Abstract

The present study examined how attitudes toward humanitarian aid to North Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic varied by age and gender, and whether these differences were mediated by Han ethnic identification and collectivist value orientation. Humanitarian assistance in times of disaster, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can serve as a gateway to inter-Korean exchange and reconciliation. Thus, identifying the predictors of such attitudes has important implications for building peaceful inter-Korean relations. Analyzing data from a survey conducted in 2021 (N = 1,600), we found that age positively predicted attitudes toward humanitarian aid, and this association was mediated by Han ethnic identification and collectivistic value orientation. Gender differences were moderated by age. Among younger adults under the age of 29, women reported more positive attitudes than did men, whereas among older adults aged 54 and above, men reported more positive attitudes than did women. Moreover, the gender difference among younger adults was mediated by collectivistic value orientation, wheras the difference among older adults was mediated by Han ethnic identification. These findings suggest that subgroup differences in attitudes toward humanitarian aid to North Korea can be explained by illuminating the role of Han ethnic identification and collectivistic value orientation. We discussed how the current findings may contribute to addressing the key issues in inter-Korean relations.