Korean Workers and Neoliberal GlobalizationOne of the most remarkable aspects of South Korea’s transition from impoverished post-colonial nation to fully-fledged industrialized democracy has been the growth of its independent and dynamic labour movement. Korean Workers and Neoliberal Globalisation examines current trends and transformations within the Korean labour movement since the 1990s. It has been a common assumption that the ‘third wave’ of democratisation, the end of the Cold War, and the spread of neoliberal globalisation in the latter part of the 20th century have helped to create an environment in which organised labour is better placed to overcome bureaucratic national unionism and transform itself into a potential counter-globalisation movement. However, Kevin Gray argues that despite the apparent continued phenomena of labour militancy and the rhetoric of anti-neoliberalism, the mainstream independent labour movement in Korea has become increasingly institutionalised and bureaucratised into the new capitalist democracy. This process is demonstrated by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ experience of participation in various forms of policy making forums. Gray suggests that as a result, the KCTU has failed to mount an effective challenge against processes of neoliberal restructuring and concomitant social polarisation. The Korean experience provides an excellent case study for understanding the relationship between organised labour and globalisation. Korean Workers and Neoliberal Globalisation will appeal to students and scholars of Korean studies and International Political Economy, as well as Asian politics and economics. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 34
... historical baggage of class compromise politics and the incorporation of labour in Keynesian welfare states. These movements included those in a number of late industrializing countries including Korea, Brazil, South Africa, and the ...
... historical trends, and illuminate problems, as part of a broader collective endeavour to devise more effective alternatives. Main arguments of the book The first chapter will cover in more detail the theoretical concerns that guide this ...
... 19805, labour formed part of a wider movement that included both reformist and revolutionary tendencies. As the 'historic compromise' in 1987 brought formal democratization, a massive uprising of labour Introduction 7.
... historical experience of these movements, they attempt to abstract certain salient aspects of organized labour movements and construct a model of how labour is responding to neoliberal restructuring. However, this approach ignores the ...
... historical movement based on the mass mobilization of workers, to a bureaucratic organizational structure that has been partially co-opted into the capitalist democracy. This is in marked contrast to what writers claim is happening ...
Contents
1 | |
12 | |
2 Globalization crisis and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Korea | 31 |
3 The rise and fall of militant labour unionism in Korea | 52 |
4 Social movement unionism and the Korean labour movement | 71 |
5 Latedemocratization and low intensity social corporatism | 92 |
6 Korean labour and the struggle against neoliberalism | 110 |
7 The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions social reform struggle | 130 |
Conclusion | 150 |
Notes | 162 |
Bibliography | 170 |
Index | 189 |