The Korean spring cleaning

Why is peace finally in the air?

Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in.
(Image credit: Korea Summit Press Pool via AP)

Along with spring, peace, improbably, is finally in the air. While it's premature to start handing out Nobels for what's happening on the Korean peninsula, the sudden change of tone does warrant a bit of astonishment along with skepticism. There have been many numerous false dawns before now. But might this time be different?

It might. Conflicts like Korea's can stay frozen for decades, but that doesn't mean nothing is changing. As with plate tectonics, a great deal may be going on below the surface that isn't visible, such that when change happens, it can happen very suddenly. But why should that change be happening right now? With relatively new leaders in Washington and Seoul, and a very young leader in Pyongyang, it's tempting to fall back on a "great man" explanation — and to disputes about who the great man might be.

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Noah Millman

Noah Millman is a screenwriter and filmmaker, a political columnist and a critic. From 2012 through 2017 he was a senior editor and featured blogger at The American Conservative. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Politico, USA Today, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, Foreign Policy, Modern Age, First Things, and the Jewish Review of Books, among other publications. Noah lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.