Unification group refines its focus

A civic group for preparing reunification, the 1090 Peace and Unification Movement, held a year-end event on Thursday at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, to look back on its activities this year that focused on raising public awareness of the importance of unification.

In opening remarks, President Lee Bae-yong of the Academy of Korean Studies said the pain caused by the division of the peninsula should not be passed onto the next generation in a call to 1090 group members to continue their work. The “1090” in the name of the group refers to its ambition to draw people aged 10 to 90 to participate in the movement for reunification.

During the event, which was attended by nearly 100 group members, the 1090 movement assessed its projects this year and their objective of giving the public glimpses into the way of life in the Communist country.
The event was attended by two of the five people who were born on the SS Meredith Victory, a U.S. Navy ship that evacuated over 14,000 refugees from the port city of Hungnam in North Korea in December 1950. For the next year, the group adopted a resolution to focus on nurturing humanitarian aid projects to the North and developing joint agricultural programs.

Bae Sang-jong, a senior official of the Korea Pork Producers Association, said his interest group would look for ways to aid North Korean livestock farmers by sharing know-how in farming techniques and feedstocks.

“While it is important to assist the North on a large scale, as was done by the late Chung Ju-young, former chairman of Hyundai Group in 1998, by sending 1,001 cows to the North, it is equally important to give them knowledge on how to raise livestock properly with the right techniques and skills,” said Bae at the event.

Kim Ik-whan, who owns a ranch in Gimpo, Gyeonggi, said the South could help the North grow its dairy and livestock industry by utilizing its mountainous landscape.

BY AN JUNG-HO [kang.jinkyu@joongang.co.kr]