Nationalism has long been a strong and powerful tendency that has both unified and divided peoples. This statement is particularly true of places which have become entrenched by a civil war that has raged on in one way or another for over fifty years, places such as Korea.
As some Westerns may know it is mandatory for every Korean male- 21 years of age, to join the military or national guard for a period of no less than 2 years. This stint of service offers very little in the way of monetary compensation and often comes at a time when most of these young men are in the midst of their post-secondary studies. To me this is slightly baffling but I suppose that with the constant "threat" of nuclear annihilation from the North, this policy does produce a well trained and and massive reservist force. What surprises me even more is the extent to which this policy is accepted by Korean families.
Recently I was fortunate enough to meet a young man by the name of Denni. Denni was born in Korea but moved to Canada when he was very young. He grew up speaking both English and Korean and had become well immersed in Canadian society. In addition, he was studying at the University of Wilfred Laurier in Waterloo, due to graduate with the class of 2011. Denni, while living in Canada most of his life had never relinquished his Korean citizenship due in part to the fact that South Korea does not permit dual-citizenship, thus to become a Canadian would mean that he could no longer be a Korean. Years after his family immigrated to Canada Denni received a letter from the Korean government demanding that he return home and serve his nation for his mandatory two years. Denni, the positive man that he is, found promise in this situation and accepted his call with the hopes of serving as an English translator. In this regard Denni could stand to gain valuable experience from his service but in exchange he would have to put his education and his life on hold for at least two years. Despite this, the very fact that he has chosen to return to a country that has not been his home for a number of years and serve in it's army speaks volumes about the nationalist mentality and patriotic sentiments of the South Korean people.
Throughout this ordeal I have tried to remain an objective observer whose interest in nationalism has re-emerged and manifested itself in the patriotism of the land of the morning calm. I can't help but wonder how such sentiments and how such a policy could be adapted to Canada if it found itself in such a precarious situation as the Korean peninsula.