Generation ‘in-between': Young North Koreans navigate the government, market | NK News
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September 16, 2026Sep 16, 2026

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Generation ‘in-between’: Young North Koreans navigate the government, market

Academic confronts idea that market, fashion influences could spell regime's end as Western, 'imperialistic'

Many people are saying that North Korea is evolving. If so, then how?

Professor Kim Sung-kyung at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul proposes a delicate approach regarding social change in North Korea.

She has coined the term “in-between generation” to introduce a little-understood group of young people through her academic paper “The North Korean Younger Generation’s Mind and Cultural Practices – the Hybridized Identity of the In-between Generation,” which she presented at the UNKS’ conference “North Korea’s New Jangmadang Generation: Who are They and What is Their Impetus for Change?” on June 23.

The in-between group is