SEOUL: Four out of 10 students in South Korea believe that reunification between the divided Koreas is no longer necessary, a government survey showed.

The survey conducted in October 2023 by the Ministry of Unification involving 73,991 students aged six to 18 across the country comes amid escalating inter-Korean tensions. Pyongyang has conducted five rounds of cruise missile tests so far this year.

Some 38.9 per cent of the respondents responded that reunification is “not necessary,” marking a record high since the survey was first conducted in 2014. The percentage of students who responded this way has steadily increased in recent years, recording 24.2 per cent in 2020, 25 per cent in 2021 and 31.7 per cent in 2022, respectively.

The proportion who replied that reunification is “necessary” was 49.8 per cent, the first time the figure fell below the 50 per cent mark since 2014.

Students’ interest in reunification has also faded recently.

The percentage of respondents who said they were “not interested” in the issue of unification came to 28.3 per cent last year, increasing from 27 per cent from the previous year. The figure was 20.2 per cent in 2020 and 22.4 per cent in 2021.

Negative perceptions of North Korea have also strengthened, with 80.6 per cent of students saying they are concerned about the possibility of military conflict on the Korean Peninsula due to North Korean provocations.

While students who viewed North Korea as a cooperative partner dwindled to 32 per cent, a 6.6 per cent point decline on-year, those who viewed Pyongyang as an adversary increased to 12.5 per cent, up 1.6 per cent point in the same period.

“North Korea’s provocations have fueled the South Korean students’ negative perceptions of reunification and North Korea in general,” the Ministry of Unification said. The ministry pledged to “continue to raise the awareness of the need for reunification among future generations.” - The Korea Herald/ANN