South Korea is a country rife with contention. Socio-political struggles that emanate from the people – and that thus do not exclusively take place in ‘traditional’ political arenas like the government or parliaments – are characteristic phenomena of South Korea’s modern history. The summer special lecture series focuses on central concepts like human and civil rights, social movements, and civil society. It will show how these actors and concepts played important roles in Korea after the liberation from Japanese colonial rule from 1945 onwards, as well as before and after democratization in the late 1980s. A general historical and conceptual overview of human rights struggles in South Korea will be complemented by lectures on concrete socio-political issues that have been relevant in modern and present-day Korea: the human rights situation of refugees and migrants, the environmental movement, feminist and LGBTIQ activism, activism against youth unemployment, and non-progressive mobilization in South Korea.

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Week 1

1) 2 August 2021:  History and Recent Trends of South Korean Social Movements

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Jin-Wook Shin (Chung-Ang University, South Korea)

 

2) 3 August 2021: Human Rights Discourse and Movement After Democratic Transition in South Korea

Presenter:

Dr .Joo-Young Lee (Seoul National University Human Rights Center, South Korea)

 

3) 4 August 2021: Rising the State Violence Related Issues in the Pro-Democracy Movements (1960-1987)

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Dong-Choon Kim (Sungkonghoe University, South Korea)

 

4) 5 August 2021: The Human Rights and Democratization Movement ofthe Korean Churches

Presenter:

Reverend Seung-min Shin (Department for Reunification and International Relations, National Council of Churches in Korea)

 

5) 6 August 2021: The Social Movements of Non-Citizens in South Korea 

Presenter:

Dr. Chulhyo Kim (Research Fellow, Jeonbuk National University, South Korea)

 

Week 2

6) 9 August 2021: The Environmental Movement in Korea: Issues and Actors ofYesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Presenter:

Seyeon Harita Jeong (Researcher, Environmental Education for All Research Institute, Freiburg, Germany)

 

7) 10 August 2021: Feminism Revival in Korea, Its Historical Conditions and Features

Presenter:

Dr. Hyun Gyung Kim (Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin)

 

8) 11 August 2021: South Korea 's New Right - The Politics of Historical Revisionism 

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Vladimir Tikhonov (Pak Noja) (University of Oslo, Norway) 

 

9) 12 August 2021: Rejected Beings, LGBT Servicemembers in the Korean Military 

Presenter:

Kyusuk Cho (Coordinator, Center for Military Human Rights Korea)

 

10) 13 August 2021: Fighting for Opportunities and Fair Working Conditions: the Diffcult Situation of Young Koreans

Presenter:

Prof. Dr. Young-Mi Kim (Yonsei University, South Korea)

 

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Time:

Monday, August 2nd 2021 - August 13rd 2021

10:30 - 11:30 AM (CEST)

Venue:

Virtual Event via Webex in English (the event will be recorded)