average level of wealth and scored 4.08 points in the degree of discontentment. Those from the inland regions in Pyongan and Hwanghae provinces and Pyongyang city have an average wealth score of 3.40 and dissatisfaction score of 3.67. To sum up, the border areas had higher standards of living compared to the inland areas (excluding Pyongyang), but their residents were more dissatisfied with the present system than those in the rest of the country.
Asked to name the most affluent regions, respondents cited Pyongyang, Sinuiju, Rason, Hyesan and Pyongsong, in that order, and as the poorest regions, Kangwon, Hwanghae, Chagang and Yanggang provinces. Most loyal places were Pyongyang, Kangwon, Kaesong, Rason, Sinuiju, Samjiyon and Daeungdan, whereas North Hamgyong and Yanggang provinces and Chinese border towns of Hyesan and Hoeryong were picked as the most dissatisfied regions.
V. Conclusion This study examined the characteristics of the social components of North Korea that link the politics and economy of the country. Generational, regional and class divisions in this period of systemic transition were analyzed based on study of actor-based models. Two findings stand out.
First, there are significant levels of class and regional division in North Korean society and the overlapping cleavages increase inequality and cause structural conflicts. When the residents of a specific region constitute the upper class while those of other regions form the lower class, internal conflicts escalate.
Second, those who are more apt to behave separately are 1) residents of border cities, 2) middle-class residents, and 3) the generations of the food shortage and market emerging periods. Therefore, the most likely agents of social movement in North Korea who can create the political opportunity of system and regime change are middle-class residents of border areas in their 20s to 40s.
[ Journal of the Korean Political Science Association, Vol. 46, No. 5, Winter 2012, published by the Korean Political Science Association ]
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