Conservatism in South Korea
Encyclopedia
Conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

 in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

is generally considered to be primarily represented by the Grand National Party
Grand National Party
The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, has a double meaning as "Great National" and "Korean National." The GNP holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012....

. There are other right-wing parties that used to have ties with the Grand National Party. It is also represented by in-party cliques such as the New Rights. The current Lee Myung-bak government
Lee Myung-bak government
The Lee Myung-bak government is sixth consecutive government of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. It was officially launched on February 25th, 2008, under Lee Myung-bak's victory in the 2007 presidential election...

 is representative conservative administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea
Sixth Republic of South Korea
The Sixth Republic of South Korea is the country's present-day government. It began in 1987, with the transfer of power from the authoritarian Fifth Republic of Chun Doo-hwan....

.

The particular strand of conservatism in the South Korean political scene has been influenced from the military dictatorships of Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...

 and Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan was a ROK Army general and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his heavy-handed response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung,...

. Specifically, the domestic political nature of conservatism has a strong elitist streak based on rapid modernization and political instability.

Values

Conservatism in South Korea is at odds against North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 and upholds the National Security Act
National Security Act (South Korea)
The National Security Law is a South Korean law which has the avowed purpose "to restrict anti-state acts that endanger national security and to protect [the] nation's safety and its people's life and freedom."...

. This had led to some conservative citizen groups such as the Korean Council For Restoration National Identity and American and Korean Friendship National Council to protest against UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 headquarter in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, on May 2011 to prevent inscribing of the records of Gwangju Democratization Movement as a Memory of the World Register and to petition on reconsidering the North Korean special forces as the perpetrators of the GDM.

Jeong Tae-heon (정태헌), professor of Korean history at the Korea University
Korea University
Korea University is a prestigious nonsectarian, private research university located primarily in Seoul, South Korea, and one of the SKY universities, a historical acronym used in South Korea to refer to Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. Founded by Lee Yong-ik in...

 concerns on the overheated disputes of the term, liberal democracy
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...

 in history textbooks with a strong conservative bias as the only purpose is to react against North Korea's political ideologies; much akin to political mentalities in the 1950s.

Political parties

  • Future Hope Alliance
  • Grand National Party
    Grand National Party
    The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, has a double meaning as "Great National" and "Korean National." The GNP holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012....

  • New Progressive Party
    New Progressive Party (South Korea)
    New Progressive Party is a left-wing political party in South Korea. New Progressive party was established by a number of Democratic Labour Party members who left the party in reaction to the dominating Korean nationalist faction.First party president was Roh Hoe-chan, elected at the 2004...


Media

The Chojoongdong
Chojoongdong
Cho-Joong-Dong is a generally negative nickname for the three major newspapers in South Korea, the Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo, which are criticized for a purportedly uniform and conservative editorial stance, and for operating in an allegedly collusive and surreptitious manner...

 media cartel wields the largest political influent in the South Korean political scene through the newspapers.

See also

Conservative political parties in South Korea
  • South Korea's New Right
    New Right (South Korea)
    The New Right movement in the South Korean politics is a school of political thought based on neoconservative values.-School textbooks:Some well-known politicians from the "old right" GNP indicated commonality with the New Right groups, including Park Geun-hye endorse the anti-North Korean New...

     movement

External Links

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