Korean Administration Research Articles

고성 통일전망대와 접경에서의 북한 보여주기

Goseong Unification Observatory was established in 1984, based on President Chun Doo-hwan’s plan of mass tourism construction, and borderland tourism sites for inculcating the importance of anticommunism.The Goseong Unification Observatory achieved remarkable success by providing open access to the site and offering panoramic views of North Korean terrain, including the prominent Guemgang mountain. However, with the increasing influx of visitors to the borderland, North Korea began its propaganda targeting the public who came to witness the spectacle. As a countermeasure, the South Korean administration mandated mandatory anti-communism education before allowing entry into the CCZ(Civilian Controlled Zone). This measurement reveals the impregnated trait of the Observatory, where sole knowledge and values were permitted by the government.
 Unification Observatory distributed its knowledge systems through panel exhibition adorned of pictures and explanations accordingly. The compact exhibition room, strategically positioned along the route to the observation area, served as a window through which visitors could peer into North Korea. This exhibition site has changed three times between 1984 to 1991. The first period(1984-1987) of the exhibition portrayed Korean Nationalism, anti-communism, and the Chun administration’s fruit. Combining all together, the exhibition iconographically wrote the narrative of enemy North Korea and our auspicious nation, that has fought against the enemy for all time, persuading this government as the one who can guard and lead all of you under the president’s guidance. The second period(1987-1991) of exhibition started to focus more on the ‘North Korea’ itself, performing as a knowledge frontier. It emphasized the abnormality of North Korea, making an antithetical contrast to the normal South. It guided people’s gaze to North Korea as a subject that needed to be absorbed into the normal South. The third period(1991-) exhibition began to put distance from emotional anticommunism banners. It displayed the ‘everyday life of North Koreans’ which was newly started from North Korean Studies.
 However, we can find several dissent and discontent about the exhibition, and the tourism system of Observatory from newspaper articles. It suggests the possibility of future study of Transculturation, or Counter-Memory approach to the borderland tourism sites.

The Effect of Weir Opening on Physiochemical Properties in the Geum Estuary of Republic of Korea

Deteriorated river water quality affects estuarine environments due to river and estuary linkages. Thus, river water quality improvement could play a pivotal role in the maintenance of estuarine ecosystem functions. The South Korean administration opened river weirs to restore river ecosystems and announced that this helped restore habitats and improve water quality. Despite these reported positive results in the rivers, little research has been conducted on the effects of weir opening on estuaries linking to rivers. We investigated the physicochemical properties of the Geum Estuary during the initial weir opening (2018) and stabilization (2021) periods. The results indicated that the NO3− inputs from rivers to estuaries decreased from 2018 to 2021 by 19~68%; however, the trends of [NO3−] in estuarine water columns in nearby estuary dams fluctuated between 2018 and 2021. No change in NO3− pollutant sources was observed from 2018 to 2021. Unlike [NO3−], [PO4−] and [SiO2] were higher in 2021; thus, large amounts of previously accumulated PO4− and SiO2 within the weirs might have been released from the river into the estuary. This supply of PO4− could enhance estuarine phytoplankton growth, where PO4− is a limiting factor for primary production due to excessive inputs of NO3− from rivers. Therefore, dredging the accumulated sediment within weirs should be considered prior to opening them to prevent the release of PO4− and SiO2 into estuaries.

South Korea's Eurasian Strategy: Evolving Geopolitics of Northeast Asia

The main academic interests of this study lie in the field of international security and Eurasian geopolitics. The article employs an interdisciplinary and policy-relevant approach. More specifically, the study trespasses several academic disciplines. It aims to be interdisciplinary, drawing from various branches of social sciences. Thematically, the article will investigate South Korea's Eurasian strategy within the evolving geopolitical realities of Northeast Asia. To this end, the case study approach allowing in-depth, multi-faceted explorations of complex Korean Peninsular politics will look at Eurasian policy initiatives under different South Korean administrations. The research questions in this project are exploratory. They aim to reveal and understand the factors that would help decipher the foreign policy orientation of South Korea vis-à-vis evolving geopolitics in Northeast Asia. The study will utilize document analysis by taking a systematic approach to understanding and interpreting the relevant documents to reveal answers to the specific research questions. Within the scope of the above-mentioned conceptual parameters, this project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the ever-changing geopolitical dynamics in Northeast Asia from the South Korean perspective.

Neighborhood and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults Living in Rural and Urban Regions in South Korea

Neighborhoods have a significant impact on depressive symptoms in older adults. In response to the increasing depression of older adults in Korea, this study aims to identify the relationship between perceived and objective neighborhood characteristics in depressive symptoms and find differences between rural and urban areas. We used a National survey collected in 2020 of 10,097 Korean older adults aged 65 and older. We also utilized Korean administration data for identifying the objective neighborhood characteristics. Multilevel modeling results indicated that depressive symptoms decreased when older adults perceived their housing condition (b = -0.04, p < 0.001), their interaction with neighbors (b = -0.02, p < 0.001), and overall neighborhood environment (b = -0.02, p < 0.001) positively. Among the objective neighborhood characteristics, only nursing homes (b = 0.09, p < 0.05) were related to depressive symptoms of older adults living in urban areas. For older adults living in rural areas, the number of social workers (b = -0.03, p < 0.001), the number of senior centers (b = -0.45, p < 0.001), and nursing home (b = -3.30, p < 0.001) in the neighborhood were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. This study found that rural and urban areas have different neighborhood characteristics related to older adults' depressive symptoms in South Korea. This study encourages policymakers to consider neighborhood characteristics to improve the mental health of older adults.

Evolution and prospects of the Central Asian policy of the Republic of Korea

The article is devoted to the specifics of the policies of the Republic of Korea (ROK) towards Central Asia (CA). South Korean administrations viewed the region as part of a larger regional strategy, whether tied to Asia under Lee Myung-bak or Russia under Park Geun-ha and Moon Jae-in. The difficulties with the realisaion of the Russian vector of Moon Jae-in’s New Northern Policy (NSP) led to designing the Central Asian countries as key partners of the ROK’s NSP. Under the Russian-Western confrontation and traditionally tense relations between the conservative South Korean administrations and the DPRK, the relevance of the Eurasian vector has decreased for the ROK. However, the curtailment of continental rhetoric and the shift in the priorities of South Korean diplomacy to the Indo-Pacific region will not greatly affect the practical cooperation between the ROK and the Central Asian countries. A prolonged crisis in Russian-American relations may lead to the fact that the ROK will begin to build its Central Asian course in connection to the South Asian direction of its Indo-Pacific strategy. The ROK will try to refrain from joining an anti-Chinese or anti-Russian course in CA. However, the split of the world into two groups and the growing polarization may make it much more difficult for Seoul to balance and pursue a policy independent from the United States in Central Asia.

NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACTS ON KOREAN OLDER ADULTS’ DEPRESSION

Abstract Older adults are more influenced by their neighborhood than young adults, however neighborhood impacts on older adults are little known. In response to the increasing depression of older adults in Korea, this study aims to identify the effect of perceived and objective neighborhood characteristics in depression and find differences between rural and urban areas. This study uses the Korean Elderly Survey conducted in 2020 on 10,097 older adults aged 65 and over residing in 17 states, and Korean administration data by connecting them. Multilevel modeling results show that after controlling individual characteristics, depression decreases when older adults perceive their housing condition (b=-.64, p&amp;lt;.001), interaction with neighbors (b=-.29, p&amp;lt;.001), overall neighborhood environment (b=-.26, p&amp;lt;.001) positively. Although objective neighborhood characteristics do not significantly reduce depression in older adults living in urban area, for older adults living in rural areas, the number of social worker (b=- .42, p &amp;lt;.001), the number of senior center (b=-6.70, p&amp;lt;.001), and home care services (b=-49.5, p &amp;lt;.001) are negatively associated with depression in older adults. This study discusses that neighborhood characteristics may play an important role in older adults’ depression, and that their effects may differ between rural and urban areas. This study encourages policy makers to consider neighborhood characteristics to improve the mental health of Korean older adults.

Transformation of South Korean Government Digital Communications

This study investigates the process of digital communication transformation following the specific policies of each South Korean administration. During the last twenty-five years, various political issues have arisen within Korean digital society, and each South Korean government has had to cope with those issues. However, the attitudes of the various political parties in South Korea toward the social issues resulting from digital communication have been very different.These attitudes can be generally divided into either mobilizational or controlling in relation to digital communication, which this paper will refer to as either “progressive” or “conservative.” Although digital communication technology has continuously evolved alongside political transformation, the development of South Korean democracy has varied depending on the strategies and approaches of different administrations

행정절차법과 행정기본법의 관계 재정립

In the Korean Administrative Procedure Act, amended on January 11, 2022, substantive provision on public commitments (Zusicherung), disclosure of violations, and administrative plans were newly introduced. The Korean General Act on Public Administration and the Administrative Procedure Act have overlapping provisions such as the principle of trust protection and reporting. In addition, the Korean General Act on Public Administration has regulations that are confused with the principle of balancing in administrative plan as a criterion for exercising administrative discretion. As such, the General Act on Public Administration and the Administrative Procedure Act pose difficulties in their interpretation and application due to overlapping or similar regulations. Today, the procedural law not only performs a function of contributing to the substantive law, but also has independent functions such as securing democratic legitimacy and prior remedies, as well as enhancing administrative efficiency. Procedural law and substantive law are not separated completely, but complement each other organically. In that respect, the Korean General Act on Public Administration and the Korean Administrative Procedure Act should be complementary, and in the long run, they should be integrated. Until the integration is realized, it is necessary to prevent a contradiction between the General Act on Public Administration and the Administrative Procedure Act and to make partial amendments to enhance the completeness of each Act. First, in the Administrative Procedure Act, some provisions on ‘procedural principles’ should be prepared, and provisions on general principles of Administrative Act should be unified in the General Act on Public Administration. Since the provisions on the duty of faithfulness in the General Act on Public Administration are ambiguous, it is desirable to delete them and to regulate the principle of equality in relation to the so-called self-binding of the administration (Selbstbindung der Verwaltung). Second, the reporting system is stipulated in two ways in the General Act on Public Administration and the Administrative Procedure Act. In my personal opinion it is desirable to uniformly regulate the reporting system in the Korean Administrative Procedure Act. Considering the intrinsic function of the reporting system, the right to substantive review should be reserved. For this, the period of consideration must be established before the report becomes effective. In case of reporting violations of laws and regulations during this period, regulations should be prepared for the administrative agency to suspend or ban. Third, the content regarding the criteria for exercise of discretion in Article 21 of the General Act on Public Administration is inaccurate and also not legally justified. Discretionary action has nothing to do with the principle of balancing. Article 21 of the General Act on Public Administration should make it clear that discretion, not just balancing, should be exercised appropriately for the purpose of the given authority. Although automatic disposition was introduced in the General Act on Public Administration, the procedural regulations are not considered at all. In this regard, the Korean Administrative Procedure Act should revise the rules of procedure related to automatic disposition. The enactment of the Korean General Act on Public Administration is a new challenge in the history of Korean administrative law. To make this Act more useful, I think that it needs to be harmonized with the Korean Administrative Procedure Act, and in the long run, both laws should be integrated. For the enactment of such an so-called “integrated administrative code”, a forward-looking attitude and response from academia and administrative practice are needed in the future.

한국행정법학회 10년의 회고와 과제 — 청담(晴潭) 최송화 초대 회장 3주기를 추념하며 —

한국행정법학회는 2010년 6월 25일 창립되었다. 한국행정법학회의 창립당시의 역사를 되돌아보는 것은 학회의 지속적인 발전을 위하여 매우 의미 있는 일에 속한다.<BR> 한국행정법학회는 한국공법학회와의 원만한 관계를 모색하며 다른 행정법 관련 학회와의 협력속에 갈등과 분열적 측면에서 학회를 창립한 전철을 밟지 않으려고 1년간의 논의과정을 거쳤다. 이번 기회에 전사(前史)를 포함하여 창립 전후의 과정을 역사적 기록으로 남겨 두려고 노력하였다.<BR> 한국행정법학회 창립이 논의되던 시기는 2009년 여름으로 새로운 법조양성시스템인 로스쿨이 출범한 상황에서 행정법을 전공하는 학자를 모두 포괄하는 학회 창립 필요성이 학계의 저류에 전혀 없지는 않았다. 약 1년간의 논의 끝에 학회 창립을 화합차원에서 성공적으로 이끌어내었다. 행정법 관련 학회가 먼저 활동 중이었고 뒤늦게 행정법학회가 창립된 것이다. 한국행정법학회는 그 이름이 상징하고 있듯이 행정법에 관한 대표적인 학회라고 할 수 있다.<BR> 최송화 초대 회장이 화이부동(和而不同)으로 자칫 분열로 치달을 수 있었던 상황에서 학회창립은 하되 회원들의 중지를 모아 합리적 절충점을 찾는 노력을 기울인 점은 높이 평가할 수 있다. 학회의 진로와 방향에 대한 보다 광범위하고 충실한 논의가 이루어지지 않은 점이 아쉽다. 한국공법학회를 형해화 하지 않고 한국공법학회를 母학회로 하는 기본적인 틀을 유지하는 선에서 학회 창립이 이루어 진 것으로 이는 절묘한 타협이라고 할 것이다.<BR> 10여년의 역사속에서 한국행정법학회는 명실상부한 대표 행정법학회로 성장하였다. 학회 창립에 초석을 놓은 고문단과 역대 이사장과 회장 및 집행부는 ① 학회의 정통성과 화합의 학문적 공동체 ② 균형적 참여와 조화로운 운영 ③ 학문적 전문성과 실천적 연구라는 학회 조직 및 운영의 3원칙을 준수하며 학회를 안정적으로 운영하여 왔다. 한국행정법학회는 화합적 학문공동체로 출범하여 10여년 간 이룩한 업적은 실로 경이롭고 엄청나다.<BR> 학회의 창립당시의 회원이 267명이었는데 현재 456명으로 200명 가량 증가하였다. 학회가 발전하려면 학자만이 아니라 정부 부처의 행정실무가와 행정법을 특화하려는 법조실무가를 회원으로 대폭 영입할 필요가 있다. 학회의 개방성 측면 뿐만 아니라 재정의 자립성 확보를 위해 회원 1,000명의 시대를 열어 한국행정법을 대표하는 학회로서의 위치를 확고히 점하는 노력이 필요하다.

South Korea's New Southern Policy as an Open Regime: A View from Southeast Asia

There are four ways on how the NSP Plus could be further improved. First, to avoid policy limitations and maximize the room for supply chain resiliency and functional cooperation, the coverage of the NSP countries can be expanded apart from ASEAN and India. Second, South Korea can employ the concept of Third-Party Market Cooperation (TPMC) or the pursuit of joint ventures or partnerships with other countries in maximizing capacity-building in third countries (NSP countries). Third, South Korea can help strengthen ASEAN institution-building, regionalism and internal balancing by applying a similar policy framework to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) just as it does to the Mekong Region. Fourth, there needs to be more reciprocity or two-way interaction in the NSP so as to not make it seem that ASEAN is only on the receiving end of South Korean generosity. Finally, it is important to note that a change in the South Korean administration does not necessarily spell the end of the NSP just as the US’ Pivot or Rebalance to Asia of the Obama Administration was remodeled to the Indo-Pacific under the Trump administration.

THE COMPARISON OF EVIDENCE IN STATE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT BETWEEN INDONESIA AND SOUTH KOREA

The judiciary under the supreme court consists of general courts, religious courts, military courts, and state administrative courts. In each procedural law court, the provisions concerning evidence are regulated. Evidence is the stage where the parties try to convince the panel of judges about the truth of the arguments put forward in a dispute based on valid evidence. Evidence has an important role because the results of evidence can be the basis for consideration by the panel of judges in making a decision. Evidence in the procedural law of the state administrative court is not only carried out in the Indonesian state administrative court but also in the South Korean Administrative Court. The historical development and organizational structure of the South Korean Administrative Court are the basis for analyzing the Evidence in the South Korean Administrative Court. Lessons from the South Korean Administrative Court can see the similarities and differences in the concept of evidence and type of evidence used in the South Korean Administrative Court with the Indonesian State Administrative Court. The approach used in this study is the statutory approach, comparative approach, and conceptual approach.

Social and Humanitarian Factor in South Korea's External Relations and The Korean Question

The development of the socio-humanitarian dimension of world politics provides new opportunities for enhancing the role and influence of the middle powers in the global affairs. That is why for understanding and assessment of their political opportunities on the international arena, it is necessary to analyze the approaches and policies of such countries on using socio-humanitarian factor to balance in the existing world balance power and ensure their foreign policy interests. The aim of the article is to analyze South Korea’s activities in the social and humanitarian sphere of world politics in the context of its foreign policy interests. The research question is: what is the role of the socio-humanitarian factor, in particular public diplomacy, in the external activities of South Korea with regard to the settlement of the Korean question? The author argues that South Korea sees social and humanitarian sphere as a possibility to strengthen its role and influence on the international arena. While developing the discourse of South Korea as a middle power, the South Korean leadership seeks to take part in creating norms and rules in different fields of global governance. Despite controversies concerning its status and policy as that of a middle power, South Korea advances through public diplomacy the discourse that constructs and enhance its middle power status and can contribute in forming the corresponding national identity. South Korea uses national branding as well to strengthen its political image. Further, the article points out that promoting South Korea’s stance and defending its interests on the Korean Peninsula represent a key task of South Korea’s public diplomacy. In particular, the article examines South Korea’s public diplomacy mechanisms on the Korean track towards the United States and emphasizes that although South Korea has actively engaged in public diplomacy in the USA, it still has a lot to do to explain South Korea's concerns to American political elites and U.S. publics and ensure that the relationship with the United States fully serves South Korean interests. Moreover, it is noted that enhancing South Korea’s role in global governance as well as forming constructive unification discourse (unification as a process now and as a result someday in the future) within the country and abroad are supposed to expand its opportunities to maneuver in the regional politics of East Asia and provide support for the South Korean initiatives on the Korean settlement. In the end, the author turns to the inter-Korean relations. The author states that different South Korean administrations have prioritized different functions of the socio-humanitarian factor. Conservative administrations put an emphasis on information pressure on the DPRK while the development of inter-Korean relations was conditioned by the denuclearization of North Korea. Progressive administrations prefer engaging the DPRK in social, humanitarian and economic interactions. In the first case the result was a rollback in inter-Korean relations with the North Korean leader-ship receiving additional grounds for the development of its military nuclear program. In the second case the social and humanitarian area was and remains a dimension providing promising opportunities for cooperation that is beneficial to the both parties as it is aimed at solving specific and practical problems of common interest. In that sense, the author argues that social and humanitarian factor in inter-Korean relations could serve as a safety cushion during intensification of the inter-Korean conflict and provide a launch pad for finding a way out of the impasses.

Power sector reform and CO2 abatement costs in Korea

The current Korean administration is driving change in the power sector by gradually phasing out nuclear power plants, expanding the use of renewable energy, and imposing restrictions on the operation of coal power plants. Considering these changes, the marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve would provide crucial information to determine an appropriate greenhouse gas reduction target, especially for 2030. This study derives the MAC curves for the Korean power sector in 2030 using a bottom-up optimization model with three scenarios based on different carbon pricing schedules. In addition, the carbon price required to achieve the CO2 emission targets in the Korean power sector in 2030 are estimated. The results show that a carbon price of 135–157 US$/tCO2 would be required to achieve the 2030 emission target for the power sector. By comparing the MAC curves of three different scenarios, we can reiterate the fact that early action regarding climate change mitigation is more effective and efficient than delayed action.

Rethinking Korea's Middle Power Diplomacy as a Nation Branding Project

South Korea s (hereafter Korea) recent middle power diplomacy has attracted worldwide attention. Korean administrations have attempted to steer the country along a middle power path, where it can play a more active global role that is commensurate with the size of its economy. Most accounts take Korea s self-declared identity as a middle power for granted; that is, they do not evaluate the non-conforming data. On the other hand, this paper traces the process of why the country projects a middle power identity. This paper first addresses alternative explanations of the positional, behavioral and identity approaches to answer this question. Following the failure of these explanations, this paper proposes that Korea s more assertive projection of its proclaimed middle power identity was a nation branding project that aimed to tackle the so-called Korea discount and to achieve its aspired place in the global prestige and status hierarchy. In turn, Korea envisioned its improved standing in the world helping it achieve its preferred global outcomes, particularly in shaping a favorable international environment surrounding the country.

Dangerous Liaisons? State-Chaebol Co-operation and the Global Privatisation of Development

ABSTRACTThis article analyses the relationships between private and public sectors in shaping the South Korean development assistance agenda. Since 2008, subsequent Korean administrations have made development assistance a keystone of their foreign policy. Fast growing middle-income countries seem to be favourite development partners for these administrations and the parallel increase in the overseas expansion of Korean chaebol in these developing partner markets suggests that interactions between private economic interests and development assistance exigencies have been numerous. Based upon fieldwork on Korean development assistance, this article shows that Korean conglomerates are both informally and structurally included in decision-making processes as a result of the specific governance architecture inherited from the developmental state era. But recently, since its accession to the Development Assistance Committee in 2010, Korea has also been institutionalising private actors’ inclusion in official development assistance delivery mechanisms. This should be understood as part of a global agenda that has increasingly privatised development formulation and delivery. The inclusion of chaebol in official development assistance through institutional mechanisms might actually be more aligned with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development norms than the existing literature suggests.

북한의 행정법에 관한 고찰 - 북한의 행정행위 및 행정입법 개념을 중심으로 -

북한의 행정법에 관한 고찰 - 북한의 행정행위 및 행정입법 개념을 중심으로 -

A Comparison of the Water Environment Policy of Europe and South Korea in Response to Climate Change

Climate change not only increases the atmospheric temperature, but also changes the precipitation conditions and patterns, which can lead to an increase in the frequency of occurrence of natural disasters, such as flooding and drought. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported fluctuations in the precipitation levels for each country from 1900 to 2005, based on global climate change, suggesting that environmental changes due to climate change manifest very differently based on the region. According to the results of studies that have been carried out recently, changes in the precipitation patterns based on climate change result in changes in the water environment, including alterations to the vegetation, land use, and river flow, while considerably influencing the rate of development of groundwater as well. In this study, the 3Is, which are the important variables of Ideas, Institutions, and Interests that are universal to the international field of political science, were used to comparatively analyze the water environment policies of South Korea and Europe. The first variable, Ideas, examined the influence of awareness on establishing the water environment policy in response to climate change. In particular, differences in the conceptual awareness of the water environment with regard to hyporheic zones were studied. The second variable, Institutions, examined the differences in the water environment policy within the national administration in response to climate change. The South Korean administration’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and the Ministry of Environment were used in a case study. Finally, the results drawn from the third variable, i.e., Interests, for South Korea appear to differ from those of Europe, in terms of water environment policy. In this study, the water environment policy of South Korea was analyzed and compared to that of Europe in order to identify problems in South Korea’s water environment policy in response to climate change, while seeking a sole solution for a comprehensive water environment policy direction for South Korea.

South Korean developments in the field of unification of peninsula states: theories and practice of their implementation

This article is devoted to the analyzes of five basic Korean unification theories, which were implementedby the Government of the Republic of Korea. In fact, it was the views of acting at a certain period of the Korean history administrations, taking into account domestic and foreign circumstances. An important factor was also the action of the North Korean regime within the framework of the Korean unification question as well as in other spheres.The Korean peninsula division after the WW II was one of the turning points for the North-East Asia (NEA) region as well as for the global IR system. Strategic construct of NEA, history of the Koreans have undergone significant changes, which formally defined, above all, the beginning and the subsequent deployment of the Korean War, which de jure is still going on (peace treaty absence). Both states on North and South ranked reunification of the Korean Peninsula as a primary national goal. This article points out that the process was actually impossible to achieve at least because of two separate but interrelated complex issues existence (the first issue is related with very different political, social and economic systems for nearly 70 years; the second set of problems related to the strategic environment in the region). The analysis shows that de jure since the end of the Korean War, there were at least five theories or «trends» in the South Korean unification research. All theories were motivated by a combination of ideological characteristics of real phenomena and events in these states and on international arena and the author takes into consideration all of them in conjunction with particular political administrations.

Branding South Korea in a Competitive World Order: Discourses and Dispositives in Neoliberal Governmentality

Since 2008, the South Korean administration has invested significant budgetary and political resources in its nation branding strategy, involving the private sector and Korean citizens in this endeavour. This article takes Korea as an exemplary case study of the way many states have enrolled their citizens, through nation branding, in the construction of a collective competitive identity. This study is based on an empirically deductive methodology, looking at the industry literature on nation branding, official sources, iconography and videos from the Korean nation branding campaign, and drawing on interviews with actors and observers of this campaign. I suggest that Korean nation branding should be seen as a continuation of the capitalist developmental project initiated by Park Chung-Hee in 1960s. Lee Myung-Bak’s nation branding campaign belongs to a series of strategies aiming at transforming South Korean into a successful global site of capitalist accumulation. This path dependency involves citizen mobilisation, and this is analysed through a Foucauldian prism: this article shows that although modalities of social control have evolved with the democratisation in 1987, they still play a role, combining coercion and non-coercive technologies of the self, in seeking to transform Korean citizens into competitive capitalist subjects.

Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation 1998–2012: A Policy Arrangement Approach

Despite political obstacles, South and North Korea have a history of conducting cooperative forest activities. Since 1999, the two Koreas have taken part in implementing cooperative forest projects, including reforestation, construction of tree nurseries, and control of insect pests, to achieve sustainability of the forests on the Korean Peninsula. This paper analyzes South Korean policies for inter-Korean forest cooperation, using a policy arrangement approach (PAA) with four dimensions: discourse, actors, rules of the game, and power. Policy changes by three South Korean administrations are analyzed: that of Kim Dae Jung (1998–2002), Roh Moo Hyun (2003–2007) and Lee Myoung Bak (2008–2012). The analysis focuses on an examination of the interactions among the four dimensions of policy arrangement and the policies of the administrations. This research indicates that change of the South Korean policy discourse to North Korea by the various administrations has fundamentally influenced actors and their resources, as well as the rules, in the field of inter-Korean forest cooperation. Insights from this analysis can contribute to the design of bilateral forest cooperation policies on the Korean Peninsula.