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Let’s Ask the Next Generation About Peace on the Korean Peninsula

 

*South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks at the ‘Youth Peace and Future Dialogue’ held on August 12. ⓒ Ministry of Unification


Il Young Jeong

Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University


“A New Era of Peaceful Coexistence and Shared Growth on the Korean Peninsula”

This was the vision for the peninsula’s future laid out by President Lee Jae-myung in his Liberation Day address on August 15, marking the 80th anniversary of Korea’s independence. For many, it may feel distant and unrealistic, given how completely inter-Korean relations remain stuck. Yet, when we recall the damage done under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, it’s true that this new vision stirs fresh hope.

Inter-Korean relations haven’t even gotten off the ground, but there is no doubt that a different kind of opportunity is opening up. The Lee administrationelected by a people who stood strong against the December 3, 2024 martial lawnow speaks of a “people-centered” North Korea policy. It pledges to share decision-making power that, until now, has been monopolized deep within the state. But is this for real? And if so, how will that power be exercised to design the peninsula’s future?

 

New and Unprecedented: Expectations for a People-Centered North Korea Policy

Until now, North Korea and unification policy has been monopolized by the governmentmore precisely, by the presidential office. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration was the most extreme example, but even the Moon Jae-in government was not free from such criticism. After the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) ran the show to such an extent that even the Ministry of Unification sometimes learned about developments through the mediaan almost absurd situation.

The Lee Jae-myung administration presents itself as a “people’s sovereignty government.” This is the government chosen by the Korean people after defending democracy against the forces of martial law on December 3, 2024. Yet doubts remain: can this administration truly resist the temptation to monopolize policy as well?

In his inaugural address, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young highlighted three policy visions, one of which was a “people-centered North Korea policy.” It was a proposal unlike any before. He explained that a government of the people’s sovereignty means that citizens must be broadly included in matters of peace and unification. He further stressed that the publicthe real sovereignsshould have more active opportunities to participate in inter-Korean relations and express their views.

In line with this, the National Policy Planning Committee announced that among its key tasks on North Korea and unification would be to “expand and institutionalize public participation” through a structured system of social dialogue. It also pledged to “create conditions where the private sector can take the lead in inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in a stable, sustainable way,” and to “build a system where civil society produces and spreads the discourse on peace and unification, while the government plays a supporting role.”

And yet, something feels missing. Who exactly are the peoplethe sovereignsmeant to shape the future of the Korean Peninsula?


No More Visions for the Korean Peninsula That Leave Out Future Generations

For decades, North Korea and unification policy has drawn heavily on lessons from the past. In particular, the policies designed by Korea’s democratic administrations were built as upgraded versions of earlier experiences, drawing from the so-called “golden years” of inter-Korean relations. The past has indeed provided us with valuable lessons and served as fertile ground for building a new future. But in the process, our younger generations have been treated not as actors, but as objects. Have we, perhaps unconsciously, seen them merely as uninterested in unificationpassive recipients in need of educationrather than as true participants?

It is time to let the next generation speak for their own future. So far, they have been absent from the spaces where North Korea and unification policy are discussed. These discussions have mostly been filled by men in their 50s and 60sexperts and former officials. Their experience and knowledge are no doubt essential assets for shaping the future of the peninsula. But we now need practices and platforms where generations and genders, scholars and practitioners, can share wisdom together.

Back in September 2024, at the opening of the “Global Korea Forum on the Korean Peninsula” hosted by the Ministry of Unification, British Ambassador Colin Crooks refused to take the stage, citing the lack of gender balance among the panelists.

Regrettably, even after this embarrassing incident, large-scale conferences have continued to feature only one or two women on panels. Efforts to genuinely listen to younger voices have also been lacking. For instance, at this year’s “2025 Global Korea Forum,” to be held on September 1819, most sessions (except for a civil society session) include fewer than one woman per panel, and future generations are nowhere to be seen.


Policy Participation Must Bring Together Generations, Genders, Research, and Practice

This is only the beginning. The Lee Jae-myung administration’s North Korea and unification policy must be built on a foundation that blends generations and genders, scholarship and field experience, in order to truly realize the principle of people’s sovereignty. The future of the Korean Peninsula that this administration envisions can succeed only if it is shaped together with the younger generation.

It is time for bold change: let’s create spaces where young people can sit at the same table with former ministers and senior scholars to talk about peace and unification. The government’s various committees and advisory bodies should, from the very outset, adopt guidelines that ensure gender balance, generational diversity, and meaningful participation from both experts and grassroots activists.

The Lee administration is now preparing a social dialogue mechanism to promote its people-centered North Korea policy. But within this mechanism, what role will younger generations play? Should they remain passive learners, absorbing the wisdom of their eldersor should they stand as active agents, helping to design the future of the Korean Peninsula themselves?

 

 

*IL-Young Jeong is a Senior Research Fellow at Sogang University in Seoul. His key research interests include North Korea's social control system, inter-Korean relations, and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

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