InterviewYoung people should shape future of unified Korea, says activist

Yoo Nam-sik, co-chairman at Alliance for Korea United USA, speaks during a joint interview with local media in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation Korea

Young people should play a greater role in shaping the future of the Korean Peninsula, according to Yoo Nam-sik, co-chairman at Alliance for Korea United USA.

"We should never underestimate the role our generation can play. We were born into a divided Korea and inherited division as though it were simply a fact of life. But we do not have to accept that reality and pass it on unchanged to the next generation," Yoo said during a joint interview with local media, Wednesday.

"Throughout history, young people and university students have often been at the forefront of major social change. If young people in Korea and around the world refuse to settle for the status quo and unite around a common vision, I believe our generation can help create a more peaceful, prosperous and unified Korea," he added.

The interview was conducted on the sidelines of the One Korea Youth Forum 2026, where young people from South Korea, North Korean defectors, the Korean diaspora and overseas communities gathered to discuss peace and the future of the peninsula.

Yoo, a second-generation Korean American from Seattle, became aware of the reality of Korea's division after his classmates in middle school repeatedly asked him, "Are you from South Korea or North Korea?"

After entering college, he became involved with U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Liberty in North Korea, where he learned about the lack of basic freedoms and human rights in North Korea.

"As I began thinking about the more than 20 million people living there, I naturally came to ask whether reunification could ultimately provide a fundamental solution," he said.

Yoo stressed that there has been considerable discussion about how Korea should reunify, but far less discussion about what kind of nation Koreans want to build after reunification.

"If North and South Korea can overcome division around a shared ideal, a unified Korea could become a model for other societies struggling with national, religious, racial and identity-based divisions," he said.

In that sense, he said the Youth Solidarity for One Korea, launched during Wednesday's forum, aims to move beyond simply attending lectures or talking about reunification by turning it into a movement in which young people participate.

"Reunification should not be discussed only within South Korea. Young people from the Korean diaspora and around the world should participate as well," he said.