A Century of Contention in South Korea: The Evolution of Contentious Politics against Political Elites

Abstract

This paper examines a century of contentious politics in South Korea. I argue that there have been three distinctive eras of contention in modern Korea. The first two eras saw institutional arrangements limit the success of contentious campaigns. However, expanded repertoires in the third era allowed movements to succeed. I end by examining the role of social media in future movements.