The New Class and Democratic Social Relations in South Korea

Abstract

This research examines ‘the new class’, a social group posited to have emerged in South Korea that seeks to transform social relations from authoritarian to democratic in various social organizations. The new class is defined, following Wright’s classification, as specialists within the new middle class. This study tests the hypothesis that the new class more than any other class supports democracy in social relations. The author proposes that such support has two sources -workplace antagonism between specialists and those in managerial supervisory positions, and the relatively high self-direction of the class. Using data from the World Values Survey, analyses show that groups within the new class vary in support of specific aspects of democratic social relations in particular contexts. Results also show that the petite bourgeoisie is a significant actor in these micro-politics, and that among various dimensions of democracy in social relations, age affects only feminist attitudes.