Individualisation of civil society in the context of the information age: the case of South Korea

This article focuses on the shift from the organised to a more individualised civil society in South Korea, specifically in the context of the information age. Korean civil society saw a growth in democratisation movements during decades of authoritarian rule that ended with the successful civil upr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational social science journal Vol. 64; no. 213-214; pp. 249 - 261
Main Author Shin, Jin-Wook
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Paris Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2013
EditionEnglish edition
Subjects
Asian history
Civil society
Democracy
History
Individualism
Information society
Information technology
Social change
South Korea
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Summary:This article focuses on the shift from the organised to a more individualised civil society in South Korea, specifically in the context of the information age. Korean civil society saw a growth in democratisation movements during decades of authoritarian rule that ended with the successful civil uprising in 1987. After the political opening of 1987, reform-oriented forces in Korean civil society have been differentiated into diverse sectors, and many experienced a rapid institutionalisation and professionalisation. In the 2000s, however, the importance of these civil society organisations gradually weakened, while communication networks based on the Internet and social network services (SNS) and the spontaneous protests of individual actors have come to the fore. The present article analyses this historical shift in the Korean civil society and presents the characteristic features of the emerging individualised civil society, including its weaknesses and problems.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-G8VFX8RH-H
Research Grant of the National Research Foundation of Korea - No. 2014S1A3A2044833
ArticleID:ISSJ12042
istex:F953C12601210D14BA31631C9EA42DE5D6EB45CB
The research of this paper was supported by the Research Grant of the National Research Foundation of Korea (Social Science Korea NRF-2014S1A3A2044833). Part of this study has been presented under the title "Mobile Citizens and the Individualization of Korean Civil Society in the Information Age" at the International Symposium "People's Mobility in East Asia" at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, on March 23, 2013. The author is grateful for the comments by Prof. Zhenjiang Zhang, Prof. Diana Wong, and, in particular, Prof. Takeshi Shinoda who passed away in November 2014 after an exceptional contribution to intellectual interchange in East Asia.
The research of this paper was supported by the Research Grant of the National Research Foundation of Korea (Social Science Korea NRF‐2014S1A3A2044833). Part of this study has been presented under the title “Mobile Citizens and the Individualization of Korean Civil Society in the Information Age” at the International Symposium “People's Mobility in East Asia” at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, on March 23, 2013. The author is grateful for the comments by Prof. Zhenjiang Zhang, Prof. Diana Wong, and, in particular, Prof. Takeshi Shinoda who passed away in November 2014 after an exceptional contribution to intellectual interchange in East Asia.
ISSN:0020-8701
1468-2451
DOI:10.1111/issj.12042