Asia's Unknown Uprisings Volume 1: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century

by George Katsiaficas

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 the Philippines, Burma, Tibet, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, and Indonesia. Richly illustrated, with tables, charts, graphs, index, and endnotes.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, World History, Asia, Education, Social Movements

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

George Katsiaficas is currently living in Gwangju, South Korea.
A visiting professor of sociology at Chonnam National University, he is finishing research on East Asian uprisings in the 1980s and 1990s.

A Fulbright Fellow, student of Herbert Marcuse, and long-time activist, he is the author of The Imagination of the
New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968. His book, The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life, was co-winner of the APSA's 1998 Michael Harrington book award. Among his edited volumes are Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party (with Kathleen Cleaver) and Vietnam Documents: American and Vietnamese Views of the War. He wrote Introduction to Critical Sociology with R.G. Kirkpatrick.

Reviews

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katsiaficas is a bit of a New Left dreamer (his first book was about the events of 1968) so it can get a bit sappy in parts - but he manages to avoid falling into a crude populism that venerates any and every movement where 'the people' are said to be 'in the streets' - throughout he is keenly aware of the class character, political content and yes, limitations, of the various movements he chronicles - from full-throated anti-imperialist juchist Marxism-Leninism to anti-communist conservative Christians. Funnily enough the 'juchist' factions were by far the most popular on university campuses among student radicals in the 80's. And despite this book winning the award that bears his name, he's no fan of Kim Dae Jung himself.

Marshalling interviews with those involved and over a decade of extensive research, he presents a stunning history of working class, peasant and student resistance to Japanese Imperialism, US occupation, military dictatorship and IMF diktat. His chapter on the Korean War is brutal - and fiercely critical of Bruce Cumings, whose work I had thought up until now to be generally reliable albeit of a wishy-washy liberal perspective.

The chapters on the Gwangju uprising and the June uprising of 1987 - which paved the way for the first civilian government in 1993 - are just exhilarating, and I came away with a deep appreciation for the courage of all those people who had fought for a more just and re-united Korea. A struggle that continues to this day after disillusionment with the failings of the relatively progressive governments of the 'sunshine' years paved the way for an insurgent New Right - with Park Geun-hye, the daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee, now President of South Korea. Even since the victory of the movements in winning formal democracy, protests are still crushed with excessive force by armed riot police and hundreds of trade unionist leaders, bloggers and activists have been locked up on unjust charges or under the remit of the National Security Law. This book is their history, and certainly a must read for anyone interested in the recent history of Korea or East Asian politics more generally.

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an informative read. I'd always wondered about the latent anti-Americanism in Korea and this book answers why. I had absolutely no idea of the amount of slaughter that the US directly and indirectly inflicted on Koreans. No wonder Americans are often depicted as villains in their movies. Its active blocking of all attempts at reunification is unconscionable.

[Handh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kastificas, jak sam pisze, wyraźnie pokazuje, że zna i kocha Koreę. Świetna książka.

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Katsiaficas's first volume of Asia's Unknown Uprisings, titled South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century, is one of the most helpful secondary sources on the history of the modern Republic of Korea. It is a people's history, detailing everything from the Tonghak Pesants' Rebellion against greedy officials on up until the presidency of Lee Myeong Park. Along the way, the reader is bound to learn a lot about how modern Korea established, especially considering the many protests from democratic and labor movements that were necessary to create a good standard of living for the people. There are also some aspects that will be little known to the reader, including the American military's involvement in the 1222 cases of mass executions carried out during the Korean War, where many of whom died were civilians merely suspected of being or having connections to left-wing movements. Also there's the American military's continued role in suppressing democratic uprisings throughout the country, including for example a famous Jeju Island uprising. And all of this information can be independently verified with the sources. Very sad but very realistic history of the Korean people's struggle.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished chapter 1 - not quite into the history yet but beautiful introduction.