South Korea Teaches Kids About North Korea And The Advantages of Reunification Through Unification Camps

With the prospect of reunification with North Korea now within reach, the South Korean government is taking the campaign to the kids by teaching about the culture and lives of their northern counterpart.

The three-day government-operated summer camps for kids aim to educate them about North Korea and at the same time combat the growing disinterest among the younger generation in unification plans.

Stars and Stripes writes Sept. 28 that because younger South Koreans are growing up in a more modern world, they are developing apathy towards North Korea affairs. Even threats of attack from North Korean are being ignore, and fewer people see reunification as a necessity.

"Disinterest (among children) in unification is a big deal," said Center for Unified Korean Future officer Lee Jung Hee. "We've been working on things to create positive images about a future, unified Korea."

Children at the camp are taught about how North and South Korea speak the same language, and how together the two Koreas will grow into a strong and rich country.

South Korean schools have been integrating lessons about unification to teach the youth more about their northern neighbor.

In a report by the Washington Post on Dec. 6, 2014, about 120 Daegu Sosun junion high school students attended a unification camp run by the South Korean unification ministry.

Positive activities such as making art projects and sharing stories helped children understand North Korea even more. Having been separated for 70 years, North Korea and South Korea are strikingly different and this was a reality grasped first-hand by the students through their interaction with two 21 year old defectors who are currently studying in South Korea.

In an activity called "Meeting With North Korean Friends" the children were able to ask various questions such as what kind of food North Koreans ate, the kind of music they listened to, the shows they watched on TV and others.

"It made them feel more real," shared 13-year-old Lee Kyung Min. "I've seen North Korean defectors on TV, but I've never met one in person."

13-year-old student Kwon Min Ji also shared how the experience made a positive impact. "I had only negative thoughts about North Korea and the North Korean system before, but I like them more now."

"The purpose of this camp is to raise leaders after unification," said Kim Jun Hee of the unification camp."These are the people who will live in the time of a unified Korea so we're trying to get them to think about unification."

"Understanding and accepting the differences counts as progress," Kim added said. "We are trying to narrow the gap."

The camps are part of South Korean President Park Geun Hye's blueprint for unification through "trust-building" measures with the north.

Although statistics show that South Koreans are skeptical unification will run smoothly, many are still looking at the prospect positively.