This study made a consideration and an analysis on political and historical events and issues focusing on the quotations from Kim Dae-jung. The purpose is to evaluate Kim Dae-jung’s peace thought and the Korean peninsula unification movement from an...
This study made a consideration and an analysis on political and historical events and issues focusing on the quotations from Kim Dae-jung. The purpose is to evaluate Kim Dae-jung’s peace thought and the Korean peninsula unification movement from an objective and critical point of view on a time-series level. Kim Dae-jung left behind lots of accomplishments in our political history such as the six-term lawmaker, the 15th president, and the Nobel Peace Prize winner. What made him a pacifist included the trust relationships with family and colleagues, the faith dubbed Catholicism, and the firm belief in history and democracy. Kim Dae-jung’s peace thought tried to proceed with making harmony with abolishing the regional discrimination in the aspect of practice. He paved the way for equality at the institutional level in order to remove the class discrimination, the discrimination against workers, and the gender discrimination & gender inequality in our society. In terms of the unification movement, Kim Dae-jung made a Korean-style unification model based on his steadfast political beliefs. The three-step unification theory and the inter-Korean alliance initiative changed the emphasis point from unification to peace while highlighting the progressive reconciliation & cooperation exchange stage rather than rapid unification. As a result, it was reflected in the Inter-Korean Summit and the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration in 2000, thereby having become the talking point of a peaceful unification discourse on the Korean Peninsula.