We are here as part of the Congressional Study Group on Korea.
We are here as part of the Congressional Study Group on Korea.
It's the newest of only four study groups.
And this is the inaugural trip ,
the first trip abroad,
for the newly formed Study Group on Korea.
They've been here for a good part of the week in South Korea.
And it's a great honor that they've decided to come here at Yonsei University.
You're going to be spending the time today
with a group of our students who are drawn from
two parts of this huge university.
And those two parts are
the Graduate School of the International Studies, GSIS, as we call it,
and the Underwood International College, UIC.
You can imagine, when it was set up, we did not know what an exciting time
it was going to be in South Korea.
If we were here before New Year's Day,
this discussion would probably be a lot different than it is today.
I'm wondering how all of you
have been viewing these changes
and what you think it will,
or how you think, it will impact
your future regardless of how it turns out. Thank you.
I am extraordinarily interested in
your view of the political and
geopolitical environment that we are in.
But for us, our generation who are not
direct victims of the war, we feel less strongly
about North Korea
and their political orientations.
Generally among our friends, well my friends,
as I don't speak for the whole Korean population,
we say we sort of
support this movement towards talks
obviously
because the alternative
we would have to suffer the most.
But there is a sense of cautiousness
that we all feel because of the events that have happened
even within our lifetime
during 2007
and 2011.
There were like military provocations.
I guess most of what my friends say is that
'Yeah, it's all good, but how much can we trust them.'
They're still not as 100% trustful.
Tell me what I should know about
the Korean younger generation.
I don't want to ask a question; Because you will think about the question.
What do you want to tell me?
If you're advising me as an elected official here,
what would you tell me about
the younger generation in Korea?
I think I'm most interested
we're seeing demographic shifts and demographic tensions in America
and American politics certainly;
A friction between the older generation
and the rising millennial generation
that sees the world very differently.
Tensions of isolationism versus
if you see polling of the younger generation
they see them as global citizens in some ways.
I'd be curious if you are seeing a similar
friction or dynamic playing out in
South Korean society.
It's very different, they are politically different,
and it is all compressed in a 60-year time frame.
So yes, there is a huge tension, I would say.
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