• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.40 no.5 s.110
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• pp.473-490
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• 2005

The term hybridity has recently emerged as one of the most popularized leitmotivs in contemporary diasporic and transnational problematics on migrants' nomadic experiences. Especially, in postcolonial politics, hybridity is argued to provide a critical 'third space' on which to challenge discursive boundaries and redescribe power-embedded history However, this paper suggests that the hybrid subject position can be easily articulated in producing new cultural discourse and empowering hegemonic subjects in certain spates. Based on distinguishing the intentional, conscious hybridity from the organic, lived hybridity, this research Intends to investigate the Janus-faced, double-edged nature of the postcolonial politics of hybridity in the case of Los Angeles Koreatown. First, I discuss how a place of organic hybridity in Koreatown can lead to challenging invented and depoliticized ethnicity. At the second half of this paper, 1 focus on understanding the ways in which new Korean American professionals and elites employ the discourse of '1.5 generation' as an intentional hybridity for empowering their own political position at a local scale. I conclusively suggest that hybridity should be a deconstructive strategy to unlearn dominant socio-spatial boundaries rather than bring about the third space as a reterritorialized political position.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.738-749
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• 2020

The stamp commemorating the inauguration of a president is the smallest historical symbol that contains a nation's vision and wishes of the times. The stamp itself is just a collection of images but contains the meaning of the highest leader's perceived image at the time through their face and a symbol. This paper regarded presidential inauguration commemorative stamps in the context of advertisement or promotional materials to structurally analyze the images of the political leaders embedded in stamps utilizing 'semiology' theory, which is considered to be a useful method of advertisement. In accordance with social and cultural changes, the 2000s, when the changes in the presidential inauguration stamp was most distinctively noticeable, was set as the time frame. Only the presidential inauguration commemorative stamps of Moo-hyun Roh, Myung-bak Lee, Geun-hye Park, and Jae-in Moon were selected for this study. In order to interpret the image, a semiotic structure was applied to reconstruct the meaning of the image of the political leaders. Since this can lead to subjective judgment in image analysis, it attempted to find the truth through comprehensive interpretation and approach it from the social and cultural contexts, not a static approach. In this paper, the images of the Korean political leaders in the 2000s shown on stamps are no longer influenced by traditional political factors such as political parties, political ideologies, and regional origins due to the evolution of democracy. This study derives the characteristics of the images of independent and characteristic leaders centered on a person according to the situations and social phenomena of the times.

• Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.305-330
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• 2018

The purpose of this article is to examine whether Myanmar's experience in which dealing with the most exemplary change among rogue states or pariah state in the 21st century is feasible for North Korea's case. Recently, North Korea's willingness to dialogue, reform and open is similar to the precedent in which the Myanmar military junta dismantled its ruling system and turned over transition period through general elections in 2010 and 2015 each. The so-called 'Myanmar Model' refers to a country branded as a rogue state which has been under the international sanctions and pressure, and opening its political system and the market by choosing transformation. However, rapid changes in speed across the entire society after opening up are impossible because the political elite is only the leading role and implementation in the transition. In case of Myanmar, military culture has penetrated into society due to such a long-lasting military dictatorship, and even democratic bloc has become accustomed to authoritarian decision-making process. Furthermore, the "reserved area" of the old regime still exists in a deformed political structure that can not retrieve the interests of the military. Therefore there could not be achieved political development in term of qualification. North Korea also appears unlikely to achieve political and economic assessment in a short period of time, as civil society has not appeared due to its long dictatorship and very low economic development levels. Like Myanmar, North Korea is also likely to control the pace and direction of upcoming reforms and open, as the dictator or most powerful person chose to reform and open up. Therefore, if North Korea moves toward the 'Myanmar Model', there will be high expectations of new changes in the short term, but it could be delayed or stalled in the mid and long term.

• Informatization Policy
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.19-35
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• 2021

The purpose of this research is to investigate the attributes of the online world and to analyze their influence on democracy. The research focuses on the mayoral by-elections that were held in Seoul and Busan, South Korea, on April 4, 2021. The study demonstrates the characteristics of online spaces and the polarization of the online public through news articles and user comments from the Internet. The research includes topic modeling to measure the diversity of media reports, sentiment analysis to measure online public opinion, and interrupted time series analysis to understand how a particular event influences online attitudes. A combination of these methods is used to attempt to estimate the strength of political polarity in the online environment. The study shows diverse media reports by election region and candidate, where the online public repeatedly reveals high negative and low positive attitudes towards each candidate. Moreover, political polarity can differ based on the level of interest in an election. Although voters pay less attention to a by-election than a presidential election, there is a solid political polarity in the online world. Hence, the research recommends preparing measures to alleviate the polarization as politics requires significant online participation.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.172-179
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• 2016

Korea society in the 1980s is the timing of the hybrid intermingled with the continuous industrialization in the 1970s and the democratic aspirations of the 1990s. Korean films in the '80s codified a tension and conflict patterns of the industrialization and democratization in the style such as film space. The purpose of this study is to consider how this aspect of industrialization and democratization in the '80s was codified in Korean films of the '80s. Specifically, it focuses on the style representing the urban space in Korean films of the '80s. This study looks at the changing pattern of the Korea Society through the 1980s by analyzing the space configuration form of Good Windy Day(1980) and Chil-su And Man-su(1988). Good Windy Day to finalize the '70s and Chil-su And Man-su to greet the '90s show the hybrid aspect of the '80s. In particular, the urban space style of the two films codified the political, economic and social culture of Korea as a whole.

• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• v.144
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• pp.257-283
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• 2017

The purpose of this paper is primarily to examine models of collective decision-formation and decision-making. The goal is to propose a model of decision-formation and decision-making that is appropriate for a democratic society. Habermas distinguishes these models of decision-formation and decision-making by liberal, republican, and deliberative political models according to their justification types. Axel Honneth, on the other hand, is divided into three models of liberalism, proceduralism, and republicanism. I want to divide the model of possible decision-making in democratic society into three, that is, the model based on force, the model based on procedure, and the republican model. This distinction will identify the characteristics of each decision-making model and this confirmation will help us find the best decision-making model for a democratic society. In the end, I will combine the republican model with the procedural model. For this synthesis, I will also propose three conditions in modern society. I will argue that the three conditions of collective intelligence, active freedom, and horizontal networks are necessary.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.181-214
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• 2015

This study analyzed the characteristics of the politics of technoscience and governance in South Korea, taking advantage of the policy changes on the stem cell research after Hwang's affair. In spite of generally accepted conventional wisdom that stem cell research had been suffering 'crisis' after the Hwang's affair, South Korea succeeded in developing the first and the largest stem cell product in the world. However, considering the fact that the stem cell research capabilities and technological competitiveness of Korea have been assessed as relatively low compared to the development performance, there is a need to extrapolate how such result could be achieved. To answer these questions, we analyzed changes in the R&D expenditure before and after the scandal and verified the 'crisis of stem cell research' following the reduction of financial support from government. From the analysis of literature on the policy reports and news, we described the process of discourse changes in policy and analyzed the characteristics of the politics of technoscience and governance of stem cell research. This study emphasized that the government R&D and regulation policy play the key roles in the development of stem cell research rather than in the technological competitiveness in South Korea. Furthermore, this study argued that democratic governance still does not work under the policy conditions that technocratic decision-making of stem cell research fails to learn from the Hwang's affairs.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.365-393
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• 2008

This research examnied the roles, the strategies and the influence of labor unions on the pension reform. In Italia labor unions were important actors in pension reform politics during 1990s, but in 2004 labor union was excluded from the pension reform. This difference is not only related with diffusion of the leftist party but also the experience of pension benefit retrenchment of the pension reform in 1995 in which labor unions had initiatives. Labor unions choose their strategies, social dialogue or mass struggle, depending on the attitudes of government. After change of government following the failure of the pension reform in 1994 Italian government tried social dialogue. In Dini reform in 1995, laborunions had initiative in making pension reform plan. Labor unions obtained member's approval using membership vote. It had repressed opposition from militant sectors effectively. However Labor unions concentrated on the issues of transition measures and protecting vested rights in seniority pension ignoring problems of contribution evasion of small-firm workers and benefit adequacy of young workers. Even when labor unions leaded social concertation processes and pursued union democracy, labor unions' influences on the pension reform had fundamental limitations.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.56
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• pp.239-264
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• 2018

Chosun regime, when it replaced the predecessor of Koryo, had to create political ideological system for new integration of the people. The new system, based on Confucianism, replaced religious values of Buddhism with educational ones. In this educational-ideological system, educational objects were mostly limited in character education's. Its goal was 'restoration of good nature'. For the principal agent of educational process, teacher had the initiative. These traits of educational system can be understood as an 'nature-unfolding perspective' or 'formal discipline perspective'. Moreover, the idea of 'teacher shall be served like prince' seems to be ground of political authoritarianism. In this respects, political traits of traditional education system can be restraining elements for developing independent individuality and free citizenship among Korean people. However, traditional teacher was not only authoritarian trainer. As 'a follower of truth and good', he was equal to his disciples. Teacher learned by teaching them. Students could be colleagues of their teacher. And the main traits of traditional education, focusing character development and community consciousness, are still important, in particular, to modern Korean educational and societal environment wanting in humane and participating citizenship.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.273-295
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• 2017

The Philippines in 2016 showed the highest GDP growth rate among Southeast Asian countries, in spite of domestic and international turbulence caused by the war on drugs and unexpected foreign policies after Duterte's presidency. The social contexts and political dynamics behind 'Duterte phenomenon' have raised key questions and issues to other countries including Korea, as to democracy and politics in current neoliberal challenges. The Philippines' choices for independent foreign policy and challenges against existing hegemony would continue to draw attention, particularly on whether this would end in an experiment of a country or initiate an alternative power block among neighboring countries and ASEAN communities.