South Korean discourse on unification gained new energy earlier this year when President Park Geun-hye called unification a “jackpot” (daebak).

While unification has never been far from the hearts of many older South Koreans, polls in recent years have shown disinterest and even outright opposition to it among the younger generation. In particular, the young cite concern that Korean unification could be an economic nightmare for the peninsula.

Enter Chungang University Professor Emeritus Shinn Chang-min. His book, Unification is a Bonanza in Korean (the English version is called The Road to One Korea: Prosperity in Peace) was