The North and South Korean Political Systems: a Comparative Analysis. By Sung Chul Yang. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, and Seoul: Seoul Press, 1994. 983 pp., appendices, index. Hardcover, $64.95 or 49,500 Won.

Abstract

Part 1 The Korean political heritage: a historical overview political culture and traditions nativistic resilience, nationalism, and beyond. Part 2 Contemporary political settings: politics of partition ideology and the Korean experiments. Part 3 The North Korean political system - a totalitarian political order: the North Korean political framework formal political structures and their evolution the ruling elites and their political vicissitudes Kim Il Sung's rise and retention of power. Part 3 The South Korean political system - a democratizing political order: the South Korean political framework formal governmental structures and political process the ruling elites and their modal characteristics legitimacy crisis - from Rhee to Roh. Part 4 North and South Korean economic orientation - mobilization versus motivation: resource endowments and natural condition economic systems, policies and strategies performance in comparison. Part 5 Critical issues and problems: the seizure of power in North and South Korean politics arms race and the twin fortifications of the Korean Peninsula a socialist man versus a universal man - education in North and South Korean politics reunification of policy models. Conclusion: North and South Korea as two living political laboratories.