Nation and Economy in South Korea: Globalization, Economic Liberalization, and the Contentious Politics of History

This presentation explores the contentious politics of economic liberalization in South Korea through the lens of history and divergent historical narratives. In doing so, it seeks to enhance our understanding of debates over economic policy within the contemporary democratic system by integrating them with analyses from the period of developmental authoritarianism (1961-1987). Central to this objective will be a consideration of the ways in which nationalism has played a critical role in both the processes of state legitimation and the resistance to them. The hope is that this talk will provide some insight into the historical antecedents that underpin and inform the contemporary politics of globalization within South Korean society.