Contentious Activism and Inter-Korean Relations

In South Korea, debate over relations with the North is a contentious subject that transcends traditional considerations of physical and economic security. Political activists play a critical role in shaping the discourse as they pursue the separate yet connected agendas of democracy, human rights, and unification. Providing international observers with a better understanding of how South Korean policy makers manage inter-Korean relations, this volume traces the debate from the 1970s through South Korea's democratic transition. Focusing on four case studies -- the 1980 Kwangju uprising, the June 1987 uprising, the move toward democracy in the 1990s, and the decade of "progressive" government that began with the election of Kim Dae Jung in 1997 -- Danielle Chubb unravels South Korean activists' complex views on reunification, with the more radical voices promoting a North Korean-style form of socialism. While these arguments have dissipated over the years, traces remain in discussions over engaging with North Korea to bring security and peace to the peninsula.

List of contents

PrefaceList of AbbreviationsNote on Romanization and CitationsIntroduction1. Political Activism, Discursive Power, and Norm Negotiation2. Political Activism Under Yushin and the Kwangju Uprising, May 19803. From Kwangju to Democracy, 1980--19874. South Korea in Transition, 1987--19975. A New Era of Inter-Korean Relations, 1998--2007Conclusion: Inter-Korean Relations from a South Korean PerspectiveNotesReferencesIndex

About the author

Danielle Chubb is lecturer in international relations at Deakin University, Melbourne.

Product details

• Authors: CHUBB, Danielle Chubb, Danielle L. Chubb, Chubb Danielle L.
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.02.2014
• EAN: 9780231161367
• ISBN: 978-0-231-16136-7
• No. of pages: 296
• Series: Contemporary Asia in the World; Contemporary Asia in the World
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Comparative and international political science; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Advocacy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, International Relations, Politics & government, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, South Korea, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Asian History, North Korea