Under the same Korean Sunshine
- Pablo Díaz Gayoso
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
The war between the two Koreas is one of the oldest open conflicts in the world. The border determined after the Armistice Agreement in 1953 led to the cooling of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the second half of the 20th century. However, the fact that the conflict is still open de jure does not mean that there have not been repeated attempts at a diplomatic rapprochement of the peninsula. The Sunshine Policy (햇볕정책, in Korean) is the nickname given to the attempts made by the various center-left South Korean governments to build bridges with their northern neighbor.
Relations with Kim's Korea is the most polarizing factor within South Korea. Conservatives have traditionally opted for the hard line of trying to stifle the regime through sanctions and international isolation. On the other hand the center-left liberals since President Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003) have tried to create an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence.
The origin of the name (Sunshine Policy) refers to a speech delivered by Kim Dae-jung after his election, in which he referred to “The North Wind and the Sun,” one of Aesop's fables. In the story, the north wind and the sun argue over which of the two is stronger. They challenge each other to see who can get a passing traveler to take off his cloak. The wind tries with all its might to blow the cloak away, but the cold wind makes the traveler cling even tighter to his cloak. The sun, however, has a different effect: its scorching rays make the traveler sweat, who, unable to continue walking in the sweltering heat, decides to take off his cloak. The meaning can therefore be interpreted as the triumph of persuasion over force, of dialogue over threat.
This policy shift in the 1990s was perceived by North Koreans as an attempt by the South to absorb the North, to bring about regime change. The reason for thinking so was that the word “reunification” was mentioned in the initial document. However, the South Korean intentions were less ambitious as they sought to establish minimum principles. In return for pledging not to attempt to annex the North, they would not accept any military provocation from the North and consequently pledged to seek peace and mutual collaboration. The South also pledged to separate politics from economics in order to facilitate the successful conclusion of the negotiations.
However, the arrival of the Bush Administration to power greatly hindered the progress that the Sunshine Policy had achieved after years of implementation (reunification of families, humanitarian aid, economic exchange, etc.). Bush's association of North Korea, Iran and Iraq as the Axis of Evil strained US-South Korean relations. Washington's return to a hard line with states it considered rogue states clashed head-on with the grand strategy pursued by the Korean leadership.
Kim Dae-jung's successor, Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008) continued the Sunshine Policy. Even though relations were at a more complicated point than for his predecessor, as North Korea was developing the atomic bomb and the Bush Administration was pushing against it. Nevertheless, humanitarian aid continued to flow, as did economic cooperation. The Kaesŏng Industrial Zone, located in the North and an hour's drive from Seoul, was built. It consists of a mixed-management industrial complex that symbolizes attempts to build a new relationship between the Koreas. While in its 20-year history it has served more as a thermometer to measure the misunderstandings between the two states. During the crises of 2013 and 2016 the complex was temporarily closed and despite continuous reopenings, it was finally destroyed by explosives in 2020 by North Korea along with the Inter-Korean Liaison Office.
During the period from 2007 to 2017 the conservatives returned to power. Their arrival meant a radical change in their policy towards the North and they returned to the hard line of sanctions and confrontation. This line was only followed by the conservative movement as the return of the liberals under the leadership of Moon Jae-in meant a return to the Sunshine Policy in 2017.
Under Moon's presidency, the first meeting in history between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader was achieved which took place in Singapore in 2018. The summit between Trump and Kim Jong-Un was intended to address the denuclearization of North Korea in exchange for a partial lifting of sanctions. This ultimately did not happen but it set a precedent for a possible path to detente. Another of Moon's achievements was the reestablishment of the principles agreed upon by the first president who went for the Sunshine Policy. The Panmunjom Declaration (2018) sought to promote the common development and prosperity of the peninsula, the elimination of military tensions, with special mention of denuclearization, and the establishment of peaceful coexistence.
With all the above, as mentioned before, the talks and pacts did not come to fruition and in 2020 North Korea blew up the Office symbolizing the union between peoples. On the other hand, the South Korean people elected in the 2022 elections Yoon Suk-yeol, a politician betting on the hyper-hard line with North Korea. Among his proposals was for the United States to host tactical nuclear weapons in Korea, an offer the US rejected.
As we have seen, South Korea has failed to establish a coherent position on what kind of relations it should have with its northern neighbor. The radical changes that occur with each change of government make it difficult to build a reliable international position in the medium to long term. Despite its controversial history, the Sunshine Policy remains a relevant issue in inter-Korean relations and has influenced the views of South Korean politicians towards the Kim dynasty's Korea.
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