Young Koreans reject unification of North and South »

A new book on Korean nationalism has found young South Koreans are rejecting the future unification of North and South Korea. Author Dr Emma Campbell said the coming generation of South Korean decision-makers has no commitment to the long held hope of older generations that the two Koreas will be reunited. "My research finds twenty-something young South Koreans are preoccupied with surviving the country's fiercely competitive education system and jobs market and have little appetite for the risks of unification," said Dr Campbell from the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs. Dr Campbell's book, A New South Korean Nationalism: The end of one Korea', is the result of more than five years of research and more than 150 face to face's with young South Koreans. Dr Campbell said the traditional ethnic nationalism which has defined Korea no longer exists. This, she says, is demonstrated by the social marginalisation of many North Korean refugees and ethnic-Korean Chinese who move to South Korea. "The sad reality is that refugees from the North too often find themselves at the very bottom of South Korea's social ladder," she said.