Progressivism () in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

is broadly associated with

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

, cultural progressivism and

left-wing nationalism Left-wing nationalism or leftist nationalism, also known as social nationalism, is a form of nationalism based upon national self-determination, popular sovereignty, national self-interest, and left-wing political positions such as social equal ...

. South Korea's "

progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tech ...

" is often used in a similar sense to 'South Korean Left' or 'leftist'. Historically, there have been

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

forces, but most of them have been powerless in South Korean politics.

History

''Hyukshinkye''

South Korea's early left-wing forces were mainly divided into 'communist' and 'non-communist'. At that time, South Korean non-communist leftists were mainly called ''Hyukshinkye'' (). At that time, it was politically repressed by both centre-right liberal and far-right ultra-conservatives. In particular, the Korean War led to a significant weakening as some of the ''Hyukshinkye'' were also driven to communism. After the forced dissolution of the Progressive Party led by

Cho Bong-am Cho Bong-am (, 25 September 1898 – 31 July 1959) was a South Korean independence activist and politician, who ran for president in the South Korean presidential election in 1956. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Korea (조� ...

in 1958, it virtually collapsed politically. Progressive parties, including the United Socialist Party led by Kim Chul, continued the tradition of ''Hyukshinkye'', but its power was minimal, and since the 1980s, ''Hyukshinkye''s tradition has been completely cut off from power as Kim Chul and other key figures have shifted to pro-

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

conservative stances.

PD and NL

The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

remained silent about the massacres in Gwangju by new-military coup forces in the 1980s, and backed the

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...

government. This served as an opportunity for some of the democratization movement forces in South Korea to develop anti-American sentiment. As a result, some of South Korea's moderate liberal pro-democratization activists gradually accepted

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

and became more left-wing. During this period, the left-wing movement in South Korea was largely divided into Minjungminju-wing () and Minjokhaebang-wing (). After the collapse of the Cold War in the 1990s, they moderated their tendencies than in the past to form a political party named Democratic Force. PD was a Western-style leftist party, influenced by American liberalism,

and

Soviet communism The ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was Bolshevist Marxism–Leninism, an ideology of a centralised command economy with a vanguardist one-party state to realise the dictatorship of the proletariat. The Soviet Un ...

, while NL was a left-wing nationalist party that mixed South Korean indigenous ideas, radical reunificationism and social progressivism. PD and NL are political terms that refer to the two pillars of South Korea's progressive camp and are still frequently used today. As of now, the representative PD-affiliated progressive party is the Justice Party, and the representative NL-affiliated progressive party is the Minjung Party.

''Shinjwapa''

After the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the 1990s, the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights ...

movement in Europe and the United States and postmodernist discourse became known, creating a ''Shinjwapa'' () in South Korea. They advocate

youth rights The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion o ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Currently, South Korea's representative ''Shinjwapa'' parties include the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

and

Basic Income Party The Basic Income Party (, BIP) is a single-issue political party in South Korea advocating for a universal basic income (UBI). History The Basic Income Party came into existence when the ninth leadership board of the Labor Party led by ...

Socialism in South Korea

South Korea's 'legitimate' socialist movement is considered part of South Korean progressivism. But not all progressives are socialists, so the two need to be distinguished.

Progressive parties

''Gujwapa'' (Old Left)

Communist or far-left socialist

Workers' Party of South Korea The Workers' Party of South Korea ( ko, 남조선로동당) was a communist party in South Korea from 1946 to 1949. It was founded on 23 November 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea, New People's Party of Korea and a f ...

(1946–1953; banned) * Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front → National Democratic Front of South Korea → Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front (1969–; banned) * Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party → Labor Party (2016–2022; unregistered; merged) * People's Democracy Party (2016–)

''Hyukshinkye'' (Innovation-faction)

* Preparatory Committee for National Construction → People's Party of Korea → People's Labor Party (1945–1950) *

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

(1951–1953) * Progressive Party (1956–1958; banned) *

United Socialist Party of Korea The United Socialist Party of Korea was a Left-wing political party in South Korea. The party was founded in the spring of 1961, through the merger of two groups.Kemseke, Peter van. Towards an Era of Development: The Globalization of Socialism an ...

(1961–1967; banned 1961–1966)

''Minjungminju'' (PD)

* The People's Party (1990–1992) * People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011) * Youth Progressive Party → Socialist Party → Hope Socialist Party → Korea Socialist Party → Socialist Party (1998–2012) * New Progressive Party (2008–2012) *

Unified Progressive Party The Unified Progressive Party (UPP; ko, 통합진보당, RR: ''Tonghap Jinbo-dang'', Hanja: 統合進步黨) is a banned political party in South Korea. It was founded on 5 December 2011 as a merger of the Democratic Labor Party, the Peo ...

(2011–2012) * Progressive Justice Party → Justice Party (2012–) - However, there are a few ''Minjokhaebang'' and ''Shinjwapa'' factions in the Justice Party. * Labor Party (2013–) * Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party → Labor Party (2016–2022; unregistered; merged)

''Minjokhaebang'' (NL)

* People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011) *

(2011–2014; banned)Yonhap News Agency, December 19, 2014

"...South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the dissolution of a pro-North Korean minor opposition party..." * People's United Party (South Korea), People's United Party (2016–2017) * New People's Party (2017) * Minjung Party → Progressive Party (2017–)

''Shinjwapa'' (New Left)

Green Party Korea Green Party Korea is a political party in South Korea. The party was established in March 2012. It is a continuation of the Korea Greens, created following initial discussions in 2011. The party was established in response to the Fukushima ...

(2012–) *

Our Future The Mirae Party () is a youth-oriented political party centered on the rising generation of South Korea. They criticize the nation's major political parties for not properly representing the voices of young people, citing youth politics as their ...

(2017–) *

(2020-)

Progressive-liberal

* Progressive Party (1956–1958) * People's Party (1988) *

Hankyoreh Democratic Party The Hankyoreh Democratic Party (, HDP) was a political party of South Korea from 1988 to 1991. History The party was formed in 1988 as the alternative for 2 main oppositions ― Reunification Democratic Party and Peace Democratic Party. The orig ...

(1988–1991) * Popular Party (1989–1992) * Participation Party (2010–2011) *

(2011–2012) * Justice Party (2012–) :* Peace and Justice (2018) *

(2020–)

Progressive media

OhmyNews OhmyNews (Hangul: 오마이뉴스) is a South Korean online news website with the motto "Every Citizen is a Reporter". It was founded by Oh Yeon Ho on February 22, 2000. It is the first news website in Korea to accept, edit and publish artic ...

- liberal-leaning bias * Pressian - progressive * Voice of the People - progressive, resistance nationalism * Yeoseong Shinmun - feminism

Progressive personalities

Bong Joon-ho Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...

Ha-Joon Chang Ha-Joon Chang (; ; born 7 October 1963) is a South Korean institutional economist, specialising in development economics. Chang is the author of several widely discussed policy books, most notably ''Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strateg ...

* * Hong Sehwa * Hong Seok-cheon * Jang Hye-young * Kwon In-sook * Lee Hyori * * * Lyuh Woon-hyung * Rhyu Si-min *

Roh Hoe-chan Roh Hoe-chan ( ko, 노회찬, 31 August 1956 – 23 July 2018) was a South Korean politician. He was a member of the 17th, 19th, and 20th National Assemblies. Roh was involved with multiple progressive-leaning parties, lately with the Justice ...

* Ryu Ho-jeong * Pak Noja *

Shin Hae-chul Shin Hae-chul (Hangul: 신해철; May 6, 1968 – October 27, 2014) was a South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer known for being a pioneer of Korean experimental rock music. He was referred to by fans as the "Demon Lord" or "The Dev ...

* Sim Sang-jung * Yun Hyon-seok

Major progressive parties election results of South Korea

Presidential elections

Legislative elections

Local elections

Notes

References

{{South Korean political parties Political history of South Korea Environmentalism in South Korea Left-wing nationalism in South Korea