Civic Activism in South Korea : The Intertwining of Democracy and Neoliberalism

After the transition from military rule to procedural democracy through popular movements, South Korea actively embraced globalization in 1990s under its Civilian Government (munmin jæongbu: 1993-1997). By rapidly adopting a neoliberal strategy of deregulation and privatization, the government promoted its localized project of Segyehwa (globalization) as the source of more prosperity and recognition for the country. This euphoria was followed by two major economic crises; the Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998) and the Global Financial Crisis (2008- 2009) that exposed South Korea to the shock doctrine" of neoliberal restructuring, dictated by the global trinity of economic institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and further subjected it to neoliberal governmentality. It was in this that "citizens' organizations" (simindanch'e) emerged and spread in South Korea as the vehicle for democratic social change. Why and how does civic activism that is consciously oriented toward democratization resist and accept neoliberalism? How and to what extent does neoliberalism enable such activism and simultaneously undermine it? Between Democracy and Neoliberalism examines the relationship between the two modern concepts from the vantage point of civic activism in South Korea. In order to demonstrate a contradictory relationship between the two, Seungsook Moon follows the trajectories of activism interacting with globalization in South Korea, which has profoundly transformed it since the 1990s. Comparatively speaking, civic activism pursued by "progressive" citizens' organizations can be seen as a Korean version of social movement, critically responding to neoliberal globalization and yearning for an alternative world order. However, such resistant activism is more complex than one-dimensional opposition and protest to neoliberalism. In the face of persistent and resilient neoliberalism even after the global financial crisis, this book explores how civic activism can shed light on the theoretical discussion of the complex and evolving relationship between democracy and neoliberalism through the South Korean case"--

• | Author: Seungsook Moon
• | Publisher: Columbia University Press
• | Publication Date: Jul 16, 2024
• | Number of Pages: NA pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 023121149X
• | ISBN-13: 9780231211499