Transnational Intellectual Networks and their Influence on Social Movements in South Korea - A rediscovery of history through grassroots activism in the 1970s and 1980s
Date
2018
Authors
Whitney, Younghye Seo
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Younghye Seo Whitney: Transnational intellectual networks and
their influence on social movements in South Korea - A
rediscovery of history through grassroots activism in the 1970s
and 1980s (Under the Direction of Hyaeweol Choi)
What role did grassroots associations in Japan play in South
Korea’s pro-democracy movement? The end of the Second World War
in 1945 finally liberated the Korean Peninsula from 36 years of
Japanese colonial rule. The political vacuum this left resulted
in the nation being torn in two in 1953, with the formation of
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the
Republic of Korea (South Korea). The turmoil continued for
decades, with South Korea’s population facing ongoing
pro-democracy struggles. It was not until 1987 that these
struggles culminated in the nation achieving its first directly
elected President.
Despite ample evidence that an intricate network of individuals
was actively conveying information between Korea and Japan during
this period, the narrative surrounding South Korea’s
pro-democracy struggles is one that is generally told from the
perspective of its domestic actors, with rare mention of external
actors, aside from those based in the United States. This thesis
attempts to add greater nuance to the shared political history
between these two nations by rediscovering the role that
missionaries and scholars residing in Japan played in supporting
South Korea’s pro-democracy movement.
Commencing with the broad-daylight kidnapping of Kim Dae Jung in
the middle of Tokyo in August 1973, Japan found itself deeply
embroiled in the ongoing turmoil in South Korea. This ongoing
engagement proved to be a crucial trigger for intense grassroots
interest in the situation in Korea. This engagement also acted as
a catalyst for the long-running success of the Letters from South
Korea articles that were published each month in the influential
magazine Sekai between 1973 and 1988.
Using Keck and Sikkink’s boomerang model as an overarching
framework, this thesis focuses on the personal history of Chi
Myŏng-gwan, author of the Letters articles. Through an
examination of Chi’s early life, this thesis considers
important factors which contributed to the success of the Letters
project. This thesis argues that a convergence of like-minded
individuals who possessed key capacities was crucial in enabling
the project to play an essential role in raising and maintaining
the awareness of South Korea in Japan and around the world.
This thesis finds evidence that the activities carried out by the
actors driving the Project helped to motivate governments beyond
Japan to apply pressure on the Park regime and subsequent regimes
in South Korea and thus played an indirect, yet important support
role in enabling the nation’s pro-democracy movement to achieve
its goals. By focusing on this under-explored narrative of
grassroots cooperation between South Korea and Japan, this thesis
attempts to rethink the recent political history between these
two nations, with the aim of identifying possible avenues for
improving Korea-Japan relations going forward.
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Transnational advocacy networks, grassroots activism, Japan, Korea, Japan-Korea relations, Korea-Japan relations, the role of intellectuals in social movements, Korean prodemocracy movement
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Thesis (MPhil)
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