Forming A Democratic Society: South Korean Responses to U.S. Democracy Promotion

Abstract

This article investigates the influence and limitations of American democracy promotion in South Korea by analyzing various texts produced by different ideological groups during the 1950s. Americans promoted diverse concepts of democracy, including anti-Communist, institutional, individualistic, nation-centered, and life-centered notions. The diversified programs and channels of the U.S. information service, while contributing to the wide dissemination of democracy, allowed greater room for Koreans to interpret and use them for their own agendas. Exploring various texts produced by different groups, I find that, while “American” ideas were crucial sources of reference, they were often transformed or used only in part. Different Korean groups developed their own democratic ideas by referring to various “American” democratic concepts. Furthermore, Koreans not only used democratic ideas, but also drew from post-colonial nationalist discourses and their own sense of patriotism.