Can We Move Beyond Conflict?

In a society, conflicts are inevitable. Peace cannot enter easily in societies where war, violence and trauma are evident. However, there are some conflicts which can be solved or managed while some are not. The author of the article, Roland Bleiker, focused on the situation of Korea. As we all know, Korean peninsula is divided between a communist north and a capitalist south because of the influence of the countries that colonized it such as America, the Soviet Union, China and Japan. Based on Bleiker’s description, I clearly saw the difference between the North and South Korea. For me, their situation is similar to the Prince and the Pauper. The South Korea is the prince because it is more successful and its economy is in full bloom. On the contrary, the North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world and isolated. Unlike in the South, violence in North Korea reigns. And it is more capable of doing mass destructions. As a matter of fact, the people who live there are very eager to push through their nuclear program. However, this has yet to be approved because a lot of countries are not in favor of it, since they know that nuclear power is dangerous for everyone.

I suddenly remember some situations that we experience in our everyday interaction with our friends and family. There are times wherein we develop “petite conflicts” with them due to misunderstandings. But whenever one of us tries to talk to the other and say sorry, we become “friends” again. However, this kind of approach is not effective for North Korea. It becomes even more aggressive when “confrontational approach” is being used to negotiate with them. Several South Korean Presidents have had developed some plans and agenda to negotiate with, engage and encourage North Korea to end their nuclear power ambitions. It somehow worked because it reduced conflict in a way. Because of this, North Korea is often seen as “evil”.

After reading the article, I realized that pen (or rather engagement for this case) is mightier than the sword. War is not the answer to solve any conflict. In order to move beyond conflict, I learned that each party involved should learn how to look at its roots to be able to deal with it. Instead of dwelling on the past, why not try to move forward and look beyond, right? Although they take time, I think that we have to learn to forgive and forget in order to create and promote peace. I honestly believe that by doing so, they can definitely make us live with no regret, feel happy and be peaceful in the long run.