Projects per year
Abstract
While the ‘top-down’ variant of nationalism is engendered by elites and emphasizes loyalty to the state and ethnic solidarity, little is known about the ‘bottom-up’ variant, which focuses on people’s interest in the state’s and political leaders’ care for the masses. South Korea’s ‘Candlelight Revolution’ of 2016/17 ignited a national protest against the abuse of power by then-President Park Geun-Hye, the unfair distribution of wealth, and changes to Korean culture. This article explores grassroots’ expressions of bottom-up nationalism by analysing YouTube speeches from the Candlelight rallies. Protesters criticized the corruption and abuse of power by Korean leaders, which were seen to perpetuate the structure of injustice for decades. Some aspects of the Korean cultural contexts were politicized by national leaders, such as conservative leaders labelling their critics ‘commies’. By contesting the structure and culture of Korean society, protesters transformed themselves into social actors at the personal level and then called for long-term rather than temporary remedies at the societal level. By espousing ‘calculated nationalism’, protesters illustrated their interest in what they can get from the Korean nation-state, rather than what they can do to the state.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Continuum |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2024 |
Keywords
- agency
- culture
- political campaigns
- social movements
- social structure
- South Korea
- YouTube politics
Projects
- 1 Active
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Korean_Responses: Local Agency and National Responses to Globalization: The South Korean Case in Comparative, Transnational and Diasporic Perspective
Han, G., CHUNG, E. A., KIM, N. H., LIM, T., KIM, J., JUNG, K. & MOON, S.
1/08/18 → 31/07/25
Project: Research