Introduction

Abstract

In the Introduction, the author surveys reasons, both internal and external to South Korea, that have raised the Korean public’s interest in commons thinking. He then explains how the SSK Center has come to plan and edit this book. Listing the specific ways in which the center has contributed to growing commons research in South Korea, the author also notes that the growth and expansion of commons research in South Korea has accompanied the advancement of research at the center. The author emphasizes that the essays contained in the book are not only significant achievements of the SSK Center and its researchers but also important milestones of commons research in South Korea as a whole. That fact underscores this book’s claimed ability to review and explore the contexts, fields, and policy implications of Korean commons research in general. The author then goes on to introduce individual essays and their main themes.