The Korea Times

Quarter of collegians open to working in N. Korea upon unification By Kim Bo-eun One out of four university students are open to working in North Korea if the two Koreas become unified, a survey showed Wednesday. In the survey conducted by Kookmin University's Future Korea Institute on 731 of the school's freshmen, 26 percent responded positively about working in the North after unification if they land jobs there. "The students seem to think that when the two Koreas are unified, there will be greater opportunities for employment and economic and social activities," a researcher at the institute said. The students said they wanted to have jobs related to tourism in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the IT industry, construction, trade and logistics, education, real estate development, natural gas development and taxation. Among the students, 77 percent said they are open to making friends with North Koreans, and 69 percent were also willing to work with colleagues from the North. Forty percent were also willing to date North Koreans, but less (30 percent) were open to marrying them. Half also consented to dividing limited scholarship funds and allocating a portion of the money for students from the North. "The survey showed students who had an opportunity to meet North Korean defectors developed positive perceptions to ward them, but developed negative perceptions toward the Pyongyang regime," the researcher said. Around half of the students, or 46 percent, supported unification, but regarded its likelihood of happening as low ― only 17 percent said the two Koreas will unify. "More than half of the respondents regarded North Korea as a threat, but at the same time a counterparty to cooperate with," the researcher said.