Sparked by the reality of a nuclear North Korea, UCLA hosted a
panel discussion Thursday to address how the international
community perceives and interacts with the Communist nation.
The panel, which was organized by UCLA’s Center for Korean
Studies, centered around the implications of North Korea’s
recent nuclear test. It consisted of four North Korea specialists,
each analyzing the country from a different perspective.
Dae-Sook Suh, a professor emeritus from the University of Hawaii
who other panelists called one of the leading specialists on North
Korea in the Western world, said the United States tends to portray
North Korea as an “evil country.”
“(The United States) considers North Korea … to be an
evil in itself. I think that is false,” Suh said. “Most
of our remarks on North Korea come from ignorance. People in the
United States do not know the conditions of people in North
Korea.”
Suh described North Korea as struggling for survival and
acceptance.
He added that he believes North Korea had two objectives when
establishing its nuclear program: to respond to the United
State’s diplomatic rejection of the communist North Korea
after the collapse of the Soviet Union and to deter any potential
invasions by other nations.
Sunjae Kwon, a second-year business-economics student, said he
has noticed the same association of North Korea with the concept of
being evil.
“There is a tendency to look at North Korea as an evil
country,” Kwon said. “Regardless of whether (North
Korea’s leader) Kim Jon Il is right or wrong, it is
meaningful to look at this with a diplomatic point of
view.”
Chaibong Hahm, professor of international relations and
political science and director of the Korean Studies Institute at
USC, presented from the South Korean perspective.
He said South Koreans are in the process of re-evaluating
whether their loyalties should continue to lie with the United
States or whether they should support North Korea.
“South Korea (has found) itself in a situation where it
wants to view North Korea as a fellow state and not much of a
threat,” Hahm said.
He added that mutual distrust between the United States and
South Korea affects Korean Americans.
“Korean Americans are being put in a very difficult
position because the United States and South Korea have been such
important allies and South Korean-Americans have benefited from
this tie. But now with the increasing fraying of the alliance …
Korean Americans are the first to feel this,” Hahm said.
Patrick Sharma, a graduate student in history, said panels such
as this one contribute to a more comprehensive discussion of
current events.
“This type of environment provides a deeper level of
discussion than you’d see in newspapers,” Sharma
said.