The only remaining divided countries globally, South Korea and North Korea, have spent more than 70 years in an unstable situation while maintaining military tensions with each other. There are various political, economic, social, and cultural opinions about these countries. However, if we focus on the views of the MZ generation in Korea, the future direction of Korea’s unification will be more clarified.
- A divided history of Korea
After World War II, multiple governing bodies were established on the Korean Peninsula. For example, in South Korea, President Syngman Rhee established the government alone on June 3, 1946, and in North Korea, Kim Il-sung established the North Korean People’s Committee on February 16, 1946. Then, on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea announced the establishment of a government, freeing it from Japanese colonial rule. On September 9, 1948, North Korea also proclaimed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. After the Korean War began, the two countries spent more than 70 years pointing their guns at each other. - Differences in Koreans’ different perceptions of unification
2.1. Unification perceived by Korean MZ generations
The generation that felt the need for unification in 2018 showed the lowest rank among those in their twenties, in the order of age 50s > 40s > 60s > 30s > 20s. People in their 20s and 30s feel the need for unification mainly due to the difference between the education and environment they experienced.
2.2. The difference in education
The young generation in Korea is busy. As one of the world’s hottest countries for education, they must learn a lot in a short amount of time. Therefore, subjects or subjects unrelated to their academic achievement are constantly pushed back. Unlike the older generation, who emphasized the importance of unification, the younger generation was in a hurry to adapt to the rapidly changing educational environment. This means that unification education has been pushed far behind for the MZ generation. In addition, South Korean men perform their national defense duties for 21 months on average. Therefore, the anti-communist education provided to them planted the fear of unification in them, and their perception of North Korea as a danger became stronger.
2.3. Environmental differences (difference between experience and no experience)
Most people in their 60s and 70s who lived in the 1950s are in favor of unification. The reason is that they experienced the situation of Korea before its division and before families were separated and communication with the other part of the Korean land was lost. Likewise, the generations immediately below them, the generations in their 50s and 60s, have also lived in the same era. However, modern people in their late teens up to 40s have lived in very different circumstances to experience such an environment, and Korea at that time and Korea today have grown and changed in all fields of economy, culture, society, and politics, so one theme is the same. Of course, opinions on the matter may vary.
2.4. Economic experience difference
Korea, where Koreans in their 50s and 60s lived, was an era of enormous change. Society has multiplied and lived in an era of ever-evolving development. Conversely, young Koreans in their late teens up to early 30s live in a low-growth era with a growth rate of 0.9% as of 2020. It means that we live in a world that is definitely different from the previous generation that lived in an era of growth of more than 5% per year on average, which shows a considerable difference in their thinking. As of 2018, the per capita income gap between South and North Korea is 23 times. Before the reunification of West and East Germany, the income difference between the two countries was said to be about a third. What the younger generation of Korea considers vital in Germany’s unification is the cost of unification. The problem Germany, with a difference of about one-third, has not yet overcome is enough to recognize as a danger to them.
- Conclusion
It can be said that the MZ generation in Korea has no interest in unification or has vague fears. The distance between the two Koreas is getting further apart as generations change. But hope exists. As can be seen in campaigns such as We Think Digital, currently conducted by Facebook Korea, companies and society are showing constant interest. If high interest is generated, the possibility of gradually discussing the unification of the Korean Peninsula will increase.
References
Kim, H. and Kim, S., 2018. A Study on the Opinions Towards Unification by Generation and Unification Education: Focusing on Unification Perception Survey. The Journal of Humanities and Social sciences 21, 9(6), pp.1643-1654.
Lee, J., 2017. South Koreans’ Willingness to Pay for Korea Unification. The Korean Data Analysis Society, 19(5), pp.2355-2363.
No, J., 2021. 커지는 남북 경제격차…한국 작년 1인 소득 북한의 23배. [online] Radio Free Asia. Available at: https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/food_international_org/20181219_5-12192018091808.html [Accessed 5 July 2021].
Taylor, D., 2021. [online] Arcgis.com. Available at: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=a575ead674b84f15a72c6196dbbd777a [Accessed 5 July 2021].
