Radicalism of the South Korean Student Movement (1980-1989)
Radicalism of the South Korean Student Movement (1980-1989)

Summary/Abstract: Student activism has been a prominent feature of the South Korean political landscape since the founding of the nation in 1948. During the 1980s, in the aftermath of the brutal repression of the Kwangju Uprising and the naked seizure of political power by Chun Doo Hwan, thus creating yet another military dictatorship, South Korean students engaged in a complex array of ideological debates throughout the first half of the decade, exploring radical ideologies. The period 1980-1989 was a time of dramatic changes as South Korea took the first steps in its transition to democracy. Student movement organizations, many with radical ideologies and violent tactics attempted to hasten the process of democratic change. Continued student violence, changes in geo-politics, and the tangible, though imperfect progress of the democratic transition process caused radicalism in the South Korean student movement to lose its appeal and relevance by the end of that momentous decade.

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