초중고생 북한 부정적 이미지 감소...통일 필요 인식 확산<br /><br />A government conducted survey shows a growing number of students here in the nation have a more positive view of North Korea and unification... compared to a year ago.<br />Nearly half of them see Pyeongyang as a partner, and believe it's possible for the two sides to become one in less than a decade.<br />Lee Min-sun zooms in on the changing perception. <br />The survey suggests that South Korean students have drastically changed their views on North Korea.<br />Every year, the ministries of unification and education ask students in elementary, middle and high school what they think of the North.<br />In 2017, 41 percent of them said it should be considered an enemy. But in 2018, that number shrank to 5-point-2 percent. Instead, 28-point-2 percent of them chose a newly created category of "potential threat." About half of the students said they think North Korea is a partner to work with.<br />The ministries asked the question to more than 87-thousand students between last October and December... and released the results on Tuesday. <br />In both 2017 and 2018, 60 percent of students said the Koreas need to be unified, but last year they were more confident it'll happen sooner rather than later.<br />In 2018, most students said unification is possible in the next 6 to 10 years, while the year before, most of them said it will take 20 years or longer.<br />The main reasons they said the Koreas need to unify... is to lower the threat of war, because Koreans are one people, and to make the nation stronger.<br />Lee Min-sun, Arirang News.
