Koreans are like Americans: Sharp Divide Along Party Lines

Featured Image: Reuters

Here's how Koreans view politics in a nutshell: Younger people love Moon Jae-In and like the fact that he's doing his best to build relations between North and South Korea and they're okay with President Moon helping North Korea financially. Older people in South Korea are very conservative, have experienced the Korean War, and are very leery of North Korea. Any help by a South Korean president towards a North Korean leader is seen as treasonous. They also seem to love Trump because he's a Republican and Republicans have historically been tough on North Korea. Ironically, Trump is actually pretty soft on North Korea, but don't tell them that. Politics are similar to American politics since they support a president based on their party politics. And although age isn't a huge determinant in American politics like it is in Korea, it is still somewhat of a factor. Millenials seem to vote for Democrats while people over 55 are more likely to vote Republican. However, race is a bigger factor in American politics.

Also, with regards to politics, something interesting happened to be on the subway (There's never a dull moment in Seoul, by the way) last week. An older man, in his 60s, was sitting in the seats reserved for elderly and disabled people. As soon as he gets up, he quickly puts a yellow sticker on the wall of the subway saying “Resign President Moon Jae In” and then runs to the next car. A woman in her 40s, who was standing near the sticker peels the sticker off, folds it up and puts it in her pocket after he leaves. People have strong viewpoints in Seoul as you have seen from the recent boycott of Japanese products in South Korea.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

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