Progressivism in South Korea
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Progressivism (Korean: 진보주의; Hanja: 進步主義; RR: Jinbojuui) in South Korea is a left-leaning political ideology, broadly associated with social democracy, cultural progressivism, and left-wing nationalism.[1] It advocates for the promotion of social equality and welfare, economic justice, the protection of human rights and minority groups, peace and the reunification of the Korean Peninsula, as well as environmental sustainability.
Modern South Korean progressivism emerged and took shape during the resistance to military dictatorship and became a distinct political movement in the 1990s.[2] As the pro-democracy student activists from the 1970s and 1980s matured into progressive political leadership, their views on society, history, economy, and foreign policy feature prominently in progressive narratives. Domestically, progressives promote economic justice and labor rights in response to the dominance of chaebols in Korean economy, stemming from dirigisme during military dictatorships. Internationally, they take a conciliatory stance toward North Korea and have developed anti-American sentiments through college, viewing the United States as a supporter of the authoritarian regimes during pro-democracy struggles.[3] The more progressive faction of the movement calls for the withdrawal of the US troops stationed in South Korea.
Historically, there have been communist elements within the progressive movement, but they have been largely powerless in contemporary South Korean politics.[4]
History
[edit]Labor movement
[edit]South Korean labor movements have been consistently driven by left-leaning labor organizations since liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Many of the political prisoners under imperial Japan were leftists and labor activists. Trade unions grew dramatically in liberated Korea, with Chŏnp'yŏng (조선노동조합전국평의회; 朝鮮勞動組合全國評議會; lit. General Council of Korea Trade Unions) – a communist-led union – having a membership of 574,475 by late 1945 and nearly a quarter-million by summer of 1946.[5][6] However, the United States Army Military Government in Korea suppressed worker protests organized by Chŏnp'yŏng, arresting union leaders and forcing railroad workers back to work.[6]
In the 1960s, Park Chung Hee implemented a centrally controlled economy that prioritized the growth of large Korean conglomerates, or chaebols, while maintaining strict control over the working class.[5] In the Peace Market along Cheonggyecheon in downtown Seoul, over 20,000 women labored under inhumane working conditions in textile mills. They worked an average of 15 hours a day, often cramped in spaces just 3 feet high, forcing them to remain seated or bent over for long periods of time. Upon witnessing the cruel workspaces of the textile workers, Jeon Tae-il engaged in labor activism to no avail and later self-immolated in protest in 1970.
When the citizens of Gwangju rose up against Chun Doo-hwan's dictatorial regime in 1980, the Chun regime responded with brutal military force, killing a still disputed number, estimated to be in the hundreds and sometimes thousands.[7][8] After the Gwangju Uprising, Chun's regime continued cracking down on labor organizing, removing and blacklisting thousands of activists from union positions.[9] Through all of this, the United States not only did not intervene but also allowed Chun to move key military units – the US-Korean Combined Forces Command – that had been under US jurisdiction.[8][10]
The South Korean pro-democracy and labor activists, who had largely been pro-American and viewed the United States as a beacon of human rights and liberal democracy, were dismayed by the Carter administration's response and later the Reagan administration's embrace of the Chun regime in 1981.[10] This disillusionment led the South Korean intellectuals to reject pro-US developmentalist neoliberalism, making room for various strands of Marxism to gain popularity.[11] The resulting anti-Americanism fostered the view of South Korea as a US colony and prompted a reevaluation of labor organizing. This gave rise to the Social Formation Debate, centered on identifying the primary revolutionary agent: the working class or the Korean people.[12]
The progressive movement in South Korea emerged from the debate splintered into the PD (민중민주; Minjungminju; lit. People's Democracy) faction and NL (민족해방; Minjokhaebang; lit. National Liberation) faction. The PD faction prioritized the class struggle, identifying the working class as the principal revolutionary agent and focusing on labor movements to challenge the capitalist class. In contrast, the NL faction adopted a left-wing nationalistic approach and viewed the Korean people – both the North and the South – to be the principal revolutionary agent. They argued uniting the Korean people to resist American imperialism should take precedence over addressing internal class struggles.[13]
The PD faction grew into a Western-style leftist party, influenced by American liberalism and social democracy, while NL was a left-wing nationalist party that mixes ethnic nationalism, reunificationism and social progressivism. PD and NL are political terms that refer to the two pillars of South Korea's progressive camp and are still frequently used today. As of now, the representative PD-affiliated progressive party is the Justice Party, and the representative NL-affiliated progressive party is the Progressive Party.[14][15][16][13]
Shinjwapa
[edit]After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the New Left movement in Europe and the United States and postmodernist discourse became known, creating a Sinjwapa (신좌파; 新左派; lit. New Left faction) in South Korea. They advocate youth rights, LGBT rights and feminism. Currently, South Korea's representative Sinjwapa parties include the Green Party and Basic Income Party.[17][18]
Progressive parties
[edit]Gujwapa (Old Left)
[edit]Communist or far-left socialist
[edit]- Workers' Party of South Korea (1946–1949; banned)
- Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front → National Democratic Front of South Korea → Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front (1969–; banned)
- Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party → Labor Party (2016–2022; unregistered; merged)
- People's Democracy Party (2016–)
Hyeoksingye (Innovation-faction)
[edit]- Preparatory Committee for National Construction → People's Party of Korea → People's Labor Party (1945–1950)
- Socialist Party (1951–1953)
- Progressive Party (1956–1958; banned)
- United Socialist Party of Korea (1961–1967; banned 1961–1966)
Minjungminju (PD)
[edit]- The People's Party (1990–1992)
- People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011)
- Youth Progressive Party → Socialist Party → Hope Socialist Party → Korea Socialist Party → Socialist Party (1998–2012)
- New Progressive Party (2008–2012)
- Unified Progressive Party (2011–2012)[19]
- Progressive Justice Party → Justice Party (2012–) - However, there are a few Minjokhaebang and Shinjwapa factions in the Justice Party.
- Labor Party (2013–)
- Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party → Labor Party (2016–2022; unregistered; merged)
Minjokhaebang (NL)
[edit]- People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011)
- Unified Progressive Party (2011–2014; banned)[20]
- People's United Party (2016–2017)
- New People's Party (2017)
- Minjung Party → Progressive Party (2017–)
Shinjwapa (New Left)
[edit]- Green Social Democrats (2004)
- Green Peace Party (2002–2004)
- Social Democratic Party of Korea (2002–2004)
- Green Party Korea (2012–)
- Future Party (2017–)
- Basic Income Party (2020-)
- New Progressive Alliance (2024)
- Social Democratic Party (2024)
Progressive-liberal
[edit]- Democratic Independent Party (1947–1948)[note 1]
- Progressive Party (1956–1958)
- People's Party (1988)
- Hankyoreh Democratic Party (1988–1991)
- Popular Party (1989–1992)
- Participation Party (2010–2011)
- Unified Progressive Party (2011–2012, factions)[19]
- Youth Party (2012)
- Justice Party (2012–)
- Peace and Justice (2018)
- Future Party (2017–)
- Basic Income Party (2020–)
- Let's Go! Environmental Party (2020–)
- Democratic Alliance of Korea (2024–; satellite of the liberal DPK, the NPA and the Progressive Party)
Progressive media
[edit]- OhmyNews – liberal-leaning bias
- Pressian – progressive
- Voice of the People – progressive, resistance nationalism
- The Women's News – feminism
Progressive personalities
[edit]- Bong Joon-ho
- Ha-Joon Chang
- Han Sang-gyun
- Hong Sehwa
- Hong Seok-cheon
- Jang Hye-young
- Jeon Tae-il
- Kim Yeo-jin
- Kwon In-sook
- Lim Su-kyung
- Lee Hyori[21]
- Lim ji-hyeon
- Lee Yeong-hui
- Lyuh Woon-hyung
- Moon Ik-hwan
- Park Chan-wook
- Rhyu Si-min
- Roh Hoe-chan
- Roh Su-hui
- Ryu Ho-jeong
- Pak Noja
- Shin Hae-chul
- Sim Sang-jung
- Yun Hyon-seok
Major progressive parties election results of South Korea
[edit]Presidential elections
[edit]| Election | Candidate | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome | Party name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Cho Pong-am | 797,504 | 11.4% | Defeated 
|
Independent | |
| 1956 | Cho Pong-am | 2,163,808 | 30.0% | Defeated
|
Independent | |
| 1987 | Baik Ki-wan | Quit midway through | Independent | |||
| 1992 | Baik Ki-wan | 238,648 | 1.0% | Defeated
|
Independent | |
| 1997 | Kwon Young-ghil | 306,026 | 1.2% | Defeated
|
People's Victory 21 | |
| 2002 | Kwon Young-ghil | 957,148 | 3.9% | Defeated
|
Democratic Labor Party | |
| 2007 | Kwon Young-ghil | 712,121 | 3.0% | Defeated
|
Democratic Labor Party | |
| Geum Min | 18,223 | 0.07% | Defeated
|
Korea Socialist Party | ||
| 2012 | Lee Jung-hee | Quit midway through | Unified Progressive Party | |||
| Kim So-yeon | 16,687 | 0.05% | Defeated
|
Independent | ||
| Kim Soon-ja | 46,017 | 0.15% | Defeated
|
Independent | ||
| 2017 | Sim Sang-jung | 2,017,458 | 6.17% | Defeated
|
Justice Party | |
| Kim Sun-dong | 27,229 | 0.08% | Defeated
|
People's United Party | ||
| 2022 | Sim Sang-jung | 803,358 | 2.38% | Defeated
|
Justice Party | |
| Kim Jae-yeon | 37,366 | 0.11% | Defeated
|
Progressive Party | ||
| Oh Jun-ho | 18,105 | 0.05% | Defeated
|
Basic Income Party | ||
| Lee Baek-yun | 9,176 | 0.03% | Defeated
|
Labor Party | ||
Legislative elections
[edit] | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Election | Total seats | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome | Election leader | Party name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2 / 210
|
89,413 | 1.3% | new 2 seats; minority | Jo So-ang | Socialist Party |
| 1960 | 4 / 233
|
541,021 | 6.0% | new 4 seats; minority | Seo Sang-il | Social Mass Party |
1 / 233
|
57,965 | 0.6% | new 1 seats; minority | Jeon Jin-han | Korea Socialist Party | |
| 1967 | 1 / 175
|
249,561 | 2.3% | new 1 seats; minority | Seo Min-ho | Mass Party |
0 / 175
|
104,975 | 1.0% | new 0 seats; minority | Kim Cheol | Unified Socialist Party | |
| 1971 | 0 / 204
|
59,359 | 0.5% |  1 seats; minority
|
Ri Mong | Mass Party |
0 / 204
|
97,398 | 0.9% |  0 seats; minority
|
Kim Cheol | Unified Socialist Party | |
| 1981 | 0 / 276
|
676,921 | 4.2% | new 2 seats; minority | New Politics Party | |
2 / 276
|
524,361 | 3.2% | new 2 seats; minority | Ko Chong-hun | Democratic Socialist Party | |
0 / 276
|
122,778 | 0.7% | new 0 seats; minority | Kim Cheol | Socialist Party | |
| 1985 | 1 / 276
|
288,863 | 1.4% | new 1 seats; minority | Ko Chong-hun | New Politics Socialist Party |
| 1988 | 0 / 299
|
65,650 | 0.3% | new 0 seats; minority | Jeong Tae-yun | Party of the people |
1 / 299
|
251,236 | 1.3% | new 0 seats; minority | Ye Chun-ho | Hankyoreh Democratic Party | |
1 / 299
|
3,267 | 0.0% | new 0 seats; minority | Unificational Socialist Party | ||
| 1992 | 0 / 229
|
319,041 | 1.5% | new 0 seats; minority | Lee U-jae | People's Party |
| 2000 | 0 / 273
|
223,261 | 1.2% | new 0 seats; minority | Kwon Young-ghil | Democratic Labor Party |
0 / 273
|
125,082 | 0.7% | new 0 seats; minority | Choi Hyeok | Youth Progressive Party | |
| 2004 | 10 / 299
|
2,774,061 | 13.0% |  10 seats; minority
|
Kwon Young-ghil | Democratic Labor Party |
0 / 299
|
47,311 | 0.22% | 0 seats; minority
|
Won Yong-su | Socialist Party | |
| 2008 | 5 / 299
|
973,445 | 5.68% | 5 seats; minority
|
Cheon Yeong-se | Democratic Labor Party |
0 / 299
|
504,466 | 2.94% | new 0 seats; minority | Roh Hoe-chan Sim Sang-jung |
New Progressive Party | |
0 / 299
|
35,496 | 0.20% | 0 seats; minority
|
Choi Gwang-Eun | Korea Socialist Party | |
| 2012 | 13 / 300
|
2,198,405 | 10.3% | new 13 seats; minority | Lee Jung-hee | Unified Progressive Party |
0 / 300
|
243,065 | 1.13% | 0 seats; minority
|
Hong Sehwa An Hyo-sang |
New Progressive Party | |
| 2016 | 0 / 300
|
91,705 | 0.38% | 0 seats; minority
|
Koo Kyo-hyun | Labor Party |
6 / 300
|
1,719,891 | 7.23% | new 6 seats; minority | Sim Sang-jung | Justice Party | |
0 / 300
|
145,624 | 0.61% | 0 seats; minority
|
Lee Gwang-seok | People's United Party | |
| 2020 | 6 / 300
|
2,697,956 | 9.7% | 6 seats; minority
|
Sim Sang-jung | Justice Party |
0 / 300
|
295,612 | 1.06% | new 0 seats; minority | Kim Jong-hoon | Minjung Party | |
0 / 300
|
34,272 | 0.12% | 0 seats; minority
|
Koo Kyo-hyun | Labor Party | |
| 2024 | 0 / 300
|
609,313 | 2.1% | 6 seats; minority
|
Sim Sang-jung | Green–Justice Party |
0 / 300
|
25,937 | 0.09% | 0 seats; minority
|
Na Do-won | Labor Party | |
Local elections
[edit]| Election | Metropolitan mayor/Governor | Provincial legislature | Municipal mayor | Municipal legislature | Party name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd (2002) | 0 / 16
|
11 / 682
|
2 / 232
|
N/A | Democratic Labor Party |
| 4th (2006) | 0 / 16
|
15 / 733
|
0 / 230
|
66 / 2,888
|
Democratic Labor Party |
| 5th (2010) | 0 / 16
|
24 / 761
|
3 / 228
|
115 / 2,888
|
Democratic Labor Party |
0 / 16
|
3 / 761
|
0 / 228
|
22 / 2,888
|
New Progressive Party | |
| 6th (2014) | 0 / 17
|
3 / 789
|
0 / 226
|
34 / 2,898
|
Unified Progressive Party |
0 / 17
|
1 / 789
|
0 / 226
|
6 / 2,898
|
Labor Party | |
0 / 17
|
0 / 789
|
0 / 226
|
11 / 2,898
|
Justice Party | |
| 7th (2018) | 0 / 17
|
0 / 824
|
0 / 226
|
0 / 2,927
|
Labor Party |
0 / 17
|
11 / 824
|
0 / 226
|
26 / 2,927
|
Justice Party |
See also
[edit]- Conservatism in South Korea
- Feminism in South Korea
- Hanchongnyon
- Handaeryeon
- Identity politics – One of the main factors in distinguishing between the liberal and progressive camps in South Korea. (Those who support identity politics are classified as progressives.)
- Left-wing nationalism in South Korea
- Liberalism in South Korea
- LGBT rights in South Korea
- List of political parties in South Korea
- Socialism
- Democratic socialism (left-wing)
- Social democracy (centre-left to left-wing)
- Undongkwon
Notes
[edit]- ^ In North Korea, this party existed until the 1960s.
References
[edit]- ^ 현연, 조. 2019. 한국 진보 정당 운동사. 후마니타스. pp. 134-134, 141-142
- ^ Kim, Sang (February 22, 2022). "The Foreign Policy Outlook of South Korean Progressives: Part II". Korea Economic Institute of America. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ Chae, Haesook; Kim, Steven (2008). "Conservatives and Progressives in South Korea". The Washington Quarterly. 31 (4): 77–95. doi:10.1162/wash.2008.31.4.77. ISSN 0163-660X.
- ^ 현연, 조. 2019. 한국 진보 정당 운동사. 후마니타스. pp. 198-199, 221-222
- ^ a b Minns, John (2001). "The Labour Movement in South Korea". Labour History (81): 175. doi:10.2307/27516810.
- ^ a b Chang, Kornel (June 1, 2020). "Independence without Liberation: Democratization as Decolonization Management in U.S.-Occupied Korea, 1945–1948". Journal of American History. 107 (1): 77–106. doi:10.1093/jahist/jaaa009. ISSN 0021-8723.
- ^ Kim, Elli. "Research Guides: South Korean Democratization Movement (1960s-1980s): A Resource Guide: Kwangju Uprising (1980)". guides.loc.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ a b "#10 - 5.18 The Kwangju Uprising". School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ Lee, Jeong Taik (1988). "Dynamics of Labor Control and Labor Protest in the Process of Export-Oriented Industrialization in South Korea". Asian Perspective. 12 (1): 134–158. doi:10.1353/apr.1988.a920811. ISSN 2288-2871.
- ^ a b "Chun Doo-hwan's bloody Gwangju legacy is America's problem too | Responsible Statecraft". responsiblestatecraft.org. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ Mi, Park (September 1, 2005). "Organizing Dissent against Authoritarianism: The South Korean Student Movement in the 1980s". Korea Journal. 45 (3): 261–288. ISSN 2733-9343.
- ^ Hwang, Juneseo (November 12, 2024). "Liminal Space for Progressive Leftists in South Korea's Bipartisan Politics After the 2024 General Election". Journal of Contemporary Asia: 1–11. doi:10.1080/00472336.2024.2424174. ISSN 0047-2336.
- ^ a b 강만길 (Kang Man-gil), ed. (1989). 80년대 사회 운동 논쟁: 월간 사회 와 사상 창간 1주년 기념 전권 특별 기획. 한길사.
- ^ "'NL-PD' 해묵은 갈등이 결국 진보당 발목 잡았다". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). June 4, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ^ "NL·PD 갈등 30년···PD계열 조국에 음모론도 등장". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ^ Jesús Velasco (July 4, 2019). American Presidential Elections in a Comparative Perspective: The World Is Watching. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 154. ISBN 978-1498557580.
- ^ "신좌파의 진화는 이제 시작된다". Sisa IN (in Korean). January 9, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ^ ""조국 비판 전혀 안 한 사람들" ·· 연합정당 동참". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). March 18, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ^ a b "노회찬, 심상정, 유시민 통합진보당 탈당: 민노당 전 최고위원, 지방의원, 참여계 당원 3000여명도 '탈당 러시'" [Roh Hoe-chan, Sim Sang-jung, and Yoo Si-min left the Unified Progressive Party: About 3,000 former supreme council members, local councilors, and participating members of the DLP are also leaving the party.]. Pressian. September 13, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ Yonhap News Agency, December 19, 2014, [1], "...South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the dissolution of a pro-North Korean minor opposition party..."
- ^ "자기 생각 말하는 게 뭐 어때서…'좌효리'에게 박수!" [What's wrong with saying what me think? ... Applause to "Leftist Hyori"!]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
