Description
Using social movements as a prism to illuminate the oft-hidden history of 20th-century Korea, this book provides detailed analysis of major uprisings that have patterned that country's politics and society. From the 1894 Tonghak Uprising through the March 1, 1919, independence movement and anti-Japanese resistance, a direct line is traced to the popular opposition to U.S. division of Korea after World War Two. The overthrow of Syngman Rhee in 1960, resistance to Park Chung-hee, the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, as well as student, labor, and feminist movements are all recounted with attention to their economic and political contexts. South Korean opposition to neoliberalism is portrayed in detail, as is an analysis of neoliberalism's rise and effects. With a central focus on the Gwangju Uprising (that ultimately proved decisive in South Korea's democratization), the author uses Korean experiences as a baseboard to extrapolate into the possibilities of global social movements in the 21st century.
Previous English-language sources have emphasized leaders--whether Korean, Japanese, or American. This book emphasizes grassroots crystallization of counter-elite dynamics and notes how the intelligence of ordinary people surpasses that of political and economic leaders holding the reins of power. It is the first volume in a two-part study that concludes by analyzing in rich detail uprisings in nine other places: the Philippines, Burma, Tibet, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, and Indonesia. Richly illustrated, with tables, charts, graphs, index, and endnotes.
Table of Contents:
I am the People, the Mob by Carl Sandburg --
List of Tables --
List of Charts, Graphs, and Maps --
List of Illustrations and Photographs --
List of Abbreviations --
Preface My First Encounter with Korea --
Chapter 1. Uprisings and History -- Korea's Uprisings -- Organizations and Movements -- Korea's Invisibility -- Eurocentrism's Blind Eye -- The Reasonability of Uprisings -- Elite Use of Uprisings -- The Corning Korean Wave --
Chapter 2. Korea Enters the Modern World System -- Tradition and Modernity -- Korean Civil Society's Resilience -- Farmers' War of 1894 -- Japan's Conquests -- March 1, 1919: Korean Independence Uprising -- From Uprising to Armed Resistance --
Chapter 3. U.S. Imperialism and the October People's Uprising 59 -- Japan-U.S. Collaboration -- Japan's Biological Warfare Unit -- Formation of the Korean People's Republic -- The 1946 October Uprising: From General Strike to Farmers -- Revolt -- Causes and Consequences of the October Uprising --
Chapter 4. Against Korea's Division: Jeju Uprising and Yeosun Insurrection -- Jeju April 3 Uprising -- Yeosun Insurrection -- Consequences of the Insurrection -- National Security Law and the Rhee Dictatorship -- Korean War -- U.S. Massacre of Civilians --
Chapter 5. The Minjung Awaken: Students Overthrow Rhee and Park -- 4.19: Students Overthrow Syngman Rhee -- Social Movements in the Second Republic -- Park Chung-hee Dictatorship -- The Urban Poor -- Chun Tae-il and the Struggle Against Yushin -- Women as Midwives of the Minjung -- Buma Uprising -- Chun's 12-12 Coup and the Seoul Spring --
Chapter 6. Gwangju People's Uprising -- The Uprising Begins -- May 21: The Fighting Intensifies -- Liberated Gwangju: The Power of Love -- Liberated Gwangju's Direct Democracy -- The Uprising Spreads -- Citizens' Committees in Conflict -- The Struggle Moves to a More Systematic Level -- Military Organization -- Class Dynamics in the Uprising -- Women and the Uprising -- The Final Days -- Let's go this way together by Kim Nam-ju --
Chapter 7. Neoliberalism and the Gwangju Uprising -- The Economic Transition -- Origins of Neoliberalism -- U.S. Support for Suppression of Gwangju -- Investor Panic and Chun's Rising Star -- Choreographing Regime Change -- Wisdom of the Minjung --
Chapter 8. The Gathering Storm -- Days of Light, Years of Darkness -- South Korean Anti-Americanism -- Rise of the Minjung -- Artists and Minjung Counterculture -- Korea's Student Movement -- Tendencies within the Movement: PD and NL -- Bunding a Workers' Movement -- Politicians Take the Lead -- U.S. Squeezes Chun --
Chapter 9. The June Uprising of 1987 -- Chun's April 13 Declaration: No Constitutional Debate -- Creation of the Kukbon -- June 10: The Uprising Begins -- June 18: Chun Prepares the Military -- June 26: Showdown -- The Junta's June 29 Capitulation -- Elite-led Transition? -- The Role of Civil Society --
Chapter 10. The Great Workers' Struggle -- The June Uprising's Class Character -- The Wave of Autonomous Worker Actions -- Uprising within the Chaebol -- Maybe by Park No-hae -- Lessons and Legacy --
Chapter 11. From Minjung to Citizens -- The First Elections -- Ron's War on the Working Class -- Students Point to Reunification -- The 1991 Struggle: Defeat and Adjustment -- Citizens' Movements -- Rejuvenation of the Women's Movement -- Ecology Movement -- Students Continue to Struggle -- The First Civilian Government --
Chapter 12. The Struggle Against Neoliberalism -- The Dictatorship of the Market -- General Strike of 1997 -- The 1997 IMF Crisis -- Neoliberalism as Global Capital's Response to Falling -- Rates of Profits -- The DJ Government to the Rescue -- DJ's Assault on Labor -- Women's Autonomy -- Foreign Investors Make a Steal --
Chapter 13. The Democratic Dilemma -- Enduring Power of Anti-Americanism -- Korea's Coming Unification? -- The Noh Moo-hyun Presidency -- 2MB Government -- 2008 Korean Candlelight Protests -- President Lee's Rollback of Reforms -- Noh Moo-hyun's Suicide -- The Korean Wave -- Gwangju's Continuing Centrality -- Dialectic of Tradition and Liberation -- Alternative Movement -- Finding the Cost of Freedom --
Appendix Interviews with Citizen-Activists --
Credits --
About the Author --
Index.
Contributor Bio:
George Katsiaficas is author or editor of eleven books, including The Imagination of the New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968, the first book to place sixties movements in their worldwide context. Together with Kathleen Cleaver, he co-edited Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party. His book, The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life, was co-winner of the 1998 Michael Harrington Award for best new book in political science. In 2010, the May Mothers' House--widows and mothers of men killed in the 1980 Gwangju Uprising--awarded his service and commitment. A longtime activist for peace and justice, he was a student of Herbert Marcuse and twice granted Fulbright fellowships. Currently, he is based at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA.
Using social movements as a prism to illuminate the oft-hidden history of 20th-century Korea, this book provides detailed analysis of major uprisings that have patterned that country's politics and society. From the 1894 Tonghak Uprising through the March 1, 1919, independence movement and anti-Japanese resistance, a direct line is traced to the popular opposition to U.S. division of Korea after World War Two. The overthrow of Syngman Rhee in 1960, resistance to Park Chung-hee, the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, as well as student, labor, and feminist movements are all recounted with attention to their economic and political contexts. South Korean opposition to neoliberalism is portrayed in detail, as is an analysis of neoliberalism's rise and effects. With a central focus on the Gwangju Uprising (that ultimately proved decisive in South Korea's democratization), the author uses Korean experiences as a baseboard to extrapolate into the possibilities of global social movements in the 21st century.
Previous English-language sources have emphasized leaders--whether Korean, Japanese, or American. This book emphasizes grassroots crystallization of counter-elite dynamics and notes how the intelligence of ordinary people surpasses that of political and economic leaders holding the reins of power. It is the first volume in a two-part study that concludes by analyzing in rich detail uprisings in nine other places: the Philippines, Burma, Tibet, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, and Indonesia. Richly illustrated, with tables, charts, graphs, index, and endnotes.
Table of Contents:
I am the People, the Mob by Carl Sandburg --
List of Tables --
List of Charts, Graphs, and Maps --
List of Illustrations and Photographs --
List of Abbreviations --
Preface My First Encounter with Korea --
Chapter 1. Uprisings and History -- Korea's Uprisings -- Organizations and Movements -- Korea's Invisibility -- Eurocentrism's Blind Eye -- The Reasonability of Uprisings -- Elite Use of Uprisings -- The Corning Korean Wave --
Chapter 2. Korea Enters the Modern World System -- Tradition and Modernity -- Korean Civil Society's Resilience -- Farmers' War of 1894 -- Japan's Conquests -- March 1, 1919: Korean Independence Uprising -- From Uprising to Armed Resistance --
Chapter 3. U.S. Imperialism and the October People's Uprising 59 -- Japan-U.S. Collaboration -- Japan's Biological Warfare Unit -- Formation of the Korean People's Republic -- The 1946 October Uprising: From General Strike to Farmers -- Revolt -- Causes and Consequences of the October Uprising --
Chapter 4. Against Korea's Division: Jeju Uprising and Yeosun Insurrection -- Jeju April 3 Uprising -- Yeosun Insurrection -- Consequences of the Insurrection -- National Security Law and the Rhee Dictatorship -- Korean War -- U.S. Massacre of Civilians --
Chapter 5. The Minjung Awaken: Students Overthrow Rhee and Park -- 4.19: Students Overthrow Syngman Rhee -- Social Movements in the Second Republic -- Park Chung-hee Dictatorship -- The Urban Poor -- Chun Tae-il and the Struggle Against Yushin -- Women as Midwives of the Minjung -- Buma Uprising -- Chun's 12-12 Coup and the Seoul Spring --
Chapter 6. Gwangju People's Uprising -- The Uprising Begins -- May 21: The Fighting Intensifies -- Liberated Gwangju: The Power of Love -- Liberated Gwangju's Direct Democracy -- The Uprising Spreads -- Citizens' Committees in Conflict -- The Struggle Moves to a More Systematic Level -- Military Organization -- Class Dynamics in the Uprising -- Women and the Uprising -- The Final Days -- Let's go this way together by Kim Nam-ju --
Chapter 7. Neoliberalism and the Gwangju Uprising -- The Economic Transition -- Origins of Neoliberalism -- U.S. Support for Suppression of Gwangju -- Investor Panic and Chun's Rising Star -- Choreographing Regime Change -- Wisdom of the Minjung --
Chapter 8. The Gathering Storm -- Days of Light, Years of Darkness -- South Korean Anti-Americanism -- Rise of the Minjung -- Artists and Minjung Counterculture -- Korea's Student Movement -- Tendencies within the Movement: PD and NL -- Bunding a Workers' Movement -- Politicians Take the Lead -- U.S. Squeezes Chun --
Chapter 9. The June Uprising of 1987 -- Chun's April 13 Declaration: No Constitutional Debate -- Creation of the Kukbon -- June 10: The Uprising Begins -- June 18: Chun Prepares the Military -- June 26: Showdown -- The Junta's June 29 Capitulation -- Elite-led Transition? -- The Role of Civil Society --
Chapter 10. The Great Workers' Struggle -- The June Uprising's Class Character -- The Wave of Autonomous Worker Actions -- Uprising within the Chaebol -- Maybe by Park No-hae -- Lessons and Legacy --
Chapter 11. From Minjung to Citizens -- The First Elections -- Ron's War on the Working Class -- Students Point to Reunification -- The 1991 Struggle: Defeat and Adjustment -- Citizens' Movements -- Rejuvenation of the Women's Movement -- Ecology Movement -- Students Continue to Struggle -- The First Civilian Government --
Chapter 12. The Struggle Against Neoliberalism -- The Dictatorship of the Market -- General Strike of 1997 -- The 1997 IMF Crisis -- Neoliberalism as Global Capital's Response to Falling -- Rates of Profits -- The DJ Government to the Rescue -- DJ's Assault on Labor -- Women's Autonomy -- Foreign Investors Make a Steal --
Chapter 13. The Democratic Dilemma -- Enduring Power of Anti-Americanism -- Korea's Coming Unification? -- The Noh Moo-hyun Presidency -- 2MB Government -- 2008 Korean Candlelight Protests -- President Lee's Rollback of Reforms -- Noh Moo-hyun's Suicide -- The Korean Wave -- Gwangju's Continuing Centrality -- Dialectic of Tradition and Liberation -- Alternative Movement -- Finding the Cost of Freedom --
Appendix Interviews with Citizen-Activists --
Credits --
About the Author --
Index.
Contributor Bio:
George Katsiaficas is author or editor of eleven books, including The Imagination of the New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968, the first book to place sixties movements in their worldwide context. Together with Kathleen Cleaver, he co-edited Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party. His book, The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life, was co-winner of the 1998 Michael Harrington Award for best new book in political science. In 2010, the May Mothers' House--widows and mothers of men killed in the 1980 Gwangju Uprising--awarded his service and commitment. A longtime activist for peace and justice, he was a student of Herbert Marcuse and twice granted Fulbright fellowships. Currently, he is based at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA.