Transnational Intellectual Networks and their Influence on Social Movements in South Korea - A rediscovery of history through grassroots activism in the 1970s and 1980s
Creators: name: Whitney, Younghye Seo
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2018
Subjects: Transnational advocacy networks
grassroots activism
Japan
Korea
Japan-Korea relations
Korea-Japan relations
the role of intellectuals in social movements
Korean prodemocracy movement

description: 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.