Redditors of South Korea, What is the overall public feeling about the peace talks between the North and South?

As a Korean currently living in Korea, tldr: Cautious optimism. Throughout the post-war era, Koreans have been observing a cyclic warming and cooling of ROK-DPRK relations. A prominent case is 1994 right before Kim Il Sung's death, where then President YS Kim was supposed to visit Pyongyang. That summit never took place because of Kim Il Sung's abrupt death, who was promptly succeeded by a considerably less diplomatic son, Kim Jong Il. It wasn't until the late 90s/early 2000s when ROK President DJ Kim's "Sunshine Policy" warmed ROK-DPRK relations once again. History has a nasty tendency of repeating itself - not long after, several naval skirmishes took place, which cost dozens of lives on both sides, quickly dissolving any diplomatic progress that was made by DJ Kim and MH Roh. Since then, South Koreans witnessed the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, as well as the Yeonpyeong shelling, both of which took place in 2010. Now, fast forward eight years later, we are seeing the pomp and circumstance all over again, hoping that maybe, maybe this time will be different. Edit: Wow first ever gold! Thank you kind stranger :)
— iforgotologout

Full straight on Korean here. Even finished my military service about two years ago. Honestly. It feels good. How the country is going to approach NK is not something I can control, and I know there will be people hating on the idea of peace due to actions that NK did to SK that directly affected them, but in the army, if NK does anything, you're always on the edge. Even though most people are not even bothered by the idea that NK is up to no good on the outside, in the army, they make you worried as hell. So I guess the peace talks really take off a big thing off of people's chests.
— excursionmoney

As an average joe living in Korea, I feel that the reactions (around me) are the following: 1) It's great! We were (and still are) technically on a truce, so the war hasn't ended. This status quo has always lead to tensions between the two Koreas at least once a year. So it's great that they promise the end to "war." 2) Nevertheless, like all democracies, the opposing party throws shade at the whole ordeal, denouncing the event as a PR stunt and badmouthing the president for "bending over backward" for Kim Jung Un. 3) On a slightly different note, people are divided on whether the two Koreas should unify. Many feel that we should on historical grounds, whereas others believe that over the years, the two Koreas have drifted apart beyond repair. Another strong opinion is that it would be great to unify on an economic standpoint, as South Korea is crowded AF and it would be great to develop North Korea and create more JOBS! EDIT: 4) On an interesting side-note, I think males in their early-twenties are incredibly hopeful about this event. Soon they have to enlist in mandatory military service, and they are hoping that they won't have to go once the "war" is over. I think many will postpone their recruitment to see how all of this pans out.
— doolys2289

anytime i think anything about it, i find the nearest piece of wood and knock on it.
— Ulrick_Von_Thatcher

I'm a Korean person living about 6 kilometers from North Korea in China. As much as I want this to be legit, I can only think of Neville Chamberlain at a time like this. He was Prime Minister of Britain from 1937 to 1940. When returning from talks with Germany, he declared that there would be "peace for our time." Look where that ended up.
— jinsugoi

I’m American but have lived in Korea and have worked with Koreans for the past 3 years. I asked the most cynical Korean i work with (he’s about 50) what he thought, and he said “you never know but this is the closest to peace I’ve ever felt in my lifetime.”
— SillyNannies

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