Publications
Detailed Information
The Candle-lit Demonstration as a Social Drama: The Dynamics of Civil Disobedience in Korea
DC Field | Value | Language |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.author | Joe, Il Dong | - |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-05-23T06:27:27Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2012-05-23T06:27:27Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2012 | - |
dc.identifier.citation | Korean Social Sciences Review(KSSR), Vol.2 No.1, pp. 95-130 | - |
dc.identifier.issn | 2234-4039 | - |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10371/76326 | - |
dc.description | Translated From the published article in the Korean Cultural Anthropology 42(1):
179-220, 2009 with permission from Korean Society for Cultural Anthropology. | - |
dc.description.abstract | This paper is an analysis of the candlelight demonstrations of 2008 in South Korea as a social
drama. The demonstration participants each have different, individual reasons for joining the cause, yet those reasons can all be attributed to the unrestrained competition imposed by a capitalist society. The South Korean governments decision to import American beef became an event through which the participants expressed their discontent. Prior to participating in these demonstrations, many people did not feel the need for solidarity with others to any great extent. However, with new boundaries forming between people and societal discord simultaneously resulting from greatly increased pressure, people became concerned with the meaning and possibility of solidarity. The collapse of these borders started with questions about in the state of science, heretofore assumed to be precise and neutral. This is because scientific reasoning was the foundation for the governments argument that the importation of American beef was for the public good. In the many debates surrounding the issue of the importation of American beef, both sides used scientific figures to prove their cases. In order words, this demonstration case illustrates how scientific arguments can be analyzed, interpreted, and provided different arguments by individuals whose political ideologies are different. As the demonstrations grew, the police began to use a violent measure to suppression them. Confronting the violence, people ridiculed the authority with wit and humor. This was made possible by the mutual sympathy and like-mindedness of the participants, who in separation between street and side-walk determined by established society, crossed various social, gender, and age-related boundaries together. In reality though, the forces tying the protestors were always in flux. In a few situations, the line between the conservative and the progressive became unclear, and that between violence and non-violence also changed. At that stage, a rough internal order was created. The birth of that order represented a return to the usual unity. New possibilities emerged as these people, who while opposing to the government, crossed barriers together, began to return to normalcy through their own individual capacities. The people realized that the authority they had trusted, and which in the past had protected them in the public arena was by no means a guaranteed thing. Also understanding that they themselves could be victims of this power regime, the peoples response manifested itself within their neighborhoods in a variety of different forms. Efforts to return to normal, and routine daily life were started, as well as those to foster new regional solidarity and new consumer rights movements. A conscious momentum was formed whereby politicians seeking solidarity among neighbor citizens saw an ideal in how large-scale politics utilized mass media. The final results of the social drama are not important. What is matter is the process by which individuals, through the experiences of the collective actions, realize their individual identity and meaning of life. Therefore, the experience of participating in the 2008 candlelight demonstrations, which had no organized leadership, set the groundwork for calling into question the division between everyday life and politics in Korean society. | - |
dc.language.iso | en | - |
dc.publisher | Center for Social Sciences, Seoul National University | - |
dc.subject | ‘the candle-lit demonstration’ | - |
dc.subject | social drama | - |
dc.subject | civil society | - |
dc.subject | solidarity | - |
dc.subject | the safety issue of U.S. beef imports | - |
dc.subject | public benefit | - |
dc.subject | science discourse | - |
dc.subject | humor | - |
dc.subject | Korea | - |
dc.title | The Candle-lit Demonstration as a Social Drama: The Dynamics of Civil Disobedience in Korea | - |
dc.type | SNU Journal | - |
dc.contributor.AlternativeAuthor | 조일동 | - |
dc.citation.journaltitle | Korean Social Sciences Review(KSSR) | - |
dc.citation.endpage | 130 | - |
dc.citation.number | 1 | - |
dc.citation.pages | 95-130 | - |
dc.citation.startpage | 95 | - |
dc.citation.volume | 2 | - |
- Appears in Collections:
- Files in This Item:
Item View & Download Count
Items in S-Space are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.