By Jaeyeon Woo
A recent poll of 2,012 middle and high school students in South Korea gives some interesting—and surprising—insight into thinking about national security issues among the nation’s younger generation.
In a sign that the country might be failing to instill patriotism into the minds of young people, about 44%, or 892 students, said they would “flee the country” if a war with North Korea broke out. Only 15% said they would “join the war or help the country in other ways.”
- Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
- While the older students run, the younger ones can try hiding.
Perhaps that just reflects the mind-set of a schoolkid, but Kwack Do-hoon, chairman of the students group that conducted the month-long survey, Korea Advanced Youth Association, blames inadequate schooling. “Since progressive people have been elected to the country’s education offices, security education about North Korea has been dealt a major setback,” he said.
The finding is all the more interesting when considered alongside the response to another question: A majority of respondents (57%) said South Korea should “act strongly,” including making a military strike, if there is another provocation by North Korea such as the attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last November. About 27% of students said they preferred a softer response such as dialogue.
Possibly the most surprising result of the survey, and one that demonstrates both the trickiness of South Korea’s relations with Japan and a poor understanding of national defense issues: Japan is considered a bigger enemy to South Korea than North Korea.
Asked to name South Korea’s jujeok (main enemy), 687 chose Japan, more than twice as many as the 341 people who chose North Korea. The U.S. was a close third, at 307.
Mr. Kwack’s explanation:“The term ‘jujeok’ might be unfamiliar to some young students, and our textbook still teaches us that South and North Korea are the same nation.” He also cited longstanding thorny issues between Japan and Korea, such as how Japan’s colonization of Korea is portrayed in some Japanese school textbooks and a territorial disagreement over the islets known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
[Anonymous wrote: S.Korea is a strategic partner in the far east]
It’s true. US troops in Korea serve as strategic deterrents not only against North Korea, but against China and Russia as well. They’re an important part of the US military arc surrounding east Asia. Japan and the PI are islands — South Korea is physically attached to the continent and very close to Beijing.
And I guess I need to finish off with a little morning rant for the idiots that for some reason think South Koreans don’t defend themselves against the North. All men, of course excluding the physically/mentally/emotionally inept, are drafted to serve some sort of active military duty for 2 years. Those that want to go to college need to apply for a delay in their draft. Quit college, and you get drafted. After those 2 years of active service, there’s 6 years of reserve duty, followed by varying terms of civil defense, expiring at the age of 45. No healthy guy is really done with military obligations until then. That’s probably around 8-10 million men with military experience obligated to fight in an area the size of Indiana. No way North Korea, with a total population of just over 20 million, is breaking through that.
US troops are, as I said, not there for Korea’s benefit alone — imagine the long-term impacts of a Korea and Japan, the countries now buffering the US west coast against China right across the Pacific, being under North Korean or Chinese rule. I’d imagine a lot more bases and weapons spread out across California, Washington, and Oregon, maritime disputes with China from time to time, and generally a lot more worrying going on about China’s military modernization.
A little insight on Korea-Japan relations:
For you western peeps, imagine a Germany today that still doesn’t even acknowledge its Nazi war crimes, much less apologize for them. Imagine that they go so far as to educate their children today that Germans were the victims, and that the actual victims we know of are painted as the aggressors. Imagine that Germany today tries to persuade the rest of the world that a region that was historically somebody else’s, say Hawaii, is actually theirs.
Also imagine that German soldiers invaded your nation’s imperial palace, stabbed your empress, gang-raped her, stripped her naked, and burned her to the point where only her finger was left to be buried. And imagine that Germany continues to educate its children that your empress was an evil bitch who deserved to die, much less apologize for what it did.
Now switch Germany with Japan. That’s what Japan does to Korea, to this day. At least, their conservatives continue to do so. And they continue to make “progress” in those areas. Their brainwashing of the public is going to create problems probably long after North Korea ceases to exist.
The Korea-Japan relationship has nothing to do with how the US is misportrayed by the past and present leftists and commies of modern Korea. No need to get defensive about that part.
Education is the key to the future, in all counties. It is a shame that it is more a matter of ‘controlling the message’ tthese says then giving the children a solid basis in science arts math and literature. “Ignorance is strength.” 1984
S.Korea is a strategic partner in the far east. That said, imagine the student’s point of view. Education department has to teach the Japanese occupation and the korean war. Mix that with local news of US military making one too many mistakes, it really paints a picture. Both Korea’s probably feel unification is possible, so they no longer see them as the enemy, but as something else. Japan and S.Korea hasn’t made any progressive steps to improve relations recently, mostly because of the economy. Thus, they use the politics steered how much money is being put towards US military in S.Korea.
So why is the us a close third? Shouldn’t we leave then? I’m confused.