Why Do Bookies Keep Offering Odds On Korean Reunification?

There are plenty of strange bets available. You can bet on Donald Trump revealing the existence of aliens, on who’ll win a Nobel prize, on a White Christmas. However, the bookies offer few wagers as weird as this one. There are online betting sites in Korea like Bet365 which are giving 2/1 odds on Korean reunification. Yup, that’s right. 2/1. On North & South Korea reforming into one sovereign power by 2023. That’s bonkers. What is it they know we don’t?

The last time Korea was one nation is, in reality, 1945. After thirty-five years of Japanese occupation, the Soviets and Americans freed it at the end of World War II. They promptly divided it into two spheres of influence. This is mostly because they couldn’t agree on terms for Korean independence. In turn this lead to the Korean War a bloody conflict which never quite ended. That’s why I term offering odds on Korean reunification bonkers. They’re still at war right now.

The two nations would have a hard time creating a peace treaty to end the war they fought in the 1950s. The idea they might suddenly join hands, tear down the divide between them and become one country is outlandish. To say the least. That’s why the odds on Korean reunification are so interesting. Online sportsbook sites in Korea like Bet365 always have some sort of logic behind their prices. So what is driving them to believe this hugely unlikely circumstance is worth 2/1?

Is This More To Wager On War Than On Peace?

Naturally, Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, is all in favor of it. Probably because he’s quite certain it’ll never happen. As a democratically elected politician he’s quite happy to be supportive of anything that will cost him no more than words. He knows mere cooperation between the two nations is tricky. Moon Jae-in would view the odds on Korean reunification as delusional. Reunification is a nationalist’s dream and the stuff of Chinese nightmares.  

“I believe that dialogue is necessary. We were unable to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through only the sanctions and pressure.”

• Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea

The Chinese would be desperately unhappy if Korea was one nation again. They don’t want a combination of North Korean nukes and South Korean tech coming together anytime soon. The paper tiger would suddenly have very big teeth. Fortunately, the Chinese have massive influence over North Korea and can ensure the odds on reunification remain ridiculous. So, I’d really not rush to take advantage of Korean gambling laws and back this one. Not at that silly short price.

Grab Odds On Korean Reunification At Bet365

The bookies have also set 2023 as the deadline for this unlikely miracle. Given all that has gone on this year, that seems bizarre. Or perhaps not. No one said the reunification had to be peaceful. Indeed those 2/1 odds on Korean reunification only make sense if you believe in another war occurring soon. Or should I say a resolution of the ongoing one? It’s a sobering thought. The bookies will let you bet on Korean reunification, but they don’t mention why the price is so low.

“Past records of inter-Korean relations show that confrontation between fellow countrymen leads to nothing but war.”

• Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea

Just what is it they know that we don’t? Will America abandon its commitments to South Korea? Is North Korean going to slip their Chinese chains? Could we see the world’s first nuclear strike in anger since 1945? The bookies like Bet365 aren’t saying. Still, if you regularly put a bet on sports in Korea and the odds on Korean reunification pop up, take a punt on it. As 2020 has taught us all so well, you just never know. Stranger things have and will continue to happen. 

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We take a look at why the 2/1 odds on Korean reunification are a bit strange, unless you think there will be another war.