Freedom is not free

Seventy years ago today, South and North Korea stopped exchanging gunfire on the battlegrounds along the border. On July 27, 1953, the United Nations forces on the one side and the North Korean and Chinese forces on the other side signed the Armistice at Panmunjom. Since then, the two Koreas have maintained a hostile — and unstable — peninsular cohabitation. The two countries sometimes hammered out a joint statement for peace, held a summit, and raised hope for reunification of the divided land. But the deaths of 4,268 South Korean soldiers and 92 U.S. soldiers in the clashes between South and North Korea since, including the Cheonan sinking in 2010 from North Korea’s torpedo attack, once again remind us of the axiom “Freedom is not free.”

The North’s escalation of nuclear and missile threats is worsening inter-Korean ties. Squeezed between the United States and China, the Korean Peninsula is sharply divided between the South Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance and the North Korea-China-Russia alliance. In the meantime, the two Koreas are being further distanced from one another.

Under such volatile circumstances, South Korea must strengthen its crisis management abilities. It must first augment the seven-decade alliance with Uncle Sam to reinforce national security. No country can survive on its own. South Korea must intensify its cooperation with Europe and Indo-Pacific countries who share free democracy and market principle with us amid the turbulent international order.

A recent survey by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council under the president shows that 60.8 percent of people aged between 13 and 18 were aware of the signing of the armistice. There is no future for people who forgot the past. The government must remind people that the armistice represents just a ceasefire, not permanent peace. The government must also take care of the fallen soldiers and their bereaved families until the end.

Otherwise, no one would step forward to sacrifice their lives to defend the country. Fortunately, the government brought home the remains of seven Korean soldiers during the war from America. We urge the government to do more.

At the same time, the government must work to ease tensions on the peninsula. We need sticks like sanctions and pressure on North Korea, but the day to use carrots certainly comes. Given the obvious fluctuations in the inter-Korean and U.S.-North relations, the government must help the Ministry of Unification play its due role of facilitating inter-Korean dialogue, exchanges and cooperation to prepare for the day of reunification rather than simply brushing it off as an organization dedicated to helping the impoverished neighbor across the border. Opportunity only comes to those who are prepared to grab it.