Comprehensive Lesson on Global Reunifications

1. Lesson on Reunification Debra Troxell & Leslie Martin West Forsyth High School Clemmons, NC

5. Goals • Students will become more familiar with German, Hong Kong, and United States reunification • Students will predict a possible reunification plan for North Korea and South Korea • Students will gain knowledge of the current issues involved in a possible reunification of North Korea and South Korea

6. Lesson Approach - Overview • Phase 1: Evaluate examples of reunification • Divide class into 3 groups • German Reunification: Reunification by Absorption • The Handover of Hong Kong: “one country, many systems” • United States Reconstruction: Reunification by Conquest • Phase 2: Apply lessons of reunification to North and South Korea • Jigsaw the groups • Create 3 new groups with students from each of the 3 previous groups

7. Introduction • Provide the students with a short history of their assigned geographic area. • With less advanced students: before the lesson begins, make an analogy between reunification and getting married.(Who is in control of the checkbook? How do we handle big purchases? How many children? Can he keep the big, ugly, brown recliner?) Break down the issues – it is not just making 2 countries one.

8. Reunification Examples • Distribute copies of the reunification articles and reading guide • This can be homework or class work • Allow students to discuss the answers in their small groups.

9. Issues involved with Reunifications • Germany: • “But much remains to be done. For the most part, the societal and political elites in the east have remained western "imports," often leading to resentment and feeling of inferiority among large segments of the population. "Second-class citizen" remains a term often used in the ongoing debate over the true extent of the success of German unification. … • “But the German government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl seriously misjudged the economic implications of unification, not only initially but well into 1992. The government's decision to rule out tax increases to finance unification..” • “One problem was that unification took place so quickly. It was next to impossible to make a reliable estimate of the financial transfers needed by the new eastern states before the end of October 1990, by which time the legal framework of unification had already been established. “ • Together again: the fiscal cost of German unity. (economic impact of reunification of East and west Germany)

10. Issues involved with Reunifications Hong Kong “China's Reasons for a Hands-Off Policy: It should be borne in mind that China's policy toward Hong Kong is dictated by self-interest: Beijing recognizes the value of Hong Kong to its goal of economic development. China could have taken over at any time after 1949, when the People's Republic was proclaimed, but it chose not to do so.” The Post-1997 Hong Kong Press: How Free and for How Long? (excerpt) “A new flag flies. The army remains out of sight. Yet, is this still the Hong Kong we knew and loved? “ “Any changes related to the handover actually began a few years ago, as people and businesses began to censor themselves to fall more closely in line with Beijing's view of the world. “ Hong Kong, one year later

11. Jigsaw • Rearrange the groups to create 3 new groups, so that each group contains a few members from Germany, Hong Kong, and the United States

12. South Korea and North Korea • Provide the students with a short history of Korea • Review the types of reunification • Reunification by absorption • Reunification by conquest • “One country, two systems”

13. South Korea and North Korea • Distribute the discussion guide for Planning Korean Reunification • Students should arrive at a consensus on the best plan for reunification • Distribute the article on Korean unification OR Distribute before planning

14. Issues involved with Reunifications Korea “The fall of the Soviet Union, German reunification, and China's embrace of capitalism have brought about neither the collapse of North Korea nor the end of the confrontation on the Korean peninsula, contrary to the predictions of many analysts who presumed that North Korea would not long survive the loss of its Communist allies without being forced to engage in economic and political reform. Yet almost a decade after the end of the cold war, North Korea has defied the ‘natural laws’” North Korea's Challenge of Regime Survival: Internal Problems and Implications for the Future. “In South Korea, pronouncements about unification have been explicit and detailed. In 1991, according to that year's July 4 Washington Post, then-President Roh Tae Woo declared, ‘Our people do not want an accelerated reunification.’” Hastening Korean reunification.

15. Discuss the following before you develop a plan for Korean reunification • What are the advantages of reunification • South Korea • North Korea • What are the disadvantages of reunification • South Korea • North Korea • Should the plan for reunification proceed on a set timeframe or wait for a signifying event. • What appears to be the desire for unification • South Korea • North Korea • Which model of reunification would work the best? Why? What modifications would you make?

16. More Lesson Plans • United Nations Commission on Population: Policy negotiation • Students are assigned roles as experts • Read articles • Negotiate policy • Division of Yugoslavia • Students are assigned roles as experts • Negotiate terms of negotiation • Analyze maps on language, religion, ethnicity, etc • Draw boundary lines of new countries