Transformation Of South Korea Research Articles

South Korea during the Park Chung Hee Era: Explaining Korea’s Developmental Decades

Abstract Despite the voluminous literature on South Korea’s rapid economic development and social transformation in the 1960s and 1970s, the literature in English on Park Chung Hee — the political figure who indelibly marked this era — is still lacking. Furthermore, the existing studies approach the subject of Korea’s fateful decades from general theoretical perspectives, such as the developmental state. This approach inevitably flattens out historical particularity in the process. A recent edited volume, The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea, fills these gaps by bringing political history back into the study of Korean modernization. The goal of this review essay is a critical evaluation of this volume’s contribution to scholarship on South Korea. It is posited that The Park Chung Hee Era throws light on topics such as Park’s leadership that have been hitherto neglected in the analysis of arguably the most consequential decades in the history of South Korea. However, while the edited volume mounts an effective criticism of existing perspectives on Korea’s developmental decades under Park Chung Hee’s rule, it is less successful in offering a consistent framework to analyze different causal factors shaping the Korean trajectory of economic development.

The Park Chung Hee era: the transformation of South Korea

The Park Chung Hee era: the transformation of South Korea

Korea's Aristocratic Moods: Re-examining Chos[obreve]n Social and Political History

Despite the vast influence of “Chinese culture” on Korea, the Chos[obreve]n dynasty (1392–1910) was a distinct cultural sphere governed by its own internal logic that centred on the aristocracy. Over the past twenty years, the importance of this fact has received emphasis in detailed studies by Deuchler (1992), Palais (1996) and Duncan (2000). The recent works by Hwang, Park and Kim that are the subject of this essay constitute a triptych of studies that further illuminate theimplications of social status in Chos[obreve]n and show how South Korea's transformation over the past five decades represents a radical deviation from the defining characteristics of its Confucian past.

Democracy and social change: a history of South Korean student movements, 1980-2000

South Korea experienced a transition from authoritarianism to democracy in the late 1980s. Throughout the 1980s, hundreds of university students in South Korea went to factories and shantytowns to organize the working class and the urban poor. While politicizing almost all issues extant in South Korean society, they mobilized thousands of students into formidable street demonstrations that eventually forced the Chun administration (1980-1987) to carry out sweeping political reforms. The book explains the emergence of the radical student movement and the subsequent political transformation in South Korea in the last two decades. It pays particular attention to the various organizing methods, the patterns of changing ideologies, and political tactics of the student movement. With extensive interview materials taken from former student activists, the book provides insightful insiders' knowledge of what had happened in the student movement. By situating the South Korean student movement in its broad socio-historical contexts, it investigates the interplay of structural forces and agency to explain the political transformation of South Korea between 1980 and 2000.

Robert E. Bedeski: The transformation of South Korea: reform and reconstruction in the Sixth Republic under Roh Tae Woo, 1987–1992. 197 pp. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. £45 (paper £12.99).

Robert E. Bedeski: The transformation of South Korea: reform and reconstruction in the Sixth Republic under Roh Tae Woo, 1987–1992. 197 pp. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. £45 (paper £12.99).

The Transformation of South Korea: Reform and Reconstruction in the Sixth Republic Under Roh Tae Woo, 1987–1992. By Robert E. Bedeski. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. vi, 197 pp. $55.00; $16.95 paper.

The Transformation of South Korea: Reform and Reconstruction in the Sixth Republic Under Roh Tae Woo, 1987–1992. By Robert E. Bedeski. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. vi, 197 pp. $55.00; $16.95 paper.

The return of local autonomy: An analysis of South Korea's 1991 Local Elections

In 1991, South Koreans had their first opportunity to vote in local elections in over 30 years. At stake were 4,303 seats on 260 local councils in small cities, counties, townships, and municipal districts (nonpartisan elections) and 866 seats on councils in the nations's six large cities' and nine provinces (partisan elections). The return of local elections was seen by some political observers as a benchmark for measuring the degree to which the Republic of Korea had evolved into a more democratic society. In fact, for quite some time, a more decentralized governmental system, as measured by local autonomy, had been seen as an essential step in any transformation of South Korea into a democratic state (cf. Kim, Bun Woong, 1991; Ahn, Chung-Si, 1991; l i e and Aaugh, 1991; Lee, 1991). Korea is a nation with large and increasingly educated middle class. Its informed electorate is quite large. They understand the dynamics of Korean politics as well as several maxims of power that prevail. First, power resides in the national government, particularly in the president and in the chaebol (large industrial conglomerates). Second, family facilitate success and the ability to achieve position and power in the society. Nepotism is accepted as a cultural reality and it is not defined in any way as being improper or inappropriate. Third, ties are extremely important High school friendships and especially uni-

The transformation of South Korea: reform and reconstitution in the Sixth Republic under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992

South Korea underwent rapid economic development under a semi-military, virulently anti-communist government which banned trade unions and kept close checks on the economy. President Roe Tae Woo has, however, since 1987, introduced electoral and social reforms. Strikes and wage rises have followed, leading to a loss of competitive edge, and the growth of opposition parties has resulted in political stalemate. Robert E. Bedeski provides a thorough analysis of the institutions of government in South Korea and how they have been transformed by the introduction of political pluralism, and of the attempt to liberalize without undermining economic success. He also examines the new political parties and their role within the framework of the South Korean political system, as well as their social context. State reforms are compared with developments in Taiwan, the Phillipines, North Korea, China and the former Soviet Union. The major themes of state-building an deconomic development are thoroughly explored. The author also deals with South Korea's international environment and changing foreign policy.

Bedeski, Robert E., "Transformation of South Korea: Reform and Reconstitution in the Sixth Republic under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992" (Book Review)

Bedeski, Robert E., "Transformation of South Korea: Reform and Reconstitution in the Sixth Republic under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992" (Book Review)