The following is an excerpt from an article by Jhoo Dong-chan for the Korea Times on the 2025 Hangang Festa commemorating the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day on August 15.
According to a 2024 survey collected by the Korea Institute for National Unification, only 52.9 percent of respondents stated that unification is necessary. It was the lowest figure in 10 years, demonstrating an overall decline in public support for unification.
The government-funded think tank also reported in the survey that people born after 1991 are the least supportive of unification.
Global Peace Foundation Founder and Chairman Hyun Jin Preston Moon expressed his concern over Gen Z’s mounting indifference towards the two Koreas’ unification during a preliminary roundtable conference event for the Korean Dream Hangang Grand Festival that took place on Liberation Day.
“I don’t know why young Korean people aren’t excited about this,” Moon said during the roundtable conference at Fairmont Ambassador hotel in Seoul, Aug. 15.
“Because if you look at the job market here in Korea, there’s really not that much prospect. Imagine if unification happens, then the land is free. And if you have talents and if you are willing to take a risk, start your own business there. You will have tremendous opportunity if you are entrepreneurial.”
