NUAC Executive Vice-president Yoo Ho-Yeol gave special lectures on “Change in the international situation and the prospect of the future of the Korean peninsula” on September 28 at Chonbuk University and Jeollabuk-do Provincial Office.

During his special lecture, Executive Vice-president Yoo Ho-Yeol explained the potential of South Korea. “Although South Korea is a small peninsula whose national land area and population are ranked 109th and 26th, respectively, in the world, it recorded rapid annual growth of 6.1% through the Miracle of Hangang River even amid the ruins of the Korean War. It is also the only country to have switched from being the beneficiary of aid to donor after the Second World War, and is set to become the 7th nation in the world to join the 30-50 club,” he said.

He also mentioned the current situation wherein there is a worldwide spread of uncertainty due to the extreme nuclear and missile provocation of North Korea, increasingly fiercer US-China geopolitical clash, simultaneous occurrence of terror, Britain’s exit from the European Union, and economic recession as a turbulent period of the world including Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. He then emphasized the necessity to respond in full force to North Korea’s nuclear provocation and called for a sense of vocation for the promotion of national interest and future development.

Quoting futurologist George Friedman — “the inter-Korean reunification will take place abruptly” — Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo said that the period of unification may come earlier than expected.

He went on to add that, if unification happens, we will become a country with the world’s 2nd largest economic scale next to the United States with annual growth rate of 4.51% by 2050.

At the end of his lecture, Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol asked for the gathering of public opinion, national unity, and attention to the human rights of North Koreans as our role in unification.