Wellsprings of Discontent

After years of student demonstrations in South Korea, the first few weeks of the spring semester of 1987 were unusually quiet. Knowledgeable faculty and administrators remarked with puzzlement on the calm. Explanations noted the discredit that had accrued to recent left adventurist tactics and also a wait-and-see attitude on the part of the students while rival political groups sparred over constitutional reform. The rigors of late winter were also mentioned. As the spring progressed, South Koreans watched the political opposition fragment over the issue of presidential selection. So deep did these fissures become that the opposition party ultimately divided. Shortly thereafter, on April 13th, President Chun Doo Hwan announced the suspension of further constitutional debate until after the 1988 Olympics. He also proclaimed a prohibition on discussion of the subject and of his decision. At that point student passions resurfaced. What followed was one of the most violent periods of student activity in Korean history. It was joined by increasing expressions of dissent from the population as a whole and by intense behind-the-scenes maneuvering by a number of groups, including representatives of the U.S. government. The culmination of this activity was the humiliating June 29 retreat by the governing party from President Chun's decision. Unrest continued, however, with a massive funeral demonstration in early July for Lee Han Yul, a Yonsei University student killed by tear gas canister fragments, and with demonstrations into the summer by workers demanding better pay and working conditions

Dissent · Political science · Politics · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies · Law

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