Increase in Education about the Situation in North Korea among South Korean Youth through the use of Narratives

• In Event: Poster session 2

Proposal

With only 7% of the young Korean students agreeing to the reunification of two Koreas according to recent polls, there seems to be an increasing need to educate the Korean public especially the younger generation of the need for reunification and the situations in North Korea. Though narratives on their own have limited impact, increasing coverage of issues in North Korea in lighter ways through media coverage, TV shows, movies and articles have made an impact on South Korean’s understanding of issues in North Korea. After the Saewolho ferry incident the Korean government and society has come to an awakening of their current situation and this has moved forward the society including election of President Moon and his efforts of reunification with the North. This poster presentations calls for more narratives to be circulated and covered on the issue of North Korea (such as the stories about the Choco-pie incident in Gaesung industry, where North Koreans sold chocopie they got from their workplace in the underground black market, resulting in the closure of the factory) that these stories do have an impact on undercovered, underrepresented, underreported places like North Korea as means of education in South Korea about the current situation in North Korea.

Author

• Ye Won Maing, Penn GSE