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Minjok and Ethno-Nationalism

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For readers interested in a full analysis of the history and evolution of the "minjok" concept , this author highly recommends Gi-wook Shin's "Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, and Legacy." (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006).

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Minjok

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The “minjok” (민족, 民族) is a key concept for all Korea watchers, but can be difficult to slot neatly into Western frameworks of statehood and nationality. The concept of “minjok” arose contemporaneous to Woodrow Wilson’s “self-determination,” the idea that a people sharing an established territory, common language, history, culture, and race have a right to sovereignty and statehood. This last point is perhaps the most controversial since it fails to account for ethnically heterogeneous melting-pot nations, including the United States itself. The early notion of Korean nationhood that arose during the Korean Independence movement focused on these shared characteristics of Korean-ness, especially race (perhaps in direct response to the race-based rhetoric of the Japanese colonizers). The Korean minjok is an ideal of the Korean people, an ethnically homogeneous group that despite a long history of influence under the Chinese and Japanese remained ethnically pure with a distinct language an...
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855 Political Scientists from Korea and Abroad in Support of the Impeachment of South Korean President Yoon

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  *Citizens of South Korea are holding a rally outside the National Assembly, demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol. A Declaration by Political Scientists of South Korea   <Call for an Immediate Reintroduction and the Passage of the Impeachment Bill to Restore the Constitutional Order> The emergency martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 3rd, 2024, is, without a doubt, an insurrection. The unconstitutional and anti-democratic emergency martial law renders irrelevant the differences in the political parties we support, our political values, or our beliefs. Yoon threatened the fundamental rights of citizens with the martial law declaration that did not meet the constitutional requirements, and attempted to dissolve the National Assembly, which even emergency martial law does not allow. Fortunately, Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempted insurrection was thwarted thanks to the collective efforts of vigilant citizens, some conscientious military servic...
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The Shameful Unification Budget of the South Korean Government

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  * Ribbons symbolizing hopes for Korean reunification are tied to the barbed wire along the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ) fence .   @iStock Il Young Jeong Research Professor_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University With the arrival of autumn, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is in the process of reviewing the new year’s budget proposal. While our Constitution grants the government the authority to prepare and submit the national budget, it entrusts the National Assembly with the power to review and finalize it, ensuring that the budget can only be confirmed through the Assembly’s deliberation and resolution(Article 54 of the Constitution). This article aims to critically examine the 2025 budget proposal of the Ministry of Unification and to suggest new, necessary initiatives.   The Ministry of Unification’s Distorted Budget, Losing Its Primary Role The Ministry of Unification’s budget is, quite literally, distorted. The 2025 budget proposal amounts to a to...
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