The ascension to power of the pudgy 29-year-old Kim Jong Un in North Korea has grabbed headlines around the world, but the most important story involving Korean young people and politics is taking place in the South.
Young voters are becoming angrier, more politically active, and increasingly hostile to the old established parties. This demographic challenge to South Korea's status quo suggests a "liberal" awakening that could completely alter the country's political landscape.
The election last autumn of the activist Park Won Soon as mayor of Seoul demonstrated the growing strength of the youth vote, which took the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) completely by surprise. Young people mobilized themselves spontaneously, using all the tools of social networking and modern communications, to turn out not only voters their own age but also countless others exasperated with South Korea's rigidity and insulated opportunities.