The ease of such a transition would depend on how and under what conditions it occurred.

The same could be said of a transition in North America to a society that provided...

- totally free health care
- totally free secondary education
- a well-paying job and a good place to live for every adult citizen and family
- an end to corporate lobbying in the halls of government
- a banking system that was honest and responsible
- a taxation system that was reasonable and fair
- an end to poverty
- an end to racial prejudice and gender inequalities
- an end to rampantly excessive consumerism, and its replacement with a far more equitable, healthy, sane, and responsible way of life...

and so on...

Now, just so you don't misunderstand me entirely, I am NOT listing all those things above so as to imply that that is what life in North Korea is like! No, indeed. I am not comparing their society to ours in any way.

What I am saying is simply this: that there are a number of notable problem areas in most societies. Some are worse than others. But for any society to face a transition to a very different and far wiser social and political system than what they have at present is difficult. It can be very difficult. How difficult it is depends on how it occurs. It might occur through war, massive financial disturbances, violent revolution, non-violent revolution, massive political change, a huge natural catastrope that sweeps away the old order...or a series of gradual political and social changes.

The last of those would obviously be the least traumatic way of making such a change. I would think that most Koreans...if their governments stopped pressuring them and propagandizing them...would like to reunite their ancient nation into one country again. What stands in the way of them doing so is powerful East-West military alliances, established political forces, powerful vested interests that have no incentive or desire to facilitate such a change. And that's what opposes real social progress everywhere.