The DDR had about half the income per capita as West Germany. South Korea is currently at about 24x the per capita income of the north.

It would be a huge challenge to unify those two economies and it would surely take decades. South Korea developed itself from the 1960s onwards, so I would guess that unification would take that kind of time frame (50-60 years - if they could pull off another such miracle).

Ok the other hand, it would give the south a ready source of young labor, which they absolutely will need going forward. Managed properly, it could be a huge boon.

A nice sentiment but seems less likely every year that goes by. The South doesn’t even really want the North because it would be an economic burden. Or so I’ve read.

It depends how they treat the north when they do the integration.

I think like with Germany it is predicated on the collapse of one of the backing superpowers - China or the US. Tbf. at this time (after Trump era) it’s hard to tell which one is more stable.

German 'Reunification' happened before Soviet Union collapsed. Also UK, France etc were against German Reunification as well before it happened.

Also Austria is still not unified with modern Germany.

Austria was never part of Germany. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire and after that the German Confederation, with the latter being dissolved in 1866. The first actual united German state was founded in 1871 as the German Empire, without Austria (Kleindeutsche Lösung).

I don't know that it will actually happen any time soon. I don't think South Korea wants the burden of modernizing the North and despite what most coverage indicates, I don't think Kim Jong-un is crazy enough to actually start a war. As long as Kim doesn't die or get killed, I think North Korea will sadly remain as it is for a long time.

What is special for South Korea is this. Possibly they can grow more but I wonder is it possible.