German Ambassador to Korea Georg Wilfried Schmidt and South Korea’s Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young exchange greetings at the Day of German Unity event at Raum in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Thursday. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald) Germany and Korea expressed hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula at an event held in Seoul last week ahead of the Day of German Unity, which is celebrated on Thursday.
“Korea lives with the pain of division. We as Germans know this feeling. This creates a special bond between our two countries,” German Ambassador to Korea Georg Wilfried Schmidt said in his remarks at the event on Saturday.
“In Germany, we have worked hard to live in peace together despite our differences. (The late former West German Chancellor) Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik was to not be bullied but also to stretch out the hand for peace.”
Ostpolitik was a policy that aimed both to stand firm against pressure and to reach out to East Germany and Eastern European countries to promote peace.
“I am hoping that one day all Koreans will enjoy the fruits of peace and thus overcome their division,” said Schmidt.
South Korea’s Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young also reflected on lessons from German reunification, stressing the importance of consistent policy and long-term cooperation.
“German unification happened without a Ministry of Unification, and Korea has a Ministry of Unification, but our unification has yet to come.”
“We all know what the issue is,” Chung said without elaborating.
“What I envy about Germany is its consistent policy,” the minister said, praising the steps taken by Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the 1980s to continue pursuing Ostpolitik, ultimately achieving Germany’s reunification in 1990.
German Ambassador to Korea Georg Wilfried Schmidt speaks at Day of German Unity at Raum in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Thursday. (Sanjay Kumar/ The Korea Herald)
The minister praised President Lee Jae Myung’s North Korea policy, highlighting three principles: acknowledging and respecting the North Korean regime, not pursuing unification by absorption and avoiding hostile acts, with the aim of transforming hostile relations into peaceful cooperation.
Criticizing former governments is unusual at diplomatic receptions, but Chung highlighted Korea’s democratic resilience while criticizing past conservative governments for disrupting inter-Korean cooperation.
Chung claimed that past conservative governments — like those of Presidents Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk Yeol — undermined inter-Korean cooperation, leaving relations at the level of two hostile states.
“I ask you to share the national wisdom and experience of Germany, a country that has already shaped the history of education,” he said, urging Germany to continue its cooperation with Korea.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com