have
called, concerned about something that has happened over there, he
almost always laughs and says "Why do you believe that crap on the
news? It's all propoganda." And you are correct..the average S.
Korean does want reunification. The reason, though, is that they
want the cheap labor that N. Korea would afford them. When we've
asked my daughter-in-law if they would ever consider moving back
here, she smiles and shakes her head. They could not have the
lifestyle here on a professor's salary that they do there. She has
a nanny for the kids and a full time housekeeper...if N. Koreans
were let in, says she, she would be able to get help for even less
than they pay now but would stuill be paying those people more than
they have ever made before.


Thanks for the insights. Everything we *know* is corrupted by the press.
However, as I told Max, I'm not so sure the 'cheap labor' will prove a benefit.
The West Germans felt the same way but fact is they have yet to fully recover
economically from reunification. Kick it around with your son and see what they
thing in light of the German experience.


We have...difference is that in Germany you have educated people on
both sides for the most part where in N. Korea tithe labor force
coming in is illiterate...other consideration is that the graft
situation in Korea is horrendous and there is no actual middle
class...and that want it to stay that way...