Digital Opportunities and Democratic Participation in Tech-Savvy Korea

• Published in: Korea observer Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 545 - 568
• Main Author: Lee, Yoonkyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Institute of Korean Studies 01.12.2013; 한국학술연구원
• Subjects: Communication; Democracy; Demonstrations & protests; Digital technology; Economic growth; GDP; Gender; Gross Domestic Product; Information technology; Infrastructure; Internet; Language usage; Mass media; Mass media effects; Participation; Political activism; Political behavior; Political participation; Political power; Politics; R&D; Research & development; Research & development expenditures; Social classes; Social networks; Talk shows; 정치외교학; South Korea
• ISSN: 0023-3919; 2586-3053

South Korea's technological advancement especially in the area of Internet infrastructure and the usage of social media is widely recognized. These technological tools have been instrumental in mobilizing citizen protests around various political issues in recent years. Yet, our understanding is limited whether digital opportunities consisting of the Internet and social media have enhanced or maintained the existing patterns of democratic participation and representation in contemporary Korea. To explore this question, this paper begins with an overview of the rapid expansion of information technology in Korea as well as recent protest cases (20022012) where Internet and social media have played a crucial role in mobilizing citizens and influencing democratic politics. The paper develops the concept of "digital participation" and uses survey evidence to analyze the varying degrees of digital participation across different socioeconomic groups with a special focus on gender and social classes. Finally, the paper ends by problematizing the gendered and classed dimensions in digital engagement that resemble the predicaments of conventional political participation and discusses the implications for democratic representation in Korea.