A lot has been promised of North Korea’s youth. The regime has saluted a “new generation” of young people coming of age under Kim Jong-un’s rule, while relaxed controls on foreign trading hint at the possibility of greater economic freedoms to come.

Meanwhile, many reports on North Korea highlight the importance of technological change, potentially weakening the state’s grip on power. Even defectors like 21-year-old Park Yeon-mi have described the transformative experience of watching illicit foreign films for the first time, thanks to the growing market for outside media in Pyongyang.

Professor Kim Sung-kyung at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul has coined the term “in-between generation” to describe this little-understood group of young people.

For the academic, the in-between group is distinct from the jangmadang [black market] generation, which emerged during the great famine of the 1990s. Instead, they are people past their late 20s, when military service ends, but younger than the 40-somethings affected by the famine and ensuing economic changes.

Caught between the continuing authority of the Kim regime, new trends from the outside world and greater freedoms granted by creeping economic reforms, they are culturally distinct not just from their parents, but from their children too, an even younger population who are growing up immersed in new fashion trends, consumer goods and where even foreign trade is a part of life, at least for privileged members of society.

Through investigation, it became clear that the generations are not as different as we expected Kim Sung-kyung

Speaking about her research, Kim says that the in-between generation are having a profound effect on North Korean society today. But is this because they’re more pioneering than their parents – or experiencing more cultural shifts than their children? NK News asked her about her findings:



Do you see the generational gaps in attitudes to politics, culture or economics amongst the in-between generation leading to wider change in the DPRK?

The older generation everywhere says “the young generation is different from us”, and the younger generation reacts by saying “they don’t understand us”. In North Korea, the political difference is slight, the economic aspect is larger, and there are some key cultural differences [between age groups].

Whether these differences are expressed outwardly or not depends on how North Korea’s political and economic situation develops in the future. If North Korea advances an open-door policy actively, the younger generation, who are more adaptable, will lead the change.

In South Korea, during the 1970s and 80s, youth wearing jeans and playing guitar exploded cultural differences, instigated by economic growth. North Korean defectors say they have different experiences, and in my role as a scholar, I think we should not exaggerate the [current] social changes in North Korea.

North Korean girls stand under a shower at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in Wonsan, North Korea. Photograph: Wong Maye-E/AP

Defectors Park Yeon-mi and Jang Jin-sung have both suggested that the current generation, under capitalistic influence, can work as a seed for future change. What do you think?

I think we shouldn’t underplay how significant the older generation of 40- 50-year olds has been: they are the people who created the market [which prompted Kim Jong-un’s reforms to follow].

You mean they were pioneers?

Yes, by creating the market, and distributing it. These people are now they are called donju [the capitalist class]. They experienced this shift in its entirety, and largely have a shared mentality.

What do you think the media should bear in mind when they report these changes in North Korea?

I feel uncomfortable with the easy conclusion that North Korea is collapsing, which is often reported. Nobody thinks South Korea will collapse, even though there are a lot of users of Ilbe.com – a [right-wing South Korean] website which has caused many social problems due to its hate speech against social minorities. A change in some individuals doesn’t mean the transition of the system. North Korea is not an exception.

Whenever North Korea shows an interest in new materials like mobile phones, and signs of reforms the media in South Korea and the west reports that Kim Jong-un screwed up. I don’t understand why only North Korea is viewed like this. It is a very western perspective, and an imperialistic one.

Young North Koreans copy South Korean styles, influenced by dramas or films from South. Do you think this will have a positive effect on unification in the future?



There might be a certain influence, but it’s still superficial. Because of the growth of Korean cultural exports in south-east Asia more generally, people say the South is very nice, but it is not necessarily true. Dramas and films are mostly fantasy, which doesn’t help viewers in the North obtain a realistic or correct understanding of their neighbours.

In North Korea, more interesting than [the content of imported] lifestyles, like eating pizza, is the [fact that these are] secretive experiences, which people share with each other without being caught by the government.

It can bring a sense of freedom, which seems more meaningful to me. It could create peer awareness. It is a way of punching holes in the regime in their everyday lives.

These experiences can make citizens feel empowered. They are walking a tightrope between the nation and their private life. What we should focus on is the relationship between people and nation.

Do you think North Korea will recognise the importance of the in-between generation, who are more acutely caught between the nation and the individual?

Secretive shared experiences can make them feel like the authorities are nothing Kim Sung-kyung

Basically, it can’t ignore this considerable number of people. Their future route is very important.

Whether they will protect the current system or make a separate one is not clear. I think we have 10 more years before seeing a big change, when the children of the fourth revolutionary generation [those born after the 1960s] become adults. That’s why I mention the in-between generation. Between the fourth generation, and their children’s generation, the current youth are making their life in-between.

A version of this article originally appeared on NK News