4 ANALYSIS & FEATURE
Is war in Korea a success story?
For most of the past century, peace-loving Koreans manage to dissociate war and violence
By Chris Williams
In a time when Koreans
North and South will be remem-
bering the war that divides
them, perhaps it is a good mo-
ment to consider a positive as-
pect. From a statistical perspec-
tive, the “war” could be seen as
a success.
The North-South standoff is
often described as the only and
longest formal war of the U.N.
era. In part that is because sub-
sequent wars have been desig-
nated “conflicts”, “intervention”,
“assistance” and the like, which
can circumnavigate need to re-
spect the laws and ethics of
war. But there is a more signif-
icant aspect. The “war” in Korea
may be the longest, but it is also
arguably the least violent.
Quantifying wartime violence
is difficult, particularly in
Korea. In 2000, the official fig-
ure for U.S. deaths in Korea was
lowered from 54,246 to 36,940,
simply because initially there
had been a clerical error. But a
remarkable piece of netizenship
by Matthew Clarke, his online
“Historical Atlas of the
Twentieth Century”, provides a
range of well-sourced data.
According to National
Geographic magazine, since
1953 until 2003, 1,373 Koreans
have died in “border skirmish-
es.” This can be compared, for
example, with figures from the
United States about war in
Iraq between 2003 and 2005,
when around 50,500 died. And
for Northern Ireland during the
“troubles” of 1994-98, the New
York Times provides a figure of
3,235 deaths.
But these basic statistics do
not reveal the whole story. If we
add the time dimension and
make a calculation of war
deaths per year, the rate is
25,250 for Iraq, 135 for
Northern Ireland, and just 27
on the Korean peninsula since
1953. Twice as many people die
each week in traffic accidents in
Britain (around 55), than in one
year of “war” in Korea.
As part of a Quaker project
called “Preparing for Peace”, I
recently presented this perspec-
tive to a seminar at Britain’s
elite military academy,
Sandhurst. But turning the
data into a graph for a
PowerPoint presentation was
difficult. If the Irish time-relat-
ed deaths are a few millimetres
on the graph, the figures from
Iraq would project to the ceiling,
and the Korean statistic is not
visible. Whatever the margin of
error with these statistics, the
pattern is significant.
Of the 3,235 deaths in
Ireland, 1,865 were civilians.
The Iraq Body Count’s current
estimate for civilian deaths in
U.N. chief defends performance,
calls for international cooperation
NEW YORK (Yonhap News)
— The following are excerpts
from a Yonhap News Agency in-
terview with U.N. Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon.
Question: You will pass the
midpoint of your first term
at the end of this month.
How do you feel?
Answer: I have done my best
for the past two and a half
years. Some evaluate that I am
the hardest-working U.N. sec-
retary-general in history. It is
the first time in the 63-year his-
tory of the U.N. that the world
faces so many crises simultane-
ously. The biggest economic cri-
sis in a century erupted, adding
to climate change, food shortage
and an energy crisis. The world
faces a new crisis from a new in-
fluenza, apart from the
decades-old problems of disease
and poverty.
People are looking solely to the
U.N. because of these global
problems, but the international
community’s response is rela-
tively slow and the results are
slow. That naturally leads to as-
sessments of the U.N. and my-
self, as the person in charge of
the organization. I humbly ac-
cept any evaluation of me. But
those (global) problems can’t be
solved by one person. All the
member states need to cooper-
ate.
Chris Williams
● Chris Williams is based at
the Centre for International
Education and Research,
University of Birmingham,
United Kingdom, and has
also held posts at the
universities of London,
Bristol, Cambridge, Cairo
and the United Nations
University Leadership
Academy. His books include
“Leaders of integrity: ethics
and a code for global
leadership” (2001, UNU
Amman), and “Leadership
Accountability in a
Globalizing World”
(2006, Palgrave Macmillan,
London).
● He can be reached at
chrisunula@yahoo.com.
Iraq is between 91,466 and
99,861. Research released this
week by University of London
academics found that 46 percent
of people killed in U.S.-led air
raids in Iraq were women, 39
percent, children. Of those
killed by religious Iraqi factions,
murders by suicide bombers in-
clude 12 percent children and
16 percent female. Car bomb
deaths amount to 28 percent
women, and 21 percent chil-
dren.
On the Korean peninsula, it
seems that, since 1953, few
civilians have died from direct
military hostilities, and no chil-
dren. As far as can be ascer-
tained, the only known female
casualty was a South Korean
tourist who wandered into a
military zone from a border re-
sort, a year ago.
For the PfP project, I and
Korean scholar Yun-joo Lee,
asked, how have Korean peoples
“de-linked war from violence”
like this? Historically, Korea is
one of few nations that has al-
most never tried to expand its
Q: There are some nega-
tive views about your lead-
ership at the U.N.
A: The U.N. is a huge organi-
zation, composed of staff from
192 countries. It is different
from the homogeneous govern-
ment of a country. That is the
reason behind the criticism that
the U.N. is opaque and ineffi-
cient. I have pushed for reform
passionately for the past two
and a half years. There will be
resistance in the process. I think
it is a temporary pain. More
specifically, senior U.N. officials
now sign contracts on the basis
of annual performance reviews.
This is being done for first time
in six decades. The information
is made public on the Web site.
They are also required to dis-
close their financial assets. This
is something none of my prede-
cessors has done. It is a way to
enhance the U.N.’s transparen-
cy. U.N. member states support
my efforts to change the culture
of the organization. But there is
still a long way to go.
Q: A recent article in
“Foreign Policy” said you
have been trotting the globe
collecting honorary degrees
instead of showing global
leadership.
A: My immediate predecessor
Kofi Annan received more than
50 honorary doctorates. I have
power into another nation since
the kingdom of Koguryo, which
ended in A.D. 668, and
Gwanggaeto the Great’s excur-
sions into Northern China in
the 4th century. (His posthu-
mous name was “Broad
Expander of Territory.”) The cul-
ture of peace was perhaps
helped by the tradition that the
highest cadres in Korea were
the intellectuals, not military
leaders.
In recent times, Korea has
never invaded another country.
There are few nations that can
make that claim. Is geography
the reason? Peninsular and
Island communities know their
boundaries, and so any incur-
sion into another land must be
deliberate and requires consid-
erable preparation. But that did
not deter the Roman Empire,
Britain annexing a quarter of
the planet, or Japan’s expan-
sionism.
Perhaps the Korean tradition
comes from Chinese philosopher
Sun Tzu (B.C. 500). In “The art
of war” he concludes, “Those
received one in Asia, the U.S.,
Europe and South Korea. There
have been many offers, but I re-
jected them.
Q: Critics say you have
been too low-profile as U.N.
secretary-general, that you
only issue easily forgettable
statements. Do you agree?
A: The criticism overlooks the
characteristics of the U.N.,
which is not a government.
Countries involved in regional
conflicts have very different
backgrounds and understand-
ings. There are many cases in
which the U.N. can’t intervene.
But the general thinking is that
the U.N. can. I make state-
ments that are as strong as pos-
sible on issues that have to do
with universal values, including
human rights and sovereignty.
Regional conflicts are difficult
because the positions of rele-
vant nations have to be taken
into consideration.
It is true that it is more diffi-
cult to intervene when the P-5
(the five permanent members of
the U.N. Security Council) are
involved. Critics say I did not
handle the Sri Lankan issue
properly, but I actually issued
considerably strong statements
22 times. Some media reports
said I kept my head low on the
Gaza issue. It is not true. As you
know, I strongly called for Israel
skilled in war subdue the ene-
my’s army without battle. They
conquer by strategy. The
supreme act of war is to win
without fighting.” President Lee
Myung-bak’s policy of “persis-
tent patience” with the PDRK
seems to reflect this tradition.
But the military folk at
Sandhurst did not enjoy the ob-
vious joke. In the west we cur-
rently seem to deploy a similar
ethic. But our current aim
seems to be to “fight without
winning”.
Violence and force are not
synonymous. Paradoxically, in-
creased force can sometimes
lessen violence. A large number
of well-trained well-equipped
police are more likely to restore
order to a drunken brawl in a
bar, than a local officer who
thinks he can punch better than
the drunks. Gandhi’s strategy of
Hindu non-violent “ahimsa”, to
oust the British Empire, cer-
tainly deployed force, both polit-
ical and human.
The originator of PfP, Brian
Walker, was himself an exem-
to declare a unilateral ceasefire,
which was accepted and stopped
the gunfire. People write such
articles because the Gaza issue
has not been completely re-
solved yet.
I also visited Myanmar when
it was hit by a cyclone (in May
last year). I persuaded the lead-
ers of the military junta to ac-
cept food aid, thus saving the
lives of half a million people.
Even North Korea criticized me.
North Korea issued a statement
condemning my comments
against its nuclear program and
it lodged formal complaints
through its ambassador to the
U.N. and diplomatic documents.
I responded by making clear
that I expressed my position
over North Korea’s threat to in-
ternational security as the U.N.
secretary general, not a South
Korean.
Q: Some say Westerners
lack an understanding of
Asian-style leadership, and
that recent criticism of your
performance is an attempt
to block your re-election.
A: I am the second Asian to
serve as the U.N. secretary gen-
eral following U Thant 36 years
ago. There was no “Asia Rising”
at the time. Furthermore, U
Thant was educated in the
West. This is the first time that
the U.N. has a leader with gen-
plar of distinction between force
and violence, when he was
Director of the British humani-
tarian charity Oxfam. In 1979,
he broke the international
blockade of aid to Cambodia,
and hired a Chinese barge to de-
liver rice. The British govern-
ment then threatened to remove
Oxfam’s charitable status. As a
Quaker, Brian Walker would
not have lifted a gun, even to de-
fend himself. But through the
force of integrity and good logis-
tics, he defeated that most per-
nicious weapon of mass destruc-
tion, starvation.
Despite the long tradition of
peace in Korea, the Korean
identity is now immediately
linked with war. If nothing else,
this does not assist investment
and tourism. How is this image
constructed? One reason is that
the estimates of around 3 mil-
lion deaths associated with the
so-called “Korean War”, relate
to the 3 year period when a war
was being fought out between
Cold War enemies on Korean
soil, not the 55 years since. But
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sits at his desk at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.
uine Asian values. I have not in-
sisted on Asian ways. But there
is an atmosphere of respect for
Asian values. I think there is a
gap within that.
(On the re-election issue) It’s
difficult for me to address it per-
sonally. It is a matter to be de-
cided by member states. It is dif-
ferent from a politician deciding
to run in an election. It is not a
matter I can talk about.
Q: What were the most re-
warding and discouraging
moments for you?
A: An international confer-
ence on climate change was
MONDAY JUNE 29, 2009
the two distinct periods of
Korean history are often con-
flated.
This identity then shapes me-
dia priorities. It is interesting to
note another regional news sto-
ry, which was released under
the smoke screen of the North
Korean rocket launch and at-
tracted little attention. France
finally agreed to pay compensa-
tion to victims of nuclear tests
in French Polynesia. Until now,
health impacts have been de-
nied, most strongly by (then)
President Chirac during the
last tests in 1996. This news
item relates to testing actual
nuclear weapons, an acceptance
of harm to human populations
which may be ongoing, and
there was a political attempt to
cover-up what happened. Yet
this was seen as less important
than a story of a non-nuclear
test that seemingly did no
harm.
The symbolic “Doomsday
Clock” was created in 1947, by
the directors of the Bulletin of
Atomic Scientists at the
held in Bali in December 2007.
Upon receiving reports that ne-
gotiations almost ruptured, I
rushed there and appealed,
and I persuaded the global
powers. As a result, a road map
was produced and climate
change has become a top global
agenda.
I was angry rather than dis-
couraged when I stood in front
of a burning U.N. building (in
Gaza early this year) and told
the world that something like
this should never happen again.
Q: North Korea continues
to ignore the high-toned
University of Chicago. It shows
the “minutes to midnight” be-
fore “catastrophic destruction”.
During the recent North Korean
tests, there was discussion
about moving the clock hands
forward. But perhaps in the fu-
ture, for every year that the
Korean peninsular manages to
avoid significant violence, the
clock’s hands should be moved
one minute back. Any accurate
scientific gauge should measure
increases and decreases in what
in measures, and a “clock” is a
good way to maintain an aware-
ness of the importance of the
time dimension when assessing
threats.
For a century, the peoples of a
peace-loving peninsula have
been victims of a history that
was not of their making. Yet for
most of that period they have
managed to “delink war and vi-
olence”. Why does the world not
recognize that success? Even
my elementary language skills
can find the words that
Koreans deserve to hear —
chuk ha hi yo.
Yonhap News
U.N. Security Council reso-
lution against its nuclear
test. Questions may arise
again about the effective-
ness of the Security Council.
A: It is a matter of great con-
cern that North Korea is taking
a defiant attitude despite the
adoption of the U.N. Security
Council resolution. The U.N. is
making its own efforts (to help
break the deadlock) as North
Korea keeps the door to dia-
logue closed. But it is likely to
take some time. The inter-
Korean issue should be handled
objectively with patience and
persistence.