One month after the historic South-North Korean summit took place and less than a month before presidential elections in South Korea, students, activists, and academics are lamenting a trend towards conservatism and political apathy among the youth. According to a recent poll conducted by seven of the top universities all across South Korea, 40 per cent of college students identify as politically “conservative” and are likely to vote for a conservative presidential candidate in the upcoming election. In contrast, students in the past, particularly those from the so-called ‘386 generation’, led the charge during the nation’s democratisation movement against repressive military regimes in the 1980s.

Most students who spoke agreed that young Koreans today were, indeed, more conservative than they were in the past. But for some, the division between “conservative” and “liberal” is less clearly defined these days. “You may think it is a contradiction that many students are conservative, even though we were raised in a liberal environment,” said Kang Seung-Kyun, a Seoul National University (SNU) student. “However, we

have a double-faced political view, which is why we can alternatively choose to be liberal or conservative depending on the situation. For this reason, we have no exact or strong opinion about political things.”

Chung Yong Wook, a professor at SNU said one reason why young Koreans lack flexibility in their political thinking is because of North Korea and its real and perceived “threat” (military, in the case of another Korean war, and economically, in the case of reunification). Therefore, last month’s Inter-Korea Summit was a very positive step towards normalising relations and communication between the two Koreas, he said.

According to Chung, every subsequent government since that of South Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee, has exerted ever greater power over society. This has led to a growing generation gap between

the older generation, many of whom were part of Korea’s democratic movements in the 1980s, and the current younger generation. At the same time, however, “young blood” still has no opportunities to get involved with the government, he says, which is still controlled by very established, older politicians.

Meanwhile, older, “hardcore” conservatives would view student apathy in Korea as a positive trend, according to Prof. Chang Nam Kim, who teaches at Sung Kong Hoe University. Political disinterest among the youth would validate their vision of an ultra-capitalistic Korea, one that values obedience and hard work over equality and social justice, he added. According to him, the concept of conservatism in Korea is also different from what it means in Western society.

“Many Koreans (including ordinary conservative people) support the sunshine policy and the peace programme,” he said. “But in the political context, many of them support

the Hannara Party (Grand National Party) in spite of their extreme right position. Yes, it is contradiction,

but contradiction is

Korea itself.” Though

everyone who spoke believed there were multiple reasons for the trend

in South Korea, including capitalism and Korea’s

history and educational

system, some activists

contend that Korean

parents bear much of the

responsibility. — IPS