Author Archive

Anti-Communism Endures: Political Implications of ROK Political Culture

By | May 08, 2017

Anti-communism has a long and storied history in South Korea. Nobody disputes the prevalence of anti-communist sentiment. The public of all ages retains the view that there is an ongoing need for anti-communist ideology. Steven Denney looks at the data.

Wreathes, Smoke, and National Interest: April 15 and Commemoration in Asia

By | April 21, 2017

East Asia’s cemeteries are a reminder that while leaders and rhetoric may change, the structure of the region remains the same. The borders set in 1953 have not moved. But is there something in the air? Steven Denney cogitates on the contingency of Korean War memory and what it may mean in the present.

South Korea’s Identity Gap: Diverging Views on North Korea

By and | January 23, 2017

How close do South Korean youth feel to North Korea vis-a-vis their older compatriots? What do they think about the reunification of a nation long divided? Reviewing the latest survey data and fresh evidence from qualitative interviews, Phillip Lee and Steven Denney confirm what many have long suspected: a growing identity gap.

South Korean Democracy: Consolidated or Not?

By | December 07, 2016

Recent research suggesting rapidly declining youth support for democracy in Western states triggered a debate in the New York Times and elsewhere. The decline was found to be real, but not terribly dramatic. What is the situation in South Korea?

South Korean Identity: The Return of Ethnic Exclusivism?

By | October 28, 2016

It is both necessary and interesting to take regular snapshots of identity. South Korea just did so. The “Korean identity survey” was conducted for the third time in 2015, and the results have now been published. Steven Denney parses the data.