Koreans of my generation grew up singing “Our Wish is Unification.” I remember often singing the song during my schooldays, but the most memorable moment for the tune came far later: when the late leaders Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il sang the song together in Pyongyang after their historic summit in June 2000.

It was emotional for me and other members of the Blue House press corps there to see the two leaders singing the song, cheerfully and hand in hand. The scene definitely symbolized the success of their talks, which raised hopes that we could achieve unification, which is ― as the song’s lyrics say ― our wish even in dreams.

But the excitement and anticipation from the landmark event are long gone, and as things stand, we are now not an inch closer to unification than we were before the first-ever inter-Korean summit 15 years ago. This reminds us of the cold reality that unification is very hard to come by.

This notwithstanding, all Koreans are tasked with working to achieve unity. Political leaders are supposed to lead these efforts, and thus President Park Geun-hye is right in making unification a top priority of her presidency.

The problem is that Park seems to look far beyond the reality and regards unification as another pet project of her administration ― something which she can achieve within her five-year tenure, which ends in less than three years.

Park first made public her love for unification when she said early last year that reuniting Korea would bring about a “bonanza.” Many who heard her didn’t like the Korean word Park used ― “daebak” ― since it is not considered a decent word expected from a president.

More disagreeable was describing unification only as a bonanza. One could not help but wonder whether she had ever thought about the costs of unification, which would vary greatly depending on how unification would come: Through a negotiated settlement or a sudden change ― a euphemism for collapse ― of the North Korean regime or society.

Right or wrong, Park’s description of unification as a bonanza opened the floodgates to grand talk of unification. Emulating her predecessors who used their visits to Germany to offer an olive branch toward Pyongyang, Park threw out the so-called “Dresden Declaration” in March last year.

Then came the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation. Many are still confused over what differentiates the new committee from the National Unification Advisory Council, which has been in place since 1981 to advise the president on unification.

Further echoing the president’s increasing obsession with unification, related ministries made a joint report early this year, putting out a list of plans and proposals ― all sounded good, but lacked grounds for fulfillment.

The plans call for, among other things, a trial run of a railway linking Seoul to North Korean cities Pyongyang and Sinuiju, joint commemoration of the 70th anniversary of independence from Japanese colonial rule and an exchange of cultural centers in Seoul and Pyongyang.

Park’s faithful lieutenants said that these projects, along with a plan to enact a “law to lay the foundation for the peaceful reunification of the peninsula,” would help the Seoul government make 2015 “the first year for opening a unified era on the Korean Peninsula.”

Perhaps you don’t need more to see that now unification is everywhere in the administration. Unfortunately, many people have not been convinced, not least Kim Jong-un.

Proverbially speaking, it takes two hands to clap: All these plans and proposals cannot proceed without bringing the North Korean side to the negotiating table, for which Park needs to reach out with concrete, viable and realistic proposals that can win over the leadership in Pyongyang.

More to the point, one of the first things the Park administration should do is settle the May 24, 2010, sanctions imposed on the North in the wake of the attack on the Cheonan corvette and the 2008 shutdown of tours to the Mount Geumgangsan resort ― the two stumbling blocks to revival of economic and civilian exchange programs.

Perhaps Park could take a lesson from her father in finding a breakthrough to the stalemate with the Pyongyang government. The late President Park Chung-hee exchanged secret envoys with Kim Il-sung, which led to the signing of the July 4 Joint Communique in 1972, the first-ever government-level agreement between the two Koreas.

In the meantime, given past experiences ― from the Park Chung-hee government to the most recent Lee Myung-bak administration ― one cannot rule out the possibility that such a secret contact is actually underway at this time of writing. If Park speaks so confidently about unification because of expectations on or progress of such closed-door contacts, the news would come as some relief.

But the president should not forget that if a part of any major agreement ― from the 1972 joint communique and the 1991 Basic Agreement to the 2000 summit and the 2007 summit between Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong-il ― had been implemented, relations between the two Koreas would not be as they are now.

All this tells us to be patient and promote reconciliation and improve relations with the North step-by-step, instead of chanting about unification like a political slogan. If not, our wish for unification will remain a daydream.
By Chon Shi-yong 

Chon Shi-yong is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Herald. He can be reached at sychon@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed.