SEOUL -- In one of numerous books dealing with unification matters, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung refers to his meetings with leading German politicians in the early part of the 1990s. According to Kim's account, the German politicians told him, "You are fortunate because you can analyze all the problems that already occurred in Germany, and thus prepare yourselves against their recurring in Korea."
Kim and many Koreans have taken this counsel seriously and studied the German unification saga. There is obviously a "market" for this kind of information. Hardly a day passes without a seminar being held on some aspect of German unification.
Recently, I attended one such conference in Seoul. There, a renowned Korean scholar said, "For us Koreans, Germany can be the only model leading us to reunification." I have heard such statements before, and I always express my doubts about its accuracy. Even a superficial comparison of the conditions in Germany and surrounding nations 10 years ago with what is happening here today must lead to the conclusion that the circumstances -- political, economic and social -- are very different. German unification is not a blueprint that should simply be copied. On the other hand, it does offer food for thought and experiences that may be of value for Koreans on both sides of the DMZ.