이 책은 한반도에서 남북분단정권이 성립된 1948년 8～9월부터 남한에서 이명박정부가 출범한 2008년 2월 직전까지 약 60년에 걸쳐 남한사회에서 전개된 통일논쟁 및 북한논쟁을 시기별로 분석한 것이다. 통일논쟁 및 북한논쟁은 각계각층에서 다양하게 전개됐다. 그러나 그 논쟁을 단순화시킨다면 이른바 보수우파적-친미반북적 시각과 이른바 진보좌파적-반미친북적 시각의 차이에서 접근할 수 있다. 이 책은 그러한 시각이 형성되고 발전한 배경과 그 배경에 작용한 요인들을 분석했다. 이 분석에서 분명히 나타난 것은 두 시각 모두 그 역사적 뿌리가 깊으며 이념적 갈등의 정도가 심각하다는 사실이다. 이 책은 남한사회가 이념적으로 양분화되어 있으며, 이것이 정부의 통일정책 및 대북정책에 영향을 미치고 있다고 주장한다.

One of the most heated debates in South Korea has been the ""debate on unification,"" the other side of which is the ""debate on North Korea."" This book examines debates on unification and North Korea evolved in South Korea from 1948 to 2008.
Debates have evolved between the conservative-rightist and the progressive-leftist. At the heart of debates between the two, there is the debate on anti-communism and ""anti-anti-communism,"" or ""anti-North Korea"" and ""anti-anti-North Korea."" This book examines the origins and evolution of anti-communism and anti-anti-communism. The growth and development of North Korean studies in the South is also examined. This work demonstrates that the South Korean society is ideologically divided.

Chapter 1
Introduction: The ""North Korea Debates"" and the ""Unification Debates"" in South Korean Politics
1. The Purposes of the Study
2. The Organization of the Study
3. A Brief Review of the Origins of the Debates for Background Information

Chapter 2
The Rigid Orthodox-Official Policy on Unification and North Korea Formulated (The Rhee Syngman Government from August 1948 to April 1960)
1. Anti-Communism and Anti-North Korea Were Institutionalized
2. Priority Number One Was Not Unification But Security
3. Legacies of the Korean War upon the South Korean Society
4. The Two Faces of Anti-Communism
5. The Advent of the ""Thesis of Peaceful Unification""
6. The Resurgence and Strengthening of Anti-Communism

Chapter 3
The Challenge of the Unorthodox Opposition Was Rejected by the Voters (The Interim Government and the Chang My?n Government from April 1960 to May 1961)
1. The Inauguration of the Interim Government and the Outburst of Leftists' Complaints Suppressed under the Rhee Government (April 1960-August 1960)
2. Intensified Debates on North Korea and Unification during the Chang Government Period (August 1960-December 1960)
3. More Radicalized Unification Movement by the Leftists and the Chang Government's Countermeasure (January 1961-May 1961)

Chapter 4
The Dogmatic Orthodox-Official Policy Strengthened through Coercive Power (The Military Government and the Pseudo-Civilian Government under Park Chung Hee from May 1961 to August 1970)
1. The Suppression of the Progressives and the Enactment of the Anti-Communist Law in the Initial Phase of the Military Government
2. Conservatives-Rightists' Suspicions on Chairman Park's Ideology
3. President Park's Conversion from Dubious Stance to Strict Stance on Unification
4. Serious Challenges from Home and North Korea against the Park Government's Position on Unification
5. Increased Tensions on the Korean Peninsula and Their Impacts on the South Korean Debates on North Korea and Unification

Chapter 5
The External Challenge to the Dogmatic Orthodox-Official Policy (The Park Chung Hee Government from August 1970 to October 1972)
1. Changes in the External Environment of the Korean Peninsula and Diversified Debates on Unification
2. Debates Influenced by the U.S.-PRC Rapprochement and the Subsequent Inter-Korean Red Cross Talks
3. Debates Before and After the U.S.-PRC Joint Communique of February 1972
4. Debates on the North-South Joint Communique of 1972

Chapter 6
The Rapid Growth of Unorthodox Opposition's Views on North Korea and Unification under Suppression (The Yushin Period from October 1972 to October 1979)
1. The ""Thesis of Peace-First, Unification-Later"" Officialized
2. The Start of the Anti-Yushin Movement and the Growth of Unorthodox Views on North Korea and Unification
3. The Advent of the ""Clear Opposition Party"" and Its Influence upon North Korea and Unification Debates
4. Communization of Indochina, Subsequent Responses of the International Community and Their Influences on North Korea and Unification Debates
5. The Beginning of the Bifurcation to Orthodox and Unorthodox Views on North Korea and Unification in the Late 1970s

Chapter 7
The Clear Bifurcation of the North Korea Debates and Unification Debates into the Orthodox-Official Position and the Unorthodox-Unofficial Position in the 1980s (The Ch'oe Kyuha Government and the Chun Doo Hwan Government from October 1979 to February 1988)
1. The Suppression of the Kwangju Democratization Movement and the Subsequent Rapid Growth of Unorthodox Opposition in the Ch'oe Kyuha Government (October 1979-August 1980)
2. Kim Il Sung's DCRK Program vs. Chun Doo Hwan's Inter-Korean Summit Proposal in the Initial Period of the Chun Government (August 1980-February 1981)
3. The Opening of the ""NSL Period"" and the Expansion of the ""Underground World"" in the 1981-1985 Years of the Chun Government (February 1981 - February 1985)
4. The Advent of the Unorthodox Stance on North Korea and Unification in the 1985-1987 Years of the Chun Government (February 1985-January 1987)
5. Intensified Ideological Debates in the 1987-1988 Years of the Chun Government (January 1987-February 1988)

Chapter 8
The Modified Orthodox-Official Position Gains Strength over the Unorthodox-Unofficial Position on North Korea and Unification Under the Roh Tae Woo Government (From February 1988 to February 1993)
1. Debates on President Roh's Policy of Rapprochement with the North (February 1988-December 1988)
2. Debates Stirred by Unauthorized Visits to the North (January 1989-November 1989)
3. Debates on ""Eastern Europe Analogy"" and ""Germany Analogy"" and the Rise of ""Unification Euphoria"" (From November 1989 to September 1991)
4. The Period of the Euphoria of Detente on the Korean Peninsula (From October 1991 to August 1992)
5. The Disappearance of the Unification Euphoria (From August 1992 to February 1993)

Chapter 9
The Orthodox-Official Position on North Korea and Unification Reinforced under the Kim Young Sam Government (From February 1993 to February 1998)
1. Debates on President Kim's Soft Policy on North Korea
2. Debates on President Kim's Change to Hard-line Policies towards North Korea
3. President Kim Young Sam Wavered between Soft-liners and Hard-liners
4. Debates between ""Collapsists"" and ""Non-Collapsists""
5. ""Collapsists"" Gained Strength

Chapter 10
The Past Unorthodox-Unofficial Position on North Korea and Unification Becomes the Official Policy under the Kim Dae Jung Government (From February 1998 to April 2000)
1. President Kim Dae Jung Initiated the ""Sunshine Policy"" towards North Korea
2. President Kim Dae Jung Did Not Waver Despite the North's Military Provocations
3. The Gulf between the Kim and Clinton Administrations Revealed over the ""Sunshine Policy""
4. As the Kim and Clinton Administrations Reached an Agreement, the U.S. and North Korea Made a Breakthrough
5. The Road to the North-South Summit Talks

Chapter 11
The Past Unorthodox-Unofficial Position Which Became the Official Policy Strengthened through the North-South Summit (From April 2000 to February 2003)
1. The Election of Unorthodox Candidates to the National Assembly and the Activation of ""Anti-America"" Campaigns
2. The North-South Korean Summit Talks and the North Korean-United States High-Level Talks
3. The Evolution of Bush's North Korea Policy and Its Impact on Kim Dae Jung's North Korea Policy
4. Rapid Expansion of ""Anti-Americanism"" amid Widening Gulf between the Kim Dae Jung and Bush Administrations
5. The Election of ""Unorthodox"" Candidate Roh Moo-hyun to the South Korean President amid ""Semi-organized"" Anti-America Campaigns

Chapter 12
The Unorthodox-turned-Official Position Takes the Offensive against the Past Orthodox and Present Unofficial Position under the Roh Moo-hyun Government (From February 2003 to September 2005)
1. ""Reform Politics"" of the ""Wundongkw?n Regime"" and the Conservative Resistance
2. President Roh's Dubious Position Brought about Criticism from Both Conservatives and Progressives
3. The Ascendancy of the ""Independent Diplomacy"" Group in the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch
4. Deepening Disharmony between Roh and Bush and Increasing Amity between Roh and Kim Jung Il After Bush's Re-Election
5. ""The North within the South"" and ""Two Koreas in South Korea""

Chapter 13
Escalating Anti-""Pro-North, Anti-U.S., and Leftist"" Backlash Cornered the Roh Moo-hyun Government (From September 2005 to February 2008)
1. Political Calculations by the Roh Administration and the GNP in the 2007 Presidential Election Complicate South Korea's Relations with North Korea and the U.S.
2. Debates on China's Northeast Asian Project and North Korea's Future as ""China's Subject State""
3. Debates on North Korea's Missile Launch and Nuclear Test
4. The Bush Administration's Change to a Softer Stance to North Korea and the Subsequent Agreements among Six Parties
5. Debates among Presidential Candidates on North Korea and Unification and Lee Myung Bak's Landslide Victory

Chapter 14
Summary and Conclusion

Bibliography
Index