Park, Soon Woo
(2004)
The struggle for social citizenship in Korea 1945-1997.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This thesis seeks to trace the evolution of Korean social policy within the framework of T.H.Marshall's citizenship theory. The following questions are raised: 1) does Korea have the historical and cultural foundations to secure citizenship rights. 2) has Korea followed Marshall's developmental path of citizenship rights. 3) how far did Marshall's sequence of emerging rights hold in Korea. 4) what obstacles have there been that have hindered the frill development of citizenship rights in Korea, and what kind of impacts have they had on social policy in Korea. 5) how far do the conditions necessary for frill citizenship rights and responsibilities exist today in Korea. To answer the questions, the thesis discusses first the foundations for citizenship in the pre-modem period and the consequence of Japanese colonisation. It then discusses the post-war period in more detail. The findings suggest the following: 1) Korean society had some foundations on which citizenship could have been built, but began to take a divergent path, following colonisation and subsequent American occupation. 2) Since the 1960s the society has achieved rapid industrialisation but at the expense of citizens' civil and political rights. 3) The development of social policy in Korea from the 1960s has reflected an authoritarian tradition, and hence failed to enshrine the basic principles of social citizenship. Finally, 4) the thesis challenges the existing approaches to comparative study of social policy, in particular their reference to Korean welfare programmes.
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