Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

The Political Demography of South Korea: A Webinar

The UP Asian Center held a webinar via Zoom, “Political Demography of South Korea: Generational Conflicts, Gender Politics, Regionalism, Anti-Americanism, and ‘Netizens’” on 8 December 2021,  9:00 am–11:30 am (Philippine Standard Time, GMT + 8)

Abstract

Now the 10th largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product, South Korea has accomplished truly remarkable economic development and industrialization since the 1960s. But in contrast with its rapid economic development, South Korea continues to struggle to democratize its political system and progress to a mature stage of democracy. Its legacy of traditional sociopolitical culture is believed to be a major obstacle to its political transformation. According to Transparency International, for instance, South Korea is ranked 45th on the corruption perceptions index as of 2018.
In this webinar, Prof. Shin will examine how various dimensions of sociopolitical culture have impacted South Korea's political development.  More specifically, in the first section, he will analyze the effects of age, gender, and social class on voting behaviors. In the second section, he will investigate how regionalism, inter-Korean relations, internet politics, and anti-Americanism have influenced the outcomes of presidential and parliamentary elections. Finally, in the third section, he will review the political impacts of an extremely low fertility rate, rapid population aging, interregional migration, and rising immigration.

The Speaker

Prof. Eui Hang (Ken) Shin, PhD is a distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina and Visiting Research Fellow, Asia Center, Seoul National University. His areas of interest are the political demography of Korea and international higher education. He has published nearly 70 articles in journals such as Amerasia Journal, American Educational Research Journal, American Sociologist, and the International Journal of Korean Studies. His recent publications include "Undergraduate Education at Prominent Institutions of Higher Education in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan" (2017). He received BA in Sociology from Seoul National University in 1964, MA in Demography from University of Pennsylvania in 1968, and Ph.D. in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
The UP Asian Center offers an M.A. Program in Asian Studies with specialization on Northeast Asia, with country specialization on Korea. For inquiries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D.  program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.