The Emergence of a New Generation: The Generational Experience and Characteristics of Young North Koreans

Through the course of economic hardships and spontaneous marketization, the social consciousness and mindset of the North Korean people have changed. In turn, this has become a major factor to the cohesiveness and stability of the North Korean society. The economic crisis of the mid-1990s and the marketization which began around 2000 is a historical event and process which has most profoundly changed the North Koreans’ lifestyles since the launch of the socialist regime. The set of values formed during childhood and life experiences imprinted in one’s ego are characterized by irreversibility, making them difficult to alter after one matures into adulthood. In addition, the experience of historical change in adolescence, a determinative period in the formation of one’s identity, values, and devotion to ideologies, has a major influence on the identity and value formation of youth.1) It can be surmised that compared to other generations, the generation born during or having spent their infancy during the period of economic crisis are more gravely influenced by social changes of economic crises and marketization.