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The Idea and Practices of Citizenship in South Korea

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Book cover Citizenship and Migration in the Era of Globalization

Abstract

This essay examines a history of the idea of citizenship and its practices in Korea from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first centuries. Based on this historical survey, it argues that the prototype of citizenship constructed from the nationalist discourse on building a modern nation is simultaneously collectivist and elitist. This prototype shows that individualistic assumptions implied in the liberal notion of citizenship were selectively modified and reinvented in the Korean context. This prototype became more authoritarian in the discourse of kungmin, and was at times challenged by a populist view among some leftist thinkers and activists. But such challenges were usually unsuccessful in the face of power politics during Japanese colonial rule, US Army Military Government rule, and the authoritarian rule imposed by Korean civilian and military regimes. A significant change in this persistent pattern has emerged since the establishment of procedural democracy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12604, USA

    Seungsook Moon

  2. 4 Watson Road, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12603, USA

    Seungsook Moon

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  1. Seungsook Moon
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Correspondence to Seungsook Moon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. f. Soziologie, Univ. Heidelberg, Bergheimer Str. 58, Heidelberg, 69115, Germany

    Markus Pohlmann

  2. Department of Sociology, Sungkyunkwan University, Jongro-ku, Myungryun-dong, Seoul, 110-745, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Jonghoe Yang

  3. Debate Commission, National Election Broadcasting, Gwanak-gu, Backjae-gil 17, Seoul, 151-800, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Jong-Hee Lee

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Moon, S. (2013). The Idea and Practices of Citizenship in South Korea. In: Pohlmann, M., Yang, J., Lee, JH. (eds) Citizenship and Migration in the Era of Globalization. Transcultural Research – Heidelberg Studies on Asia and Europe in a Global Context, vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19739-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19739-0_2

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