1980년대 민주화운동 세대의 정치적 정체성

The 1980s' generation, known as ‘386 generation’, emerged as a political generation in the process of the democratization movement. The Sammin ideology, the distinct expression of this generation's political identity, was based on its different sense of political value from those of other generations and the homogeneity within this generation in articulation with the political cleavage. This article analyzes the variables, which are directly related to the Sammin ideology, from the 2006 survey data. Interestingly enough, this article finds that twenty years after the peak of the democratization movement, there are no specific distinctive trends in the attitudes of this generation towards democracy, minjung-centered idea, anti-Americanism, and North Korea, from those of other generations. In this regard, this article argues that the 1980s' generation as a political generation has been dismantled. However, this finding should be more carefully interpreted in relation to the changing political context of South Korea. The achievements of the democratization within the last two decades and the changes of the general attitude of South Koreans toward America and North Korea made the distinctiveness of the 1980s' generation no more notable. Thus, to some extent, the dismantling of 1980's generation as a political generation can be interpreted as a result of the diffusion of its distinct political ideology.