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Left-wing nationalism (Korean: 좌익 내셔널리즘) or "Nationalist Left" (Korean: 좌파민족주의; Hanja: 左派民族主義; lit. left [ethno-]nationalism)[1] in South Korea combines Korean nationalist agendas such as anti-imperialism (in many cases against Japan) and Korean reunification with left-wing politics.
Anti-imperialism and anti-Japanese sentiment
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Due to the history of the division of Korea led by the United States and the Soviet Union, where Koreans' self-determination was ignored, diplomatic Korean nationalism became more prominent in the liberal and progressive camp than in the conservative camp in South Korea.[2]
The strong stance against Japan in South Korea is also closely related to human rights groups for Korean victims of Japanese war crimes. South Korean liberals/progressives refer to it as a 'victim-centered idea' (피해자 중심주의). According to them, the perpetrator's position should not be considered, some of the assets of Japanese companies should be confiscated to compensate the victims.[3][4]
One scholar argues that left-wing Korean nationalism often tends to be at oods with right-wing Japanese nationalism.[5]
National Liberation-faction
editModern-style left-wing nationalism was formed in the 1980s. At that time, South Korean activist groups showed anti-American tendencies because the United States approved the Chun Doo-hwan administration, citing anti-communism, and was silent on the massacre in Gwangju. As a result, many of the close South Korean liberal activists, who had pursued a somewhat pro-American and moderate democratic path until the 1970s, began to turn into left-wing activists due to their betrayal they felt toward the United States. At that time, South Korea's left-wing activists were divided into two factions, 'PD' (Korean: 민중민주파; lit. People's Democracy-faction) and 'NL' (Korean: 민족해방파; lit. National Liberation-faction), and they are fiercely opposed. In the case of 'PD', it opposes nationalism by advocating European socialism or Soviet communism, but 'NL' takes a leftist Korean nationalist and anti-imperialist line based on strong opposition to American and Japanese imperialism.[6]
The NL movement is largely divided into 'Juche faction' (주사파) and 'non-Juche NL faction' (비주사NL파).[7]
Minjung nationalism
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Minjung nationalism (민중민족주의) is a left-wing ethno-nationalist movement[9] that opposes South Korea's dominant developmentalist nationalism[10] and anti-communism[11] and highlights "minjung" as the nation's subject. This is related to anti-American nationalism and the pro-democracy movement in South Korea, but it has declined since the 1990s.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (7 April 2019). "South Korea's Nationalist-Left Front". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "The Foreign Policy Outlook of South Korean Progressives: Part II". 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Japan and South Korea: A logical but uneasy alignment | Lowy Institute". Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ "강제징용 피해자소송 맡았던 文 "피해자 중심주의, 국제사회 대원칙"". 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ Shin, Gi-Wook (September 5, 2019). "On Korean Nationalism and Its Role in the Escalating Japan-South Korea Friction".
- ^ 강만길 (Kang Man-gil), ed. (1989). 80년대 사회 운동 논쟁: 월간 사회 와 사상 창간 1주년 기념 전권 특별 기획. 한길사.
- ^ "주사파 (主思派)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-08-19.
- ^ "백기완이 있었기에". 한겨레21. 2021-02-19.
- ^ a b Gi-Wook Shin (2006). Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, and Legacy. Stanford University Press. p. 175.
- ^ Lu Zhouxiang (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Nationalism in East and Southeast Asia. Taylor & Francis. p. 313.
- ^ Patrick Flamm (2019). South Korean Identity and Global Foreign Policy: Dream of Autonomy. Patrick Flamm.
... (minjung) nationalism criticized Park's regime for enslaving the South Korean people and, due to its anticommunism, fostering the division of the Korean peninsula.