South Korean Social Movements: From Democracy to Civil Society

This book tracks the transformation of Korean social movements from the democracy movements during the authoritarian period to the dominance of contemporary civil society groups. South Korea’s transition to democracy in 1987 was motivated, in part, by the pressure from social movement groups that fought the state to bring about democracy. After democratic transition, however, social movement groups found themselves in a qualitatively different political context which in turn galvanized the evolution of the social movement sector. The democracy movement of the 1970s and 1980s gave way to the civil society movements we see in South Korea today. This book explores the evolution of social movements in South Korea by focusing on how social movements have become institutionalized and diffused in the democratic period.