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The North and South Korean Political Systems. A Comparative Analysis PDF

998 Pages·1994·65.459 MB·English
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The North and south Korean Political Systems A Comparative Analysis C\ Tayl&oF rr ancis �- Taylo& rF ranGcriosu p htt/pt:a/yn dl fonrrcaai s.com and The North SOu~ Korean .Po~tical Systems. AC omparative Analysis Sung Chul Yang ~l Routledge ~ ~ Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK Firpsutb li1s9h9be4yWd e stvPireeIwsn sc,. Publi2s0h1be9yRd o utledge 52 VanAdveernbNuieelwY,t o rk,1 0N0Y1 7 2P a rSkqu aMriel,tPoanrA kb,i ng OdxoonOn,X 144R N Rout liaesnd i gmepr oitfnh Tteay&lF orra nGcriosau npi ,n fobrumsai ness Copyri19g94h byt S©un g Chul Yang Alrli grhetsse Nrovp eador .ftt h biosom ka byer eproi rnrteepdr ood ruutcieldii nas neyd foromr by any cehlaencitocrtaohlne,ir c o,mr e maenso,r nhoewr ekanfotwenr invented, inclupdhiontgo caonp rdyeicnogro drii nan ngiy,n formation storage or retrieval system, withpoeurtm i isnws riiotfnirnogmp utbhlei shers. Notice: Prodourcc otr ponraammteaesby e t radeom rraergkiss ttreardee dma anardrk uess ,ed on flyoird enti afniedcx aptliaownniatthiioonunttt eo in ntf ringe. LiborfCa ornyg CraetsaCslar oNdgu mb9e4r-:4 443 ISB1N39 :7 8-0-36(7h-b2 k9)447-2 PREFACE For nearly five decades Korean people in the both halves of the coun- try have been living under two diametrically different political and eco- nomic systems with little or no mutual contacts and communications. Still, the cultural homogeneity and national affinity of the Korean peo- ple continue to be overwhelming. Unfortunately, however, this rather untenable situation of political and economic experiments imposed upon the culturally homogenous people is likely to remain so in the foresee- able future. The two states in the Korean Peninsula cannot be easily united into one statehood as did the former West Germany and East Germany. An attempt to emulate German unification by Korea will be near suicidal. Until and unless the two political and economic systems presently persisting on both sides of the Korean Peninsula become more comparable and compatible, it is not only-inconceivable but unwise for government policy-planners or others to hasten a genuine and bloodless unification. The two systems and two states presently existing in the Korean Peninsula are like the two bowls molded out of the same clay. The main focus of this study has been to find North and South Korea's differences of recent origins rather than their basic sameness of long standing. To pursue the clay-bowl analogy further, the primary interest has been to examine these two new bowls, their respective shapes (political struc- tures and economic models), usages (political process and economic policy), primary users (po~tical elites and masses) and things (political outputs and economic performance). For a long time, I have been advocating that the two Koreas are the best living laboratories for comparativists, be they political scientists, sociologists, economists or other social scientists. To compare two Koreas' political processes and economic performance is, for example, v vi Preface different from studying the same topics of two states. For one thing, if enormous differences exist in political processes and economic per- formance in the both halves today, an explanation must necessarily lie in the two entirely different political and economic systems they adopted in 1948. In analyzing both Koreas' diametrically opposed political and economic realities, cultural and other non-politico-economic factors are mostly given or irrelevant, and they cannot be the main explanatory variables. The first draft of this study was completed around 1986 in the United States, the year that I repatriated to Korea. I felt then that it was incom- plete for publication. Thus, I have been doing continuous research to revise and update the information for nearly seven years while readjust- ing to the life in my native land. In the summer of 1992, I finally under- took the revamping and revising of this manuscript. Between 1986 and 1993 not only North Korea and South Korea but the whole world had undergone a cataclysmic metamorphoses. The seis- mic political and economic transformations at home and abroad had to be incorporated into this text. During this period North Korea has become further isolated from the rest of the world, and it is now an economic basket case as well as an international test case for nuclear nonproliferation. South Korea in the meantinle has successfully moved away from a prolonged praetorian authoritarianism to a working democ- racy. The former Communist Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have also been erased from the world map and are still struggling to create new political and economic identities, let alone some agreeable political boundaries. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of North and South Korean political systems and processes in a systematic and comparative perspective. It examines the evolution and development of the two sys- tems from 1945 to the present. It consists of six parts. In Parts One and Two both the Korean political heritage and the contemporary political background for the emergence of the two separate regimes on the Kore- an Peninsula are explicated in detail as a way of preliminary introduc- tion. In Parts Three and Four the North Korean political system as a totalitarian political order and the South Korean political system as a Preface vii democratizing political order are scrutinized in a greater detail, respec- tively. In Part Five, the differences in both Korea's economic systems, economic strategies and policies and their actual economic performance for the last five decades are studied on the basis of available economic data. Finally, Part Six focuses on four critical and chronic issues which two Koreas have confronted over the years and require resolution. They include the problem of political succession in particular and of democra- tization and liberalization in general, the continuing arms race and twin fortifications, and two models of education and of reunification. The summer in Seoul is unbearably hot and humid. During the sum- mer of 1992, my wife, who helped in the final editing of the manuscript, and I suffered through the heat to complete the manuscript in the present form. I am sure, we will remember the ordeal for a long time to come. Besides my wife, I owe the completion of this work to many people who rendered assistance over the many years it took to complete. Just a few who have given direct assistance are acknowledged here. Mr. Jin Wang Kim, the President of Seoul Press, generously and enthusiastically supported the manuscript project by typesetting the work which already looks like a published work. Professors Young Whan Kihl of Iowa State University, Chin Park and Reinhard Drifte of the University of New Castle upon Tyne in England have been helpful in locating a prospective publisher. My big Mahalo goes to Mrs. Myungjin Chung who almost magically transformed my numerous unreadable chicken-scratches into a legible printout. My appreciation is also extended to Ms. Susan McEachern, Senior editor of Westview Press, who corresponded with me for more them a year in the process of having this book published. Last but not least, I dedicate this book to my wife, Daisy Chung Chin Lee, and my children, Eugene and Susan, with whom I share the joy of living and loving. This book, I hope, will finally put to rest my chil- dren's constant inquiries, "What happened to your book, Dad?" Seoul, Korea, 1994 C\ Tayl&oF rr ancis �- Taylo& rF ranGcriosu p htt/pt:a/yn dl fonrrcaai s.com CONTENTS PREFACE V PARITT. H KEO REPAONL IDHCEARLI TAGE Chap1t.AeH ri stOovreircvaile w 3 Chap2t.Pe orl iCtuilcatanuTldrr ea ditions 13 Chap3t.Ne art iRveissitlNiiacet nicoaenn,aBd le iysomn d9 3 PARITIC .O NTEMPOPROALRIYD SCEATTINLG S Chap4t.Pe orl oiPftar itcist ion 149 Chap5t.Ie dre oalntodhgK eyo rEexapne riments1 65 PARiTl TlH.NE O RTKHO REPAONL ITSIYCSATLE M: AT OTALITPAORLIIATNOI RCDAELR Chap6t.Te hrNe o rKtho rPeoalniF triacmaelw ork 219 Chap7t.Fe orr Pmoall iSttiruccalant du res thEeviorl ution 265 Chap8t.Te hrRe u lEilniagtn thedes Pi orl itical Vicissitudes 325 Chap9t.Ke ir1mS 1 u nRgi'assneR d e teonPfto iwoenr 359 ix

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