Political repression in South Korea

Political repression in South Korea refers to the physical or psychological maltreatment, including different levels of threats suffered by individuals or groups in South Korea for different kinds of political reasons throughout the country's history.[1][2]

The origins can be traced back to the tyranny of emperors in the early times during the Joseon Period, especially the notorious despot named Yeonsangun.[3] And then the break-out of the Korean War brought inestimably huge repression on the populace for the following period. After that, Syngman Rhee, as an anti—communist, conducted severe political repression against some perceived opposition and was also guilty of embezzlement of millions of dollars and electoral corruption,[4] which eventually triggered the April Revolution. It culminated in the 1970s, known as the "Dark age for democracy"[5] in Korea when Park Chung Hee tried to prolong his rule and strengthen his power by deliberately rigging election results and changing relevant legislation. Following that came the Bu-Ma Democratic Protest and Gwangju Uprising.[6] And it continued to exist as a consequence of the reveal of Park Geun-hye's political scandal, when she turned out to have a large reliance on her cronyism.[7]

In terms of online daily life, South Korea has set severe limitations on Internet by establishing substantial and complicated Internet censorship. It blocks the accessibility to information from foreign websites and keeps an eye on domestic critical arguments and anti-action. Whist, "endless" protests and demonstrations under repression also reflect the political democracy in this country to some extent.[8]

  1. ^ Regan, Patrick M.; Henderson, Errol A. (2002-02-01). "Democracy, threats and political repression in developing countries: Are democracies internally less violent?". Third World Quarterly. 23 (1): 119–136. doi:10.1080/01436590220108207. ISSN 0143-6597. S2CID 33823017.
  2. ^ Abouharb, M. Rodwan (April 2008). "State Repression and the Domestic Democratic Peace . By Christian Davenport. (Cambridge University Press, 2007.)". The Journal of Politics. 70 (2): 563–565. doi:10.1017/S0022381608080535. ISSN 0022-3816.
  3. ^ Choi ), 최효식 ( Hyo Sik (2007). "권균(權鈞)의 중종반정(中宗反正) 참여와 그 활동". 동국사학 (in Korean). 43: 221–240. ISSN 1225-0376.
  4. ^ Yoon, Jeongran (2017-09-12). "Victory over Communism: South Korean Protestants' Ideas about Democracy, Development, and Dictatorship, 1953–1961". Journal of American-East Asian Relations. 24 (2–3): 233–258. doi:10.1163/18765610-02402016. ISSN 1058-3947.
  5. ^ Jihye Chun, Jennifer (September 2016). "Protest Dialectics: State Repression and South Korea's Democracy Movement, 1970–1979". Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews. 45 (5): 584–586. doi:10.1177/0094306116664524g. ISSN 0094-3061. S2CID 220190343.
  6. ^ "South Korea - History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  7. ^ Hahm, Sung Deuk; Heo, Uk (2018-08-01). "The First Female President in South Korea: Park Geun-hye's Leadership and South Korean Democracy". Journal of Asian and African Studies. 53 (5): 649–665. doi:10.1177/0021909617722376. ISSN 0021-9096. S2CID 149161031.
  8. ^ Fish, Eric (2009-12-01). "Is Internet Censorship Compatible with Democracy? Legal Restrictions of Online Speech in South Korea". Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law. 10 (2): 43–96. doi:10.1163/138819010X12647506166519. ISSN 1388-1906.