The Impact of Leadership Styles on the Prospects for Unification of North and South Korea
Keywords:
Korean Unification, Leadership Conflict, Political Will, Sangsaeng Ethics, Conflict Archives, Peace and Conflict Resolution
Abstract
The diplomatic security relations between North and South Korea have been frozen in prolonged stalemate since the 1953 armistice. While structural economic disparities and external geopolitical alignments determine the contours of the conflict, the political will and leadership styles of their respective executive elites pose major obstacles to top-down reconciliation. This paper examines how the concentration of structural power within each country interacts with individual psychological traits to narrow or broaden the prospect for the “One Korea” agenda. By integrating Personalism Theory with Leadership Trait Analysis, this paper systematically analyzes the underlying behaviours of top executive decision-makers. It analyzes Kim Jong Un’s centralized, security-maximizing autocracy alongside South Korea’s institutionalized but internally polarized democratic executive, highlighting martial law and impeachment crises of late 2024. Furthermore, it examines historical comparative unification frameworks, particularly Germany, Vietnam, and Yemen, and combines macro-level cost-benefit data and conflict archive methodology to critique traditional top-down integration strategies. Finally, this study proposes an alternative educational and ethical framework based on Sangsaeng (living together) and critical peace education to soften the boundaries between nations from below.
References
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Patton, D. (1993). Social coalitions, political strategies, and German unification, 1990–1993. West European Politics, 16(4), 470–491. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402389308424987.
Richey, M., Ohn, D., Kim, J., & Park, J. (2018). Be careful what you wish for: Security challenges facing the Korean Peninsula during a potential unification process. Asian Security, 14(3), 263–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2017.1414043.
Samardjian, S. (2023). From reunification to normalization: Twenty years of Vietnam, 1975-1995. The UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Journal of History, 3(1), 77–93. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5rn04113.
Seow, J. Y. (2013). Pride of the people: South Korea and Korean nationalism. ISIS Focus, (8), 4–8.
Song, W., & Wright, J. (2018). Personalism and foreign policy. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 62(4), 110–135.
Thayer, C. A. (1976). North Vietnam in 1975: National liberation, reunification and socialist construction. Asian Survey, 16(1), 14–22. [suspicious link removed].
Vogel, L., & Best, H. (2016). Political elites in transition and unification: German lessons for the Korean Peninsula? Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung, 41(3), 336–367.
Wada, H. (2014). The Korean War: An international history. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Xia, L. (2010). Regional factors in Yemen's integration reunification. Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia), 4(4), 102–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/19370679.2010.12023170.
Ziblatt, D. (2006). Structuring the state: The formation of Italy and Germany and the puzzle of federalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Ali-Piri. (2001). A study on Korean Peninsula peaceful unification process (Master's thesis). KDI School of Public Policy and Management.
Anderson, N. D., & Press, D. G. (2024). Lost Seoul? Assessing Pyongyang's other deterrent. The Scholar, 9–27.
Balcells, L., & Sullivan, C. M. (2018). New findings from conflict archives: An introduction and methodological framework. Journal of Peace Research, 55(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343317750217.
Biggley, J., et al. (2014). Civics in action: In your communities across Canada and globally. Toronto: Nelson Education.
Bishara, A. (2023). Neoliberal ethnonationalism and the containment of labor. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 55(4), 634–640.
Cho, H.-B., Moon, W.-S., Song, Y. H., & Hwang, S.-J. (2016). The costs and benefits of unification on the Korean Peninsula: in the political, social, and economic areas (Study Series 16-03). Korea Institute for National Unification.
Corson, M. W., & Minghi, J. V. (1994). Reunification of partitioned nation-states: Theory versus reality in Vietnam and Germany. Journal of Geography, 93(3), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221349408979707.
Dacholfany, M. I., Saifi, I. L., & Sulaiman, S. (2025). Connectivism and constructivism approaches to social learning theory. International Journal of Education, Vocational and Social Science, 3(1), 1–19.
Dingli, S. (2012). The politics of (re) unification: Lessons from Yemen for Cyprus. The Cyprus Review, 24(2), 29–45.
Donnell, J. C. (1980). Vietnam 1979: Year of calamity. Asian Survey, 20(1), 19–32.https://doi.org/10.2307/2644004.
Fraser, N. (2009). Scales of justice: Reimagining political space in a globalizing world. New York: Columbia University Press.
Foucault, M. (1982). The subject and power. Critical Inquiry, 8(4), 777–795.
Galtung, J. (1976). Three approaches to peace: Peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. Copenhagen: Christian Ejlers.
Gavriely-Nuri, D. (2014). The smiles of war: Peace in the service of military violence. Tel Aviv: Resling.
Goh, D. (2025). Reimagining citizenship in unification education: The discursive formation of naturalized citizens in a divided Korea (Doctoral dissertation). The University of British Columbia.
Gordon, O., et al. (2006). Civics now. Toronto: Thomson Nelson.
Haque, E., Islam, T., & Faisal, M. (2024). The Arab Spring and the prolonged national integration in Yemen; a critical discussion. Istanbul Gelisim University Journal of Social Sciences, 11(1), 216–227. https://doi.org/10.17336/igusbd.1196698.
Harris, C. D. (1991). Unification of Germany in 1990. Geographical Review, 81(2), 170–182.
Hermann, M. G. (1980a). Explaining foreign policy behavior using the personal characteristics of political leaders. International Studies Quarterly, 24(1), 7–46.
Hermann, M. G. (2005). Assessing leadership style: A trait analysis. In J. M. Post (Ed.), The psychological assessment of political leaders (pp. 178–214). University of Michigan Press.
Jung, J. K., & Rector, C. (2014). Pathways of national reunification in Germany, Yemen and Korea. Pacific Focus, 29(2), 211–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/pafo.12027.
Kang, B. (2019). Peacebuilding education in Northern Ireland: Overcoming deep-rooted sectarian divides. Journal of Peace Education, 16(2), 123–145.
Kang, S.-W. (2018). The limit and possibilities of unification education as peace education beyond division in South Korea. Asian Journal of Peacebuilding, 6(1), 133–156. https://doi.org/10.18588/201805.00a053.
Kitschelt, H. (1991). The 1990 German federal election and the national unification: A watershed in German electoral history? West European Politics, 14(4), 121–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402389108424879.
Kallio, K. P., Wood, B. E., & Häkli, J. (2020). Lived citizenship: Conceptualising an emerging field. Citizenship Studies, 24(6), 713–729.
Lee, B.-K. (1994). Korean unification: Problems and solutions (Master's thesis). Naval Postgraduate School.
Luu, T. M., & Tran, N.-A. (2025). Rupture and reunion: New translations about the end of the war in Vietnam. Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 20(2), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1525/VS.2025.20.2.3.
Mack, A. (1993). The nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Asian Survey, 33(4), 339–359.
Mazarr, M. J., Gentile, G., Madden, D., Pettyjohn, S. L., & Crane, Y. K. (2018). The Korean Peninsula: Three dangerous scenarios (Perspective). RAND Corporation.
McCafferty-Wright, J. (2024). Human rights and citizenship education: Silenced denizens and the global core. Theory & Research in Social Education, 52(3), 345–372.
Meulemann, H. (1997). Value changes in Germany after unification: 1990-95. German Politics, 6(1), 122–139.
Milani, M., & Fiori, A. (2025). Korean Peninsula 2024: A year of political and social upheaval. Asia Maior, 35(2024), 53–81.
Niehaus, M. (1979). Vietnam 1978: The elusive peace. Asian Survey, 19(1), 85–94[cite: 32].
Obikaeze, C. V., & Okwori, F. O. (2025). External powers and North Korea-South Korea diplomatic relations: Re-visiting historical context of the Koreas geo-political confrontations. Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy, 6(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.53982/jcird.2025.0601.01-j.
Park, S. (2017). Towards an ethics of sangsaeng (living together) focusing on politics of reunification and sangsaeng paradigm. Madang, 28(December), 110–133. http://dx.doi.org/10.26590/madang..28.201712.110.
Patton, D. (1993). Social coalitions, political strategies, and German unification, 1990–1993. West European Politics, 16(4), 470–491. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402389308424987.
Richey, M., Ohn, D., Kim, J., & Park, J. (2018). Be careful what you wish for: Security challenges facing the Korean Peninsula during a potential unification process. Asian Security, 14(3), 263–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2017.1414043.
Samardjian, S. (2023). From reunification to normalization: Twenty years of Vietnam, 1975-1995. The UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Journal of History, 3(1), 77–93. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5rn04113.
Seow, J. Y. (2013). Pride of the people: South Korea and Korean nationalism. ISIS Focus, (8), 4–8.
Song, W., & Wright, J. (2018). Personalism and foreign policy. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 62(4), 110–135.
Thayer, C. A. (1976). North Vietnam in 1975: National liberation, reunification and socialist construction. Asian Survey, 16(1), 14–22. [suspicious link removed].
Vogel, L., & Best, H. (2016). Political elites in transition and unification: German lessons for the Korean Peninsula? Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung, 41(3), 336–367.
Wada, H. (2014). The Korean War: An international history. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Xia, L. (2010). Regional factors in Yemen's integration reunification. Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia), 4(4), 102–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/19370679.2010.12023170.
Ziblatt, D. (2006). Structuring the state: The formation of Italy and Germany and the puzzle of federalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Published
2026-07-11
How to Cite
Darojat, A. J. S., Anang Puji Utama, & Panji Suwarno. (2026). The Impact of Leadership Styles on the Prospects for Unification of North and South Korea. International Journal of Education, Vocational and Social Science , 5(03), 4469-4483. https://doi.org/10.63922/ijevss.v5i03.5016
Contact Person +6282139474255
Email : ijevss@citakonsultindo.or.id / editor.ijevss@gmail.com
