Segyehwa and Ideological Shifts in the Republic of Korea (1993-1998)

Abstract

The article examines ideological shifts in the Republic of Korea during the presidency of Kim Young-sam (1993-1998) under the framework of his policy of “globalization”, segyehwa. The purpose of this study is to analyze the long-term transformations of South Korean political discourse that occurred in the 1990s and continue to influence the ideology of the Republic of Korea now. The article identifies two key areas of segyehwa’s ideological influence. On the one hand, segyehwa was a discourse aimed at political mobilization that emphasized catching-up with the “international standards” by constantly increasing competitiveness in all spheres of life, and thus this ideology became a continuation of the mobilization and modernization discourse of the era of military dictatorship, albeit adapted to the new realities of the international economy. In case of the hujinguk-seonjinguk dichotomy, segyehwa partially transferred the political language of the authoritarian Republic of Korea to the democratic one, expanding it to all spheres of life, and it continues to exist in this form to this day. On the other hand, segyehwa had a strong influence on the perception of Korean identity, culture, and history. Against the background of a reshaped historical narrative that included anti-Japanese sentiment and democratization at the state level, Korean identity was reconsidered, and became global. Moreover, Korean culture was supposed to become not only a unifying factor for such identity, but an effective export industry that would attract people and actively participate in international competition, which later became the basis for South Korean “soft power”.