Category: South Korean Students Respond to the Crisis of Their Democracy

Voice Comes: A Declaration of the State of Affairs

Note: This statement, written by Daeun Kim on December 7, was then circulated at Indiana University, Bloomington as an open letter under the heading “Students and Researchers for President Yoon’s Impeachment.”  The statement was quickly signed by 38 supporters, and it represents the sentiments of those signatories, and does not represent the official stance of Indiana University Bloomington or the Korean Student Association (KSA). The statement can be …

Introduction: South Korean Students Respond to the Crisis of Their Democracy

Photo: ‘Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea signing resolution approving the Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol,’ 14 December 2024. 대한민국 국회, KOGL Type 1 , via Wikimedia Commons. Source. On the evening of Tuesday, December 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked his country and the world by declaring martial law. In a televised address, he declared that the Democratic Party, which holds a majority of seats in the …

What is Democracy? The Fragile and Vulnerable System That Requires Everyday Practice

Today, I want to talk about the word democracy—a term we think we know and even believe in, but we don’t always take a moment to consider what it truly implies and what it should mean to us.  In its simplest terms, democracy can be defined as “rule by the people.” But when we look at this definition, it is quite vague.  If you were to build a …

We Have Hope. And Our Democracy Calls for Hope

In confrontation with the democratic crisis in South Korea, I would like to talk about two forms of politics: the politics of cynicism and the politics of hope. The politics of cynicism tries to make people believe that active participation of ordinary citizens are useless, meaningless, and not effective in democratic societies. It argues that politics is work for a few elites – politicians, representatives and the so-called …