(Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s K-pop loving Gen Z has largely stayed away from the street protests that has erupted since the country was rocked by the biggest political crisis in four decades this week.
Ever since President Yoon Suk Yeol stunned South Korea and the rest of the world by announcing martial law, protesters have marched to the National Assembly demanding Yoon’s ouster. Yoon’s shock announcement spurred many residents on to the Seoul streets who braved freezing conditions. Hours later, Yoon reversed the decision after parliament unanimously blocked it.
While South Korea’s seat of power witnessed dramatic scenes on Tuesday night, the younger generation was largely absent. Many say they are numbed by the endless political wrangling and their immediate concerns are rising property prices that has made buying a house out of their reach.
Their attitude to politcs is emblematic of South Koreans’ cursory interest in the national affairs and politicians.
“I’m too busy living my life at school,” said Hwang Yoon-min, a 22-year old university student in Seoul. “All of my friends are busy living their own lives. I think people at my age kind of expected this kind of thing would happen some day.
In the latest twist to the crisis on Friday, Yoon lost the support of a key ally, increasing the chances he’ll be impeached in a vote set to take place over the next few days. If Yoon is successfully impeached, then an election will be held within 60 days.
“We don’t have much trust in the current administration. No matter which party would win the next election, I think the next administration would be better than the one now,” Hwang added.
Many youngsters are used to working-from-home and not willing to join mass demonstrations. Most protesters who participated in Wednesday’s rally, the biggest so far since the revoked martial law, were aged 50 or older.
Still, the past week’s events have piqued their interest. Search trends of martial law spiked to over one million over the past two days in South Korea.
As the fate of Yoon hung in balance on Friday, streets leading up to the National Assembly were packed with protesters. But the main gate, which was blocked during the declaration of martial law, was reopened to public and all police barricades surrounding the main entrance were removed.
“Young Koreans have very individualized lives since the Covid-19 pandemic, so we are not that used to gathering offline even now,” said a 30-year-old woman who gave her name as Daisy only.
“But we are vigorously raising voices online, such as watching Youtube clips on politics,,” she added.
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