Executive Summary

The outside world has been presented with two contradictory images of North Korea’s younger generation. In the outside media, youth are portrayed as rebellious and radical, ignoring the Kim regime’s increasingly harsh crackdowns on foreign media and trends, and instead toting the latest South Korean fashion trends and adopting South Korean lingo. Meanwhile, state propaganda pushes the narrative that North Korean youth are extremely devoted to Kim Jong Un and the regime. Both conceptions of North Korea’s younger generation fail to acknowledge a more complex reality.

Kim Jong Un understands the importance of winning over the younger generation to ensure his regime’s survival. Since coming into power, Kim has increased the severity of punishments for importing, distributing, and consuming foreign media. This strangled information environment amplifies the efficacy of a youth loyalty campaign designed to bear hug the younger generation. As a consequence, when compared with older cohorts, North Korean youth have a more favorable view of the regime, juche ideology, and Kim Jong Un himself. In short, the campaign is working.

A reinvigorated foreign media distribution strategy is needed to break the impasse and win the battle over hearts and minds. Despite the dangers, North Koreans remain highly interested in foreign media. Research shows that those who consume tend to feel more fondly about South Korea and view the North Korean regime critically. Foreign media provides a powerful basis to cross check regime propaganda and can even lay the foundation for a shared understanding of concepts like human rights and civil society. A reinvigorated strategy should focus on content curation and innovative dissemination methods to maximize utility and minimize blowback for end users in North Korea.

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Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TWO VERSIONS OF NORTH KOREA’S YOUTH

NORTH KOREA’S NOT SO RADICAL YOUTH

NEXT STEPS

CONCLUSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Authors

Jonathan Corrado is Director of Policy for The Korea Society where he produces programming and conducts research on the US-Korea Alliance, North Korea, and Northeast Asia. He teaches at The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University and SUNY Stony Brook University.

Chelsie Alexandre is the Policy Program Officer at The Korea Society where she works with the Director of Policy to develop and implement events that address issues shaping the dynamics of U.S.-ROK relations, the Korean peninsula, and Northeast Asia.

Alexander Tufto is a student of Political Science at SUNY Stony Brook University.