Korea, South

The Republic of Korea, or South Korea, occupies the southern half of a peninsula in the northeastern part of the Asian continent. Directly to the west of South Korea, and across the Yellow Sea, is China; the islands of Japan lie to the east. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (i.e., North Korea) shares the rest of the peninsula, which is divided at the thirty-eighth parallel. South Korea's total area is 99,237 square kilometers (38,305 square miles), which is slightly larger than Hungary or Portugal and a little smaller than Iceland or Bulgaria. Overall, South Korea is ranked 107^th in terms of geographic size out of 192 countries in 2003. Although geographically small, South Korea's population of 48.3 million in 2002 ranks it as the twenty-fifth largest country in the world. Not surprisingly, South Korea has a very high population density of 491 persons per square kilometer, which ranks eleventh among all countries (nineteenth when dependencies are included).

South Korea is an ethnically and linguistically homogenous society, although since the late 1980s, there has been increasing international migration. Still, in 2004, immigrants accounted for less than 1 percent of South Korea's population. Despite ethnic and linguistic homogeneity, there are strong cleavages in South Korean society. The strongest of these rifts derives from regional and provincial differences, and the most pronounced is between Kyongsang province in the southeast and South Cholla province. This cleavage is partly a result of overt discrimination and political favoritism, which was very strong prior to 1987. Into the twenty-first century, discrimination (in general) and regional disparities lessened, but South Korea continued to struggle from problems associated with regionalism.

In addition to regional differences, South Korea is also divided along religious lines. Religious differences, however, have not been a major source of conflict. About 32 percent of South Koreans are Christian (mostly Presbyterian, followed by Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, and Methodists), and close to 24 percent are Buddhist. There are also smaller numbers of Shamanists (those who practice traditional spirit worship), followers of Cheondogyo (an indigenous religion that combines elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity), and Islam.

Seoul is South Korea's capital and business center. Although it covers only 0.6 percent of the country's total area, its population of 10,276,968 (at the end of 2003) constituted almost a quarter of the national population.

a short political history

Although Korea has a long, complex history, South Korea is a wholly modern entity, created in the aftermath of World War II (1939–1945), when the Soviet Union and the United States struggled to develop spheres of influence throughout the world. In February 1945 during negotiations at Yalta, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain agreed in principle to put Korea under an international trusteeship, an arrangement meant to stabilize Korea before granting the country full independence (from 1905 to the end of the war, Korea had been under the colonial control of Japan).

The actual decision to divide Korea into two occupation zones, however, was made in extreme haste. Shortly before the Japanese surrender, the Soviet army had begun to sweep into Korea and Manchuria (another colonial possession). Unable to physically stop the Soviets from occupying the entire peninsula, the United States proposed dividing the country roughly in half at the thirty-eighth parallel, a decision made in only thirty minutes. Surprisingly, the Soviet leadership accepted the American proposal. Unfortunately, this proved to be one of the last signs of cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In fact, neither the Soviets nor the Americans were willing to cede control of Korea. Instead, both sides concentrated on building separate regimes within their respective occupation zones. In South Korea, this process led to the establishment of the Republic of Korea on September 9, 1948. South Korea's "First Republic" was based on democratic principles and a presidential system. The country's first elected president was Syngman Rhee (1875–1965), who held on to the presidency until 1960.

A watershed in South Korea's history was the Korean War, which broke out on June 25, 1950 and lasted until July 27, 1953 (although technically it never ended). The war was not merely or even primarily a war between North and South Korea. Instead, it was the first major conflict of the Cold War, pitting the United States and its allies against "international communism," led by the Soviet Union. Although scholars engage in spirited debate about the reasons why the war began, the conflict set the tone for South Korean political and economic development for decades afterward. The unresolved nature of the war, in particular, justified the establishment of a national security state in South Korea. This military presence would prove to be an extremely important aspect of South Korea's postwar development.

Following the war, South Korea remained mired in poverty and corruption, and the legitimacy of the Rhee regime quickly eroded. To stay in power, President Rhee increasingly relied on dictatorial and repressive means. During the 1960 elections, events came to a head. President Rhee's blatant election-rigging sparked nationwide protests, most of which were led by students. The student movement ultimately forced Rhee's resignation. His downfall, in turn, led to a constitutional amendment providing for a parliamentary as opposed to presidential system. Under this system, a president was selected through a vote by the two houses of the legislature, but the prime minister was to be the key political leader. The first person to fill the more powerful position of prime minister was Chang Myon (also known as John M. Chang). Less than a year later, however, Chang's Second Republic was overthrown in a military coup led by Major General Park Chung Hee (1917–1979).

General Park, through the Revolutionary Committee (later renamed the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction) quickly established control of the economy and political system. For nearly three years, Park ruled with an iron fist, but in 1963, a new constitution, which reintroduced a presidential system, was promulgated. From 1963 to 1972, a semblance of electoral democracy was restored in South Korea. In fact, Park and his newly formed political party, the Democratic Republican Party (DRP), won several generally fair elections. The success of Park and the DRP, however, was based as much on a divided opposition as it was on popularity and genuine support.

Thus, when the opposition began to develop more strength and unity, galvanized by the emergence of two outspoken critics of the Park regime—Kim Young Sam (b. 1927) and Kim Dae-jung (b. 1925)—Park's "tolerance" for democracy began to wane. A changing international environment, one in which U.S. power and commitment seemed on the decline, also contributed to Park's growing intolerance. Finally, in December 1971 Park abruptly declared a state of emergency, and on October 17, 1972, suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly and all political parties, forbade "political activity," and imposed restrictions on civil liberties. Subsequently, the new Yushin ("revitalizing reform") Constitution was announced, which, among many important changes, transformed the presidency into a legal dictatorship.

The return to authoritarianism sparked widespread protest and discontent, which included one unsuccessful assassination attempt on Park in 1974 (although Park escaped, his wife was killed). In 1979, however, Park was not so lucky. On October 26, he was fatally shot by the director of South Korea's Central Intelligence Agency. The assassination led to another period of intense political instability, punctuated by a second military takeover and an extremely bloody insurrection in the city of Kwangju, capital of the South Cholla province. In 1980, a new military leader, Chun Doo Hwan (b. 1931), assumed control.

A year later, after engineering a transition from military to civilian rule (which ensured his election as president for a seven-year term), Chun attempted to follow the path set by Park, but his authoritarian regime met with constant resistance. Near the end of his term, the situation for democratic change looked bleak. Chun handpicked a successor, Roh Tae Woo (b. 1932), and suspended public debate on a constitutional revision for a direct presidential election, which would have given opposition candidates a stronger chance to win.

In an unexpected, even shocking, turn of events, however, Roh Tae Woo announced that he would not run unless the Chun regime accepted an eight-point program of reform, which included an endorsement of direct presidential elections. Facing a great deal of domestic and international pressure (some deriving from the upcoming Seoul Olympics in 1988), Chun accepted the reform program in June 1987, thus ushering in a new, albeit imperfect, period of democracy.

In the 1988 presidential election (held on December 16, 1987), Roh Tae Woo won with only 37 percent of the vote. His victory was due in large part to the failure of the two main opposition candidates, Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae-jung, to forge an alliance. The two Kims split the opposition vote, with the former receiving 27 percent and the latter 28 percent (the voting pattern also reflected the previously discussed deep-seated regional cleavages).

The parliamentary elections of 1988, on the other hand, ended with surprising results. Not only was Roh's ruling party, the Democratic Justice Party, unable to win a working majority in the Assembly, but Kim Dae-jung's Party for Peace and Democracy became the largest opposition party, with Kim Young Sam's Reunification Democratic Party placing third. Significantly, this did not result in a return to authoritarianism, but instead marked the first step in the consolidation of democracy in South Korea. Ironically, it also led to a political compromise between the erstwhile opposition leader Kim Young Sam and the ruling party; in 1990 Kim Young Sam merged his party with the governing party. This alliance was instrumental in allowing him to win the 1992 presidential election over Kim Dae-jung, his main rival. In winning the election, Kim Young Sam became the first civilian to be elected president in South Korea since the coup in 1961.

Since Kim Young Sam's presidency, presidential and legislative elections have proceeded with few problems. Indeed, in 1998, Kim Dae-jung finally became president, becoming the first chief of state elected from the opposition party in South Korea's constitutional history. Although Kim Dae-jung experienced some serious difficulties—including the arrest of his two sons for accepting bribes and charges that he secretly paid $100 million to North Korea to agree to a summit—the democratic process remained strong.

In 2003, South Korea's third successive civilian president, Roh Moo-hyun (b. 1946), took office. Barely a year after taking office in March 2004, however, Roh was impeached for breaking a minor election law. Although many South Koreans saw this as a blatant partisan maneuver by a legislature dominated by conservatives, the Constitutional Court subsequently restored Roh (a progressive human rights lawyer by trade) back to his office. The decision by the Court helped to avert a crisis, but it also demonstrated quite clearly the increasing strength of democracy in South Korea, both in principle and in practice.

socioeconomic conditions

The story of South Korea's economic rise from desperate poverty to relative prosperity has been the subject of extensive press coverage and analysis as well as intense scholarly debate. Although no consensus exists, this much is clear: South Korea's economic rise began in the 1960s after the military coup. From 1945 to 1961, South Korea was one of the poorest countries on earth. In 1962, per capita income was still only $87, but by 1983 this had increased by almost 2,000 percent to $1,709. In 2003 (using purchasing power parity, a different basis for calculating income), per capita income had increased to $15,090. Income equality, as measured by the United Nation's Gini Index, is relatively high in South Korea, at 0.31 (which is better than all Asian countries except Japan and substantially better than that of the United States). According to the United Nations Development Program, moreover, South Korea's level of "human development" is considered high and is comparable to the most economically prosperous countries in world.

South Korea's economic development came at a very high price, however. Between 1961 and 1987, in particular, labor movements and strikes were often met with brutal violence. Not surprisingly, working conditions were generally extraordinarily oppressive. Indeed, South Korea has long had one of the worst records for industrial safety in the world. In 1986, nearly 3 percent of Korea's entire industrial workforce suffered injuries requiring at least a four-day hospital stay, and 1,660 workers were killed in industrial accidents.

In addition, South Korean workers routinely worked the longest hours among workers in all industrializing and industrialized countries, and wages were kept artificially low to increase South Korea's industrial competitiveness. The focus on rapid industrialization also reflected the government's equally strong obsession with national security. This combination created fertile ground for human rights abuses and political repression, both of which were serious problems in South Korea prior to 1987.

At the same time, South Korean firms (most of which were family-owned) had access to heavily subsidized loans through government-controlled banks and were protected from international competition in the domestic market. A few favored firms were also protected from domestic competition, which encouraged them to diversify into a wide range of products and services. This enabled many firms, called chaebol, to grow with blinding speed and develop immense economic and social power. By the 1990s, some of these firms had developed into major international players, including Hyundai, Samsung, LG (originally known as Lucky-Goldstar), and Daewoo. The extreme concentration of economic power has long been considered a danger to the country's political, social, and even its economic development.

the yushin constitution

When Park Chung Hee (1917–1979) won a third presidential term over New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Kim Dae Jung in 1971, Park and his Democratic Republican Party (DRP) radically changed the system of government. Declaring martial law in October 1972, Park proceeded to remove both the 1962 constitution and members of the legislature. In November the new constitution, known as the Yushin constitution, or Revitalizing Reform constitution, was put in place.

In effect, the Yushin constitution kept Park as president indefinitely, granted his party a majority in the legislature, and outlawed many activities that were perceived to be opposed to the goals of the DRP. While the country made rapid strides in industrialization and self-sufficiency, civil rights were stifled.

Growing dissatisfaction with the government came to a head in 1979, and Park was assassinated. Under the electoral college that had been set up by the Yushin constitution, the National Conference for Unification, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah became acting president, but his brief term was marked by violent antigovernment demonstrations. In August 1980 Chun Doo Hwan was elected president, and within two months he spearheaded a revision to the Yushin constitution which limited the presidency to one term of seven years' duration.

prospects

South Korea's authoritarian past, combined with its particular pattern of socioeconomic development, has helped to create a vital and dynamic civil society. Indeed, citizen organizations, both secular and religious, grew exponentially following the establishment of democracy in 1987. Many of the largest, such as the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, have played an important role in ensuring meaningful citizen participation and in protecting and promoting civil and human rights and social justice. The party system continued to evolve into the early twenty-first century, with many reconfigurations and realignments, but it remained strong. The judiciary has demonstrated increasing independence and social power, as suggested previously.

South Korea's past, however, also means that a great deal of power has been concentrated in two key institutions: the state and big business. The apparatus of South Korea's national security state has not disappeared, and the bureaucracy remains a powerful force. From the end of the twentieth century, on the other hand, big business felt freer to "flex its muscles," and corruption, long a problem, continued to plague South Korean politics. Overall, though, South Korea has seen a greater balance of power than ever before, strengthening prospects for democracy.

See also: Korea, North.

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Timothy C. Lim