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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
Complicating things even further is that the people of the North will be entitled to vote and other benefits. It would play havoc on South Korean politics.
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This is a really interesting point.
It is one thing to ask South Koreans to deal with the financial obligations of building infrastructure in N. Korea (I doubt there's much up there worth re-building) and deal with the flood of refugees, but to also ask them to risk having a democracy?
I don't think that one of the Kim's would be elected President, but North Korea would be to a reunified Korea what the former Confederacy is to the USA. 150 years later and political divides in the US still run along the border of the CSA and the USA.
As much as we westerners grumble about Quebec's influence in Canada, North Korea would have a much larger influence in a reunified Korea. And while Quebecers march to the beat of their own drummer, we share a common history, economy and values. Quebecers certainly haven't been indoctrinated to resent, distrust and hate the rest of Canada.
Quebec v. the rest of Canada or the South v. the rest of the USA might be the best case 22nd century outcome for a reunified Korea. And that would be after a century of less optimal politics.