German President Joachim Gauck urged Korea last week not to relinquish hope for national unification, providing hindsight based on Germany’s transformative developments since the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago.

Gauck arrived in Seoul on Oct. 11 for his first presidential trip to East Asia to mark the 25th anniversary of German reunification. He held meetings with Korean diplomatic, political, business and civil communities during his four-day stay.

Elected as the 11th head of state in March 2012, Gauck, 75, was formerly a Lutheran pastor and civil rights activist in communist East Germany.

After the two states were reunited, he served as the first Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records at the Bundestag from 1990 to 2000, and a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism along with former Czech President Vaclav Havel and other statesmen.

Many consider Gauck to have played a constructive role in addressing the baggage of the communist era and bridging the national schism. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, also from East Germany, described him as a “tireless advocate of freedom, democracy and justice.”

“I expressed my hope for Korea’s unification and gratitude toward your miraculous development at the National Assembly yesterday,” Gauck said in a speech at a reception at Seoul Grand Hyatt on Tuesday.

“Stark differences exist in the lives of North Koreans and South Koreans, but there is nothing more worthwhile than ending the misery and lethargy of northern neighbors.”

Gauck underscored during his visit that Korea’s 70 years of division may one day be remembered as an “episode.” Toward this end, Germany and the European Union will continue mounting constructive criticism on the last remaining totalitarian regime, he added, emphasizing that “trust and communication hold the key toward peaceful change and understanding.”

“No matter how far the goal may appear, we should always keep in mind our objective,” he said Monday. “Korea and its allies should provide alternatives to the North by strenuously working out contingencies that would induce policy changes there.”

Touching on the significance of this year, Guack said that neighboring countries should consider each other’s “legitimate security interests,” also suggesting a joint history textbook commission between Korea and Japan.

“Germany realized how important honest historic recognition was for genuine reconciliation,” he said at the National Assembly. “Reconciliatory gestures require much time and energy, but they will open up new avenues of understanding.” 

Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa said at the reception on Tuesday: “Korea is envious of Germany’s unification and achievements. Germany has assumed global leadership in various international affairs, as amply demonstrated in its handling of the recent Middle Eastern and North African refugee crisis.”

Chung added that Korea, as the world’s last divided country, is deriving many lessons from Germany.

Gauck received an honorary citizenship from the Seoul city government on Tuesday. At City Hall, he said that more than 60 cities across East and West Germany expanded contact during the Cold War, which led to the unification.

Expounding the success of German small and medium-sized enterprises at a conference organized by the Korea Federation of SMEs on Monday, he said, “Our ‘social partnership’ treats workers as human beings. This has enabled sharing wealth and prosperity with even the lowest income strata.”

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)