Youth changing Korean politics
By Park Gil-sung
Korea Herald
July 5, 2003

After the 2002 presidential election, "generation" once again came under the spotlight in Korean politics, and the April 15 general elections saw a distinct gap between generations supporting different parties. Generation has reshaped the political landscape of Korea, as underscored by the full support for then-presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun in 2002 and the pro-government Uri Party in April this year.

The so-called 386 generation - those who are in their 30s, attended college in the 80s and were born in the 60s - joined forces with the N-generation (Net generation) to defy the established structure of Korean politics. There have even been cautious predictions that generational politics will change the entire face of Korean politics, which has been controlled by acute regionalism.

But politics today is not that simple. While generation was the driving force behind the power shifts at the last presidential and the general elections, the nation's future social and political changes depend on the logic and emotions of various generations.

In Korean modern history, there are baby boomers, born after the 1950-53 Korean War, the 386 generation and the N-generation. All experienced unique historical transitions: industrialization, democratization and the free flowing information age. Accordingly, they reflect distinctive political and social views.

Members of the 386 generation developed their political views in street rallies and succeeded in bringing democracy to the Korean society. They provided the momentum for generational politics during the last presidential election.

Now, they are beginning to turn 40, and by backing the Uri Party and the Democratic Labor Party in the April elections, they clearly showed their ideological orientation once again. Down the road they are likely to continue to cast their ballots for progressive parties.

The movement of the N-generation is also of much interest. These are people who were born after the late 70s, familiar with the Internet and brought up in an age of interactive communications. They grew up while Korea enjoyed an economic boom and began to spend more on leisure time activities than their parents and grandparents.

Unlike the 386 generation, they mostly prefer to be left to their own devices. As members of the "Net-generation," they have their say in cyberspace and frequently turn their backs on politics. What made these political cynics start showing an interest in politics?

The 2002 World Cup and candlelit vigils against the opposition-driven impeachment earlier this year of President Roh played an important role in the phenomenon. After learning that there is life outside the Web, Internet-savvy young heads started to stop staring just at their screens and began to emerge into the open.

However, unlike the 386 generation, the N-generation's loyalty and solidarity are incredibly weak and constantly changing, as shown in the April elections.

Their voting pattern in April was quite different from in the 2002 presidential election which brought Roh to power. Voters in their early 20s were similar to those in their late 40s or early 50s in voting pattern. But those in their late 20s were united with the 386 generation. This shows it is hard to group the N-generation into just one category.

Progressive voters in their late 20s still seem to flex their muscles in the political arena, both on and offline. In contrast, those in their early 20s slipped into the conservative camp during the general elections and this trend is likely to continue.

The nation also has to pay attention to the baby boomers' ballots. They were born when the country was suffering from extreme poverty and it was only years later that they gradually come to enjoy the benefits of government-driven economic development. Politically, they adapted themselves to the Cold War and anticommunist ideology, and sometimes protested against dictatorship.

Baby boomers call for social change but at the same time want a stable society. So, they are also a generation of conflicts and ideologically have both conservative and progressive characteristics.

Although generation has emerged as an important factor on the political stage, debate on the issue should be restrained. While the 386 and N-generations are certainly behind the transition that Korean society is now going through, it is also undeniable that talk of the importance of generation is overly exaggerated and often used for political or commercial purposes.

Whether political or commercial, it is irresponsible to oversimplify the social-cultural characteristics of generations and categorize them.

Generation certainly will be one of important political forces in a nation witnessing both continuity and discontinuity of history but should not be excessively overstated.

Korea is now trying to abandon unilateral and military authoritarianism while experiencing globalization, democratization and the information age. But it has yet to come up with a new paradigm. Rigid authoritarianism is rapidly breaking down but an alternative social order is not in place. Debates on generation should not be over-emphasized but they are important because they provide an opportunity to prepare for the post-authoritarianism era.

With the advent of an information-oriented society, young generations can more easily access resources and thus, by taking the initiative, lead to generational conflicts. It is a serious problem that today's generational conflicts are caused by competition for resources, and not by a gap in age or experience. A sense of deprivation among those with vested interests is also likely to intensify.

At present, the unity of generations is considered an answer to social division. But the Internet-savvy generation should try to come up with practical measures to set up a system that the establishment and older generations can also share.

More efforts have to be made to turn cyberspace into a place where all generations can interact. The unity of generations will also unite the nation. The government, business and nongovernmental organizations should cooperate and head in that direction.

The writer is a sociology professor at Korea University.