A recent article made the point that the younger generation of ethnic Koreans in the Yanbian Autonomous Region (YAR) of China’s Jilin Province do not have the same affinity for North Korea that their parents and grandparents do. Younger ethnic Koreans apparently discount their origins, which is understandable as generational memories become diluted through the passage of time.

The authors of that piece conclude that the political stability of China and the economic advantages of staying there outweigh any ancestral pull that might have once been exerted by North Korea. For example, they state that the younger generation in the YAR sees itself as Chinese, that the desire for getting an education in the Korean language ­– a concession long authorized by the Chinese government ­­– is fading. Such revelations certainly paint a dismal picture concerning any residual sense of a Korean homeland.