'We stand for One Korea': Young people gather to envision unified Korea

Young people from South Korea, North Korean defectors, the Korean diaspora and overseas communities gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss peace and the future of the Korean Peninsula, leading up to the launch of an international youth alliance advocating for a unified Korea.

The One Korea Youth Forum 2026 was held on U.N. International Youth Day, which falls on Aug. 12, under the theme "Startup for Peace: Global Youth for Building a Sustainable Korean Peninsula."

The forum was hosted by the Global Peace Foundation Korea and organized with youth groups including the Korean Dream Crew, the Youth Association of the Korea CIS Diaspora Association and Muipan Sapan, a student organization for North Korean defectors. The event was sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as part of its program supporting social integration of North Korean defectors.

Participants shared their views on peace, human rights and social integration on the Korean Peninsula, while discussing how young people could contribute to building a peaceful and sustainable future.

"The fact that young people from different languages, cultures and histories have gathered here under the single theme of One Korea is significant," Seo In-taek, president of the Global Peace Foundation Korea, said in his welcoming remarks.

"The reunification of the Korean Peninsula is not simply the reunification of Korean people, but a journey toward realizing universal human values such as freedom, human rights and peace. Looking back at history, it has always been young people with a vision who have truly changed the world," he said.

"For me, the division of the Korean Peninsula is not an event I read about in history books or simply a political issue, but a family history that is still unfolding," said Jeong Yeong-sun, president of the Korea CIS Diaspora Association. The association is an organization dedicated to supporting Koryoin, ethnic Koreans from Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

Jeong urged participants to work toward a future in which the next generation inherits the courage to overcome division.

Yoo Nam-sik, director of youth programs at Alliance for Korea United USA, delivered a keynote speech highlighting efforts to promote North Korean human rights on U.S. college campuses and called for greater participation by young leaders around the world in efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"Like any startup, peace requires people willing to take risks, challenge existing assumptions, develop new ideas and believe that something which does not yet exist can become possible," he said. "That is why we need young people."

The forum also featured panel discussions in which young people from South Korea, North Korea, the Korean diaspora and overseas communities shared their dreams, visions and ideas for contributing to a unified Korea.

Lee Na-young, a North Korean defector who studies at Dongguk University, shared the pain of separated families and stressed that peace should be understood in terms of universal human rights.

"When we talk about peace, we tend to think first of big words such as the military, diplomacy and national security. But peace is not achieved through grand political agreements alone. Peace means creating a path for separated families to meet again, and being able to tell your family that you love them without having to live in fear anymore." she said.

Participants also took part in the Peace Innovation Challenge, proposing projects linked to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals in areas including education, jobs, technological innovation, social integration, peace and human rights.

They presented project ideas for the future of a unified Korean Peninsula, including proposals to create a national park in the demilitarized zone and have it designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, develop an artificial intelligence-based disaster response system for the Korean Peninsula, and establish a youth-led civic participation platform connecting young people from the two Koreas.

The forum also featured a launching ceremony of the Youth Solidarity for One Korea, a network of domestic and international youth organizations seeking to promote cooperation for peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

Representatives of the participating organizations adopted and read a joint declaration expressing their support for a unified Korea based on the values of freedom, democracy and the Korean philosophy of Hongik Ingan, or "to live for the benefit of all humanity."