Jake Yoon spent three years of his life as a marine in the South Korean army, a job that often entailed investigating potential threats from North Korea.
While he came to know that many of those threats along the coastline were idle, the tension between the two countries was still quite real.
The strained relations between North and South Korea eased up a little in recent days when the leaders of the two countries met for the first time in more than a decade. Not only did North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands, they also agreed to have more talks about pursuing peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
It was a surprising development for Yoon, who moved to Corner Brook with his wife, Caroline Mauger, three years ago.
“When they meet, they always only talk about the economy or travel — minor stuff,” said Yoon, who is studying to be an auto mechanic. “They chat and try to connect with each other.
“After the meeting was done, I was shocked. A lot of good stuff they talked about.”
The tension between the countries had been particularly concerning in the last year with North Korea ramping up its nuclear tests and missile firing capabilities in a threatening fashion.
“Only last year, it was pretty serious and almost like we were going to have a war,” said Yoon.
The meeting and promise to have more peace talks is just the start, but Yoon welcomes the positive developments. He hopes they continue to be productive towards reining in the political conflict that has plagued the region since the end of the Korean War in the early 1950s.
He said if this process the two countries are embarking on goes off the rails, it could make things even worse than they had been before this development. The key to successful talks will be each side building up its mutual respect of and trust in each other and keeping self-interests out of the negotiations.
“There are a lot of steps going on there,” Yoon said. “The governments have to figure it out, step by step, really well what is best.”
