"Taking our Proper Place in the World" : South Korea and Globalization as a Policy Goal

Abstract

In a recent globalization index South Korea continued its slide down the ranking. This must be contrasted to the fact that the Republic of Korea is unique in that it is one of very few countries in world which a decade ago actually set out, through a government directed policy, to globalize its economy and society. In November 1994 a globalization policy was formulated with the explicit purpose of making the country an advantaged nation, so that it would take ‘its proper place among the world’s nations.”. A number of goals, political, economic, social, and cultural were set and the means and methods of reaching these established. However, both the government’s globalization policy has been a target of significant opposition. Certain groups and institutions within South Korean society, often affiliated with labor organizations and Minjung groups, have seen the globalization process as threatening Korean identity and way of life. This paper examines the globalization progress in South Korea since the policy’s proclamation and argues that, while it has been promoted by governments and conglomerates, significant sectors within society have increasingly felt threatened by the policy and have attempted to resist it in a number of ways.