Korean youth shrug off nuclear crisis

Ask a 50-year-old Korean-American his or her opinion about the escalating drama between North Korea - which successfully detonated a nuclear bomb on October 9 - and the international community, and you will get an engaged and considered response. But, ask someone half that age the same question and the reply may well be a self-conscious shrug followed by the sheepish admission that he or she has no opinion on the topic.
&#8220I don't really know what's going on,” said preschool teacher Heeyong Kim, 29, while she waited outside of an English-language church service geared toward young adults at the Korean Church of Queens in Jackson Heights Sunday afternoon, October 15. Even so, Kim, whose raised eyebrows seemed to indicate embarrassment at not knowing what to think, admitted that the little she had heard was upsetting. &#8220I'm very saddened by it,” she said. &#8220I don't know what we can do to help them.”
Although news of North Korea's successful nuclear testing, the failure of diplomatic efforts to dissuade that nation's leader, Kim Jong Il, from pursuing weapons of mass destruction and the subsequent financial and arms sanctions passed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council in an effort to further isolate the rogue leader have dominated the news for the last several weeks, when it comes to the Korean-American youth of Queens, the situation is not compelling.
&#8220It doesn't seem to affect me too much,” said Sharon Choe, 18, who is a pharmacy student at St. John's University in Jamaica. &#8220It affects my parents more because they have family there.” Choe's friend and classmate, Sarah Lee, 18, agreed adding, &#8220I try to pay attention, but I'm more concerned with what goes on here.”
Alexander Moon, 17, does not think about North Korea at all. &#8220It's not going to affect anyone here,” said the Flushing resident.
Kwangsik Kim, president of the Korean-American Association of Flushing and himself a father of three, believes that the pressures of modern life have left the youth of his community distanced from their cultural past and the current situation in North Korea. &#8220My children are American citizens and I don't have much time to tell them of my experiences,” said Kim, 53, who was born in Korea at the end of the Korean War. &#8220We are working very hard, but we lost the mother country previous history,” he continued in heavily accented English.
Some, like Pat Chang, 40, a physician from Long Island who attends church in Queens, believe that when it comes to relations with North Korea, there is a generation gap between older and younger Korean-Americans. Chang said that the older generation still considers Korea its motherland and so retains a deep emotional attachment to it. On the contrary, the younger generation, raised mostly, if not entirely, in the United States, feels more American.
According to Congressmember Gary Ackerman, &#8220Almost every ethnic community that comes to America experiences a diminishing understanding and fervor for ‘the old country.' The succeeding generations also have less of an understanding and appreciation of the history and meaning of the experience that caused their families to leave their homeland. In their rush to become ‘like everyone else,' they must be taught not to forget.”
New York City Councilmember John C. Liu, who counts many Korean-Americans in his northeast Queens constituency, agreed. &#8220The division on the Korean Peninsula is a very emotional issue, particularly for first generation immigrants,” he said. As for their children, &#8220They understand what has transpired, but, as with any younger generation, the memory is less emotional. This generation gap is really no different than any other.”