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Information Technology and Social
Changes
Jongwoo Han
There are three different views
on the impacts of the current information technology revolution upon society,
economy, politics, and culture: the Continuists’, the Transformists’, and the
Structuralists’. The
Despite such divergent
assessments on the ongoing changes brought about by information technology,
many agree that rapid development in information technology has a tremendous
effect in restructuring economy and industry. The main focus of social
scientists is on how information technology affects the socio-political system
and to what extent this effects have proceeded The debates on the impacts of
information technology upon the socio-political system ought to wait for more
convincing and structural evidence to support opposing arguments. This article
takes Structuralists view and finds that the Internet, as a direct outcome of
information technology development, plays a significant catalytic role in the
socio-political system in
These two revolutionary examples share two important facts. First of all, these two seemingly discreet socio-political phenomena would have not been possible without the rapid and wide application of information technology. More specifically, such socio-political changes were ignited by the technical networks mediated by the byproduct of the information technology revolution, the Internet. Second, they were possible due to the density of human networks established prior to the advent of the advanced use of information technology. These two events establish an equation that information technology is relationship technology. Conclusively, the human density accumulated in diverse environments of Korean society was successfully combined by the connectivity provided by Internet. This article shows how these two elements, technology and human social capital, can produce synergic effects and result in the structural changes in socio-political system. These cases prove the explosive potential of the network effect observed by Robert Metcalf, Metcalf’s Law[1]. The social network theory, that human networks can be measured by two variables, density and distance among human resources.
In this article, these Korean cases aptly demonstrate that the analytical tool of this theory can be successfully applied. “Bates (1984)[2] pointed out that any information society is a complex web consisting not only of a technological infrastructure, but also an economic structure, a pattern of social relations, organizational patterns, and perhaps other facets of social organizations.” The social capital formed prior to the era of Internet is the density as distance can be narrowed down by the Internet connectivity. Korean people with characteristics of being gregarious, hyper-socialized, and group-oriented reduced the physical distance among themselves by means of PC Cafés woven together by Internet.
This article argues that among
the factors affecting the process of informatization, social capital is one of
the most critical dimensions to consider. Technology alone cannot explain such
a dynamic picture of
However, careful study on
[Table 1] Indicators of ICT infrastructure
|
|
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
Annual Growth |
|
PCs owned per 100 persons |
15.0 |
17.8 |
24.6 |
|
|
29.4 |
|
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 persons |
15.0 |
30.2 |
50.0 |
55.2 |
|
59.1 |
|
Internet users aged 7 years and over per 100 persons |
4.0 |
7.5 |
25.9 |
45.0 |
52.0 |
136.2 |
|
Internet hosts per 1,000 persons |
2.8 |
4.4 |
9.8 |
10.2 |
|
60.9 |
|
ISPs (unit) |
23 |
25 |
54 |
83 |
89 |
59.5 |
Source: 1) http://stat.nic.or.kr for data on Internet
(
2) National informatization White
Paper and Informatization Statistics Yearbook for data on the
number of PCs and mobile
phone subscribers (National Computerization Agency, 2001)
3) Population Projection for
data on population (KNSO, 1996)
Table 2 supports this argument. The hours spent on PC communication and Internet per week has almost tripled in July 2000 compared to that of three years before, April 1997. Also, computer ownership is equated with the Internet by showing the main purpose of having one in year 2000 to be 5 times that of 1997.
[Table 2] ICT access and opportunity of individuals and households
|
|
Proportions of households
with computers (%) |
PC literacy rate of aged 6
years and more (%) |
Hours spent on computer use
per week (hours) |
Individuals whose purpose
of computer use is PC comm. & Internet (%) |
Hours spent on PC
comm.& Internet per week |
|
April 1997 |
29.0 |
39.9 |
5.9 |
7.9 |
4.2 |
|
July 2000 |
46.4 |
51.6 |
17.2 |
40.4 |
10.4 |
|
Increase |
17.4% |
11.7% |
11.3 hrs |
32.5% |
6.2 hrs |
Source: 2000 Social Statistical Survey (KNSO, 2001)
A more interesting finding lies in the population
composition of the computer and Internet generations in
[Table 3] Population in
|
|
Total |
Percent |
Accumulative Percentage |
|
0-4 |
3,048,362 |
6.4% |
6.4% |
|
5-19 |
10,150,888 |
21.3% |
27.6% |
|
20s |
8,061,785 |
16.9% |
44.6% |
|
30s |
8,564,652 |
18% |
62.6% |
|
40s |
7,598,827 |
16% |
78.6% |
|
50s |
4,534,603 |
9.5% |
88.1% |
|
Over 60s |
5,680,501 |
12% |
100.1% |
Source:
Korean National Statistical Office, numbers current
In fact, the numbers of Internet users are heavily concentrated in the range from age seven, the age of an entering elementary school student, to nineteen, the age of a high school senior. According to Table 4, the penetration rate of frequent Internet user, the Netizen from age 7 to 30s in 1999 was 31.3 percent, 64.1 in 2000, and 79.8 in 2001. By December of 2001, based on the two statistical data above, Koreans in the age from 7 to 40s, approximately 70 percent of the total population, counts for round 69 percent of the total Internet users.
[Table 4] Internet Penetration Rate in
|
Time |
7-19 |
20s |
30s |
40s |
50s |
|
Oct. ‘99 |
33.6 |
41.9 |
18.5 |
12.8 |
2.9 |
|
Mar. ‘00 |
51.5 |
59.1 |
29.2 |
8.6 |
3.3 |
|
Aug. ‘00 |
65.9 |
65.9 |
35.4 |
18.5 |
4.3 |
|
Dec. ‘00 |
74.1 |
74.6 |
43.6 |
22.7 |
5.7 |
|
Mar. ‘01 |
81.6 |
78.4 |
48.4 |
29 |
6.3 |
|
Jun. ‘01 |
87.6 |
80.3 |
54.1 |
32.2 |
7.3 |
|
Sep. ‘01 |
91.1 |
84 |
61.3 |
36.6 |
8.3 |
|
Dec. ‘01 |
93.3 |
84.6 |
61.6 |
35.6 |
8.7 |
Source:
Also, according to KRNIC, 96.85 percent of elementary, 99.8 percent of junior high school, 99.9 percent of senior high school, and 99.3 percent of college students regularly use the Internet. This vividly demonstrates that the new generation is overwhelmingly leading the whole population in terms of Internet usage and is also very different from other generations. The R generation[5] approximately corresponds to two age groups from teens to 20s. The 386 Generation roughly overlaps from age group late 30s and early 40s. Heavy concentration in the young generation in the age composition of Internet users has directed the picture of the information society in Korea producing new socio-political power groups or generations such as the ‘386’ and ‘R generation.’
In early
1990s, Internet users in Korean society were not recognizable. It was in the
very late 1990s that Internet infrastructure and usage dramatically expanded. A
great leap forward in this category took place from 1998 to 1999. Since 1999,
every year almost one fourth of the total population has been newly added to
this category. In 2001, two years after,
[Table 5] Number of
Internet Users in
|
Year |
‘95 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘98 |
‘99 |
‘00 |
‘01 |
|
#s |
366 |
731 |
1,634 |
3,103 |
10,860 |
19,040 |
24,380 |
Source:
[Table 6] Number of IP Address
|
Feb ‘95 |
Feb. ‘96 |
Apr. ‘97 |
Feb. ‘98 |
Feb. ‘99 |
Dec. ‘99 |
Feb ‘00 |
Dec. ‘00 |
Feb. ‘01 |
Feb. ‘02 |
June ‘02 |
|
3,745 |
7,329 |
13,885 |
16,285 |
19,613 |
28,342 |
11,188,736 |
|
18,921,984 |
22,985,216 |
23,509,504 |
Source:
It is not only the speed of the
development of Internet environment but also the timing of such unprecedented
expansions in Internet environments that deserves scholarly attention. Such a
rapidly increasing rate in the penetration of Internet usage into the total
population resulted in the formation of powerful political forces. In the 2000
general election, such empowered citizens and their alliance defeated corrupt
politicians from the National Assembly. Taking Diani’s (2001) argument that the social capital is an
outcome of social movement, this article argues that the 386 Generation is a
social capital as an outcome of democratization movements since the 1960s and
this social capital combined with the Internet can produce unprecedented
political power affecting election outcome. While the 386 Generation was born
as a fairly coherent group across university campus in the 1980s, the World Cup
Game in 2002 has demonstrated that the Internet can facilitate social capital
creating many and unspecified mass into a well-coordinated resources carrying
out the public goods mobilizing .
Other
Environments for Informatization
In terms of overall indicators in
information technology (IT) infrastructure,
In this perspective, Korean
society lacks such generic legal infrastructure and political culture. Due to its
miraculous but very late economic development, information technology industry
in
However, in its actual usage of
the Internet and the impacts of the information and telecommunications
technology upon society, economy, and politics,
However, what really makes
Obviously, government policy is
the first to be recognized. The role of the state
and bureaucracy in its miraculous economic development during the 1960s – 1980s
in
The essential feature of the
developmental state and industrial policy is
that the state acts as an entrepreneur, targeting
national strategic industries and nurturing them. The light industry of the
1960s, heavy industry in 1970s and 1980s and the restructuring of industry to
electronics in the late 1980s were the winners in Korean economic development
processes. Once targeted, R&D,
financing, and marketing also benefited from government involvement. While it
is not identical to the previous role of the developmental state in the miracle
of
It was a different kind of
crisis that [has driven drove] government into another stage of economic
system. Chronic economic poverty since the Yi dynasty in 1392 drove
The Korean government, barely surviving by means of an infusion from the IMF’s crisis managing fund, took this crisis as an opportunity to restructure heavy reliance on second industry (especially corporate restructuring)[6], to deregulate[7] customary practices of heavy government intervention in the market, to privatize public corporations[8], and to liberalize the market[9].
In order to stimulate economic recovery, Kim Dae Jung’s government specifically focused on IT industry, providing tax incentives and liberal environments especially to foreign companies and foreign direct investment. After the financial crisis in 1997, the Korean government initiated various incentives for foreign high-tech companies: tax reduction for high-tech businesses, especially ones in foreign investment zones and service businesses in assistance of advanced industries (national tax for 10 years, local tax for 15 years); a rent reduction policy in industrial complexes for foreign companies (Kwang-ju, Chon-an), 25 national industrial complexes, and foreign investment zones (100% of reduction for high-tech businesses and 75% of reduction for general manufacturing industries). M&A activities (hostile takeovers) were also allowed in May 1998. Table ??? clearly shows the relative importance of IT industry in foreign direct investment in the Korean economy. In 1997, FDI in Korean IT industry stood at 0.4 billion US dollars. ????
[Table 7] Foreign Direct Investment (unit: USD billion)
|
Category |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001. 1/4 |
|
IT sector |
0.4 |
2.0 |
2.3 |
2.7 |
3.3 |
|
IT share of total
economy(%) |
5.4 |
22.8 |
14.8 |
17.5 |
72.6 |
|
Equipment |
0.2 |
1.4 |
1.1 |
1.9 |
0.1 |
|
Service |
0.2 |
0.6 |
1.0 |
0.4 |
3.2 |
|
Software |
0.003 |
0.003 |
0.2 |
0.4 |
0.04 |
* Source:
Civil Society and Social Capital
The collapse of Eastern European
communist regimes has spotlighted the role of civil society in the process of
democratization. Putnam (1993; 1995) and
The evolution of the concept of civil society is indeed dialectical. It is dialectic because the concept of civil society originated in the political setting and was then adapted to economic, cultural, and social terminologies. The political connotation started with the notion of goodness to which the civil society is oriented but later came to be regarded as an evil force by Hegel. It also started from a collective sense of political community but later became to be understood as being part of the private and economic spheres. In history, the Classical notion of civil society was equated with politically organized commonwealths. As the forces of modernity began to undermine the political economy of the Classical and the Middle Ages, the gradual formation of national markets and national states generated a different understanding of civil society as an area where individual and collective economic interests converge as a market. Hegel interpreted it in a dichotomous perspective against the Reason ??? of the state, putting it into disorganized and vicious settings. Civil society was no longer understood as a universal commonwealth but came to mean private property, individual interest, political democracy, the rule of law, and an economic order devoted to prosperity.
Second, originating from its
dialectical nature, civil society is “relational” and “spatial or territorial”
(Walzer, 1995:7) between state and economy, between public/collective and private,
and between good and evil. Based on its relational and territorial nature, its
sphere and influence vary depending upon temporal/spatial and historical
contexts. In Western countries, the separation of the independent sphere of
state and civil society is comparatively clearly articulated, while in
countries under Confucian doctrine civil society is generally embraced by state
due to the tradition of strong state and weak civil society. A
neo-Tocquevillean view, among American intellectuals, of civil society is a set
of informal norms supporting local intermediate associations for grass-roots
democracy. Latin American conceptualization reflected both the struggle against
the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s and a widespread conviction that
conventional party politics had failed these societies. (Edwards, 2001: 3) In
contemporary politics, the critical role of Catholic Church in the aftermath of
collapsed communist regimes in
[Table 8] Dialectical Nature of Civil
Society
|
|
Classical/Middle Ages |
Modern Period |
Contemporary |
|
Political |
Commonwealth, Political community |
|
Political
resistance ( |
|
Economic |
|
Market economy |
Against
Neocorporatism ( |
|
Social/Cultural/ Religious |
|
Civilization |
Solidarity ( |
Source: Cohen (1995) and Edwards and Foley (2001)
As Table 8 summarizes, the concept of civil society connotes three general and contemporary characteristics: first, politically resistant to existing ruling order; second, economic sphere against state/government; third, non-economic and non-governmental organizations. Due to such a complex nature of historical evolution of the concept, traditional dichotomous interpretations of state versus economy, public versus private, good versus evil, do not seem to relevant in the contemporary phenomena with their problematic definitional fuzziness and lack of clarity: variations across the many civil societies. Cohen (1995:35) argues that such a dichotomous, two-part model, whether liberal and/or Marxian, whereby civil society includes everything outside of the state sector, is not helpful today. He begins from a three-part model, which differentiates among civil society, the state, and economy[11], understanding it to be a “sphere of social interaction distinct from economy and state, composed above all of associations (including the family) and publics” (Cohen, 1995:36-37).
From this perspective, this article attempts to direct its focus toward the essential nature of the concept. It is associational, relational, voluntary, democracy-oriented, and self-governing. It is also functional, diverse, divided, and horizontal, without a single goal to be identified. As globalization and informatization begin to challenge the conventional scope of the nation state system, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or the Third Sector as a part of civil society may contribute to the governing crisis (Til, 2000; ???).
Then, the next important question arises as to the relationship between civil society and social capital. Compared to the nature of being tangible in the concept of civil society as a sphere of action, the concept of social capital is even less tangible than the former. If we broadly define the civil society as a nonpolitical and non-economic sector of society, the concept of social capital is about resources that enable members of society to act on issues. What social capital is to a civil society as the Internet is to information technology infrastructure.
According to Bourdieu (1986), social capital was first used in 1972 eventually developing the triad of physical, cultural, and social capitals. He views it as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition to membership in a group which provides each of its members with the backing of the [collectivity collectively]-owned capital, a credential which entitles them to credit, in the various senses of the word” (Edwards and Foley, 2001:7). Coleman defines it as “a variety of entities having two characteristics in common: They all consist of some aspect of a social structure, and they facilitate certain actions of individuals who are within the structure” (Edwards and Foley, 2001:9). Putnam defines it as “features of social life – networks, norms, and trust – that enables participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives” (Edwards and Foley, 2001:10).
These three scholars share some similarities and show some differences in their views on social capital. While Coleman and Bourdieu take a sociological approach, Putnam takes political one. While the former focuses on the more functional and instrumental aspects of social capital, the latter emphasizes collective actions contributing to democracy. However, common denominators are found in their analyses: resources, networks, and associational membership for certain norms, attitude, and trust. They all see social capital as resources for making some social actions possible. Putnam emphasizes the density of face-to-face contacts. The volume of social capital, according to Bourdieu, depends on the size of the network of connections that can be effectively mobilized. Summarizing divergent perspectives, social capital is multiple human resources networks, either actual or potential, with certain characteristics of shared norms, attitude, and trust that can be mobilized for social actions. Most agree that social capital is an independent variable affecting various social behaviors and phenomena such as civic engagement.[12] (Edwards and Foley, 2001:11)
The human relationship is not confined to the civil society. It goes across the dichotomous boundary of state and civil society. Civil society and state are somewhat territorial terms, while social capital is a temporal/spatial transcending concept, which can be articulated across the boundaries of civil society and state, regionally and globally, and so on. The concept of Social capital comprises potential networks of relationships among individuals, groups, and various social statuses to be mobilized for collective actions. Social capital also includes the norm, culture, and trust accumulated through collective actions and involvements in the variety of social-political issues across the members of community. Such shared experience enables members to work as a power group on issues. It can be either positive working as public goods or negative.[13] Social capital is also composed of capabilities accumulated among different networks of people on contingent issues that can contribute to a voluntary association and its democratic nature. ???? It is power and influence that make thing happening. The source of this power is neither capital nor physical. It is the human relationships that make social capital powerful. Human relationships consist of many different dimensions: private vs. public, socialization process, regional, school, etc.
Three issues are important in understanding the contemporary
version of social capital. Social capital is an outcome of social and political
movement. Diani (2001:207) raises relevant question
on “How can
we credit social movements with responsibility for macro-level changes that
might as plausibly be the outcome of far broader cultural and socio- economic
processes?” As Diani aptly points out, there is a
burden of proof identifying causal paths linking movement actions to certain
outcomes.
This paper argues that the combination of the politically
mobilized social capital against an authoritarian regime in the process of
democratization in modern Korea, culminated in 1986 of June Resistance, and the
rapid informatization with the Internet in early 2000 has produced more massive
and much more powerful social capital bringing forth the Defeat Movement in the
2000 General Election and the Red Devils in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup. In
short, social movement during the period of the 1960s to the 1980s built social
capital and the 386 Generation, which played a pivotal role in this process.
Comprised of former university student president (power group) and
professionals centering on the 386 Generation, PowerVision21, an outcome of 386
Generation-led student democratic movement against authoritarian regimes and
social injustice, was established in 1999 (http://www.powervision21.or.kr/). Now n their forties, members of this
generation lead Korean society in both the public and private sectors. This
social capital as an outcome of social movement was greatly facilitated by the
fast networking system, the Internet in the April 2000 General Election. This
event demonstrated the power of the Internet when it allied with human
resources. Such precedence also affected the mobilization process of Red Devils
in the 2002Korea/Japan World Cup games.
Going back to Diani’s question on the causal links between social movement and social capital as an outcome of social movement and his research focus on the social networks that movement actors are involved in and their evolution over time (2001:208, 207), the explosive growth of civic organizations since the June Resistance in 1987 serves as evidence. Centering on the Citizens' Council for Economic Justice (CCEJ, Kyung-shil-lyun in Korean; http://www.ccej.or.kr/main.html), the nation's largest civic organization established in 1989 and Cyber People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (Cham-yeo-yeon-dae in Korean; http://www.peoplepower21. org/) established in 1994, the Citizens' Commission for a Fair Election in motivating citizen participation accomplished a revolutionary election campaign. This supports Diani’s (2001:208, 207) points that “mobilization processes rely heavily upon previous networks of exchange and solidarity” and, thus, we need to “focus (focusing) on their capacity to create new forms of social capital.”
[Table 9] 5 Major Korean Newspapers’ Coverage on Civic Organizations
|
Year |
Citizen Org. |
NGO |
Private Org. |
Social Org. |
Total in Average |
|
1991 |
91 |
0 |
138 |
189 |
418 |
|
1992 |
103 |
8 |
212 |
175 |
498 |
|
1993 |
102 |
11 |
151 |
152 |
416 |
|
1994 |
114 |
16 |
146 |
144 |
420 |
|
1995 |
147 |
63 |
108 |
138 |
456 |
|
1996 |
323 |
44 |
177 |
210 |
754 |
|
1997 |
510 |
50 |
234 |
302 |
1096 |
|
1998 |
631 |
32 |
235 |
311 |
1209 |
|
1999 |
1183 |
227 |
204 |
278 |
1892 |
|
2000 |
2515 |
295 |
241 |
461 |
3512 |
Source: Table 2-1 from
Choo, Sungsoo and
Table 9
may confuse readers in Western countries. Weak civil society in
INSERT
DATA ON 386 GENERATION’S PARTICIPATION IN THESE CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS ( I NEED
REAL NUMBERS)
Conventional understanding on social capital was formed before the era of the Internet. Due to rapid development and wide applications of IT in daily life, the size of social capital can theoretically be expanded at the speed of light, the Internet. Accordingly, the speed and scope of mobilizations for achieving public goods can surpass previous imagination. With increases in the size of human networks and their speed, the power of social capital can have much stronger and effective impacts on collective actions. Social capital belonging to non-political and non-economic sectors of society can exert much stronger influences over existing political, economic, and cultural settings, resulting in changes in society in general. The Defeat Movement in the 2000 General Election and the Red Devils’ contribution to a spirited but orderly and safe World Cup in 2002 are good examples of how informatization can generate unforeseeable social actions and changes.
Since the beginning of the Yi
Dynasty in 1392, Confucianism has been the most fundamental and enduring source
for Korean political culture. Confucianism like Hegelian tradition has
articulated a dichotomous value system putting ??? ‘being public’ over ‘being
private,’ the state over society, statecraft over market, and seniority over
juniority. Such a value system has been embedded in society for more than a
thousand years and has become the basis of invincible political culture despite
the Westernization and modernization of the twentieth century. In a/ that
strictly class-based hierarchical system, the ruling class such as the gentry and
scholarly bureaucrats had attempted to regulate the power and activity of the
merchant class by criticizing the merchant activity as evil in their
remonstrance to the King. Thus, the growth of civil society and voluntary
association in the market was suffocated, while the public sphere protecting
the bourgeoisie interests, was successfully rooted in Western political
culture. Most civil organization even in the twentieth century in
Joo and
[??? Insert Table that tells the weak representation of civil or NGO things.]
It was in the June Resistance of 1986 that such an unbalanced relationship between state and civil society was turned upside down. Between 1987 and 1993, the military regime ended, and the first democratic civilian government was inaugurated in 1993 with the transitional quasi-democratic regime of Rho Tae Woo. During the democratization process of the early 1980s, militant anti-government organizations multiplied and formed civic alliances. They had a very clear political goal, to achieve democracy. After the inauguration of civilian democratic government, these politically oriented anti-government civic organizations lost their target for action and reason for existence. They began to divert their primary interests from politics to socio-economic areas such as consumer protection, economic justice, and environmental protection. The June Resistance resulted in the explosive growth of civic organization in its numbers and its influence. The direct outcome of such massive mobilization was the 386 Generation. ???Kwon and Lee in their article, found that among 90 selected as major civil organizations in Korea, 65 were established since 1987, 20 between 1945 and 1987, and 5 before 1945. This demonstrates that the largest number and the most important of civil organizations were established after 1987, when the June Resistance achieved democratization in Korean society.
The 386 generation, which comprises people in its thirties who were born in the 1960s and were university students during the 1980s. It is a generation that was a by-product of the 1980s’ democratization process in Korean history. Due to its origins, it was politically mobilized in the late 1980s and played a central role in the transition from the military regime to a civilian democratic system. It has exerted a great influence upon not just political but also socio-economic issues in contemporary politics in Korean society. It is critical of established power groups and has shown strong nationalism and group-orientation. It is often, however, known for its excessive seriousness and formality as a result of its struggle to end the military dictatorship of the past.
The spatio-temporally shared experience of the 386-generation is its social capital, which is to be mobilized toward issues. Such newly formulated human density of coherent socio-political force was incidentally combined with the nationally infused technological interconnectivity capacity, the Internet, in the late 1990s. It is information technology that equipped that social capital with a powerful tool for an effective communication channel. In so doing, the group’s political agenda was realized in cyberspace through the Defeat Movement in the 2000 General Election. It was also social capital that gave meaning to technology, the Internet and the byproduct of a new political sphere, cyberspace. The combination of information technology and social capital generated the socio-political basis for changes in society.
Defeat Movement: Civic
Activism in the Information Age
The unveiling of a blacklist of "unfit candidates" for the
upcoming April 13th general election for the National Assembly, civic activism,
fueled a hot debate in Korean politics. The Citizens' Council for Economic
Justice (CCEJ, Kyung-shil-lyun in Korean), the nation's largest civic
organization released a list of 164 politicians. It was joined by another civic
organization, the Citizens' Commission for a Fair Election in motivating
citizen participation. Several web sites such as www.ngokorea.org,
www.naksun.co.kr, and www.emocracy.co.kr were created to defeat the named
political figures based on evidence of crimes such as corruption or
embezzlement related to past elections, political record such as involvement in
past authoritarian regimes, votes against reforms, or change of party
affiliation, and personal defects such as unethical behavior and vulgar or
discriminatory statements. This movement was the first of its kind in that
country's history.
With the Citizens' Coalition for the 2000 General Election's home page
(www.ngokorea.org) recording 50,000 visitors since its opening [5 days ago in
January of 2002, the Internet made its mark as the most influential medium in
contemporary Korean politics. The list, which singled out reform-resistant
lawmakers, exploiters of regional antagonism, and 'low-quality' politicians,
included 128 members of the National Assembly, 42 percent of the incumbents,
out of a total of 299 seats. The Assembly is composed of three major parties,
the ruling National Congress for New Politics, its coalition partner the United
Liberal Democracy and the opposition Grand National Party.
Further, the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice intended to file
complaints from potential candidates who would be excluded from their parties'
official nomination and to file cases charging constitutional violations
against party leaders. Conventionally,
the party nomination process had been obscured in back-room deals between party
leaders and candidates. The old practices in the selection of party candidates
were based more on personal relationships with party leaders or on the scale of
funds contributed to political parties than on objective evaluations of
candidates' qualifications and electoral popularity.
Contrasting with advanced democratic countries, where civic groups such
as Americans for Democratic Action (http://adaction.org) legally rate
the activities of their representatives and other elected officials, current
Korean election law prohibits all except individuals and labor unions from
engaging in political campaigns supporting specific candidates and makes such
activities punishable by law. Reflecting the interests of incumbents, the
Virtual space allows citizens to avoid the nation-state's conventional
jurisdiction over political activities. The national government has no
established legal authority to restrict the flow of information if the web site
is opened overseas. It is not subject to Korean election laws. This Korean case
clearly indicates that the dispersed availability of information and
communications technologies can be far more relevant than levels of income for
predicting a nation's degree of democratization. The Information revolution
will lead us to a different kind of political system, accelerating
democratization, especially in areas where authoritarian rule has prevailed.
World
Cup, Red Devils and the R Generation
To the amazement of
soccer-crazed
The Red Devils[14] is the official 120,000-member fan club of the national soccer team. Networking through the Internet, the Red Devils club has come to represent the excitement, passion and, patriotism of the Korean cheering squad. The street filled Red Devils revived national ethos that was depressed by the national financial bankrupt, called the IMF crisis in 1997. The Red Devil created enormous energy and gave people a hope that they can do whatever they want together. It is the power of social capital that can contribute to achieve some public goods as Putnam, Bourdieu (1986) and Coleman point out. Despite such massive gathering in a very short time period, there had been no accidents, fights, or thefts reported. Rather acting like Hooligans, the Red Devils behaved in order leaving streets without wastes and any problem. National Police Commissioner Lee, Pal-ho sent a letter to the Red Devils thanking them for their exemplary support, which contributed the hosting a “safe World Cup.”
[Table 10] Comparison of 386 and R Generations
|
|
386 Generation |
N Generation[15] |
R Generation |
|
Age range |
40s |
20s and 30s |
Teens and 20s |
|
Origin |
Democratic movement |
Social |
Sports fans |
|
Nature |
Political Group Orientation |
Social Individualistic |
Social & Diverse Group-oriented but respecting individuality |
|
Network |
Face-to-face |
Face-to-face & Internet |
Internet |
|
Public Goods |
Democracy Political Watchdog |
Club or association |
Public Awareness Social energy Order, Safety |
|
|
|
|
|
Oriented
as a soccer fan club, the R Generation[16] is
apolitical while the 386 Generation is strongly politically oriented. The latter stood
against military dictatorship and played political roles as dissenting voices and
watchdogs. Their ultimate goal was to dethrone military dictators and to
achieve a full democracy. Inherited with the first civilian, democratic regime
in 1993, the main goal of the former has been to achieve their individual
goals, especially to be in safer situation in materialistic well being since
they experienced national bankruptcy in their juvenile period. However, they
are well connected by Internet so that they can form formidable opinion and
action groups on issues even though they are generally anonymous to each other.
It is interesting to see that
the joie de vivre of the Red Devils
would not have been possible without
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[1] According to him, the founder
of 3com, a network would increase in value with the addition of each new user
and that this value could be defined as the square of the number of users:
Utility=(number of users)² where² denotes the square. For example, if a network
has one user, and one more user is added to it, then the size of the users
would double, but the utility would grow by 400 percent. From The Complete
Idiot’s Guide to e-Commerce, p.103, by Bob s and Thompson, M and Speaker, M.
2000.
[2] Steinfield
and Salvaggio ( 1989:11)
[3] In general, Informatization
index can be measure by the following ITU formula, which is widely adopted in
academia and industry.
Composition of
Informatization Index
|
Divisions |
Item |
Formula |
|
Computer |
PC supply |
(Number of PCs
supplied/Population) x 100 |
|
Internet |
Internet host |
(Number of Internet
host/Population) x 1,000 |
|
Internet user |
(Number of Internet user
/Population) x 1,000 |
|
|
Telecomm- unication |
Fixed-line phone circuit |
(Number of Fixed-line phone
circuit /Population) x 100 |
|
Mobile phone subscriber |
(Number of Mobile phone
subscriber /Population) x 100 |
|
|
Broad- casting |
TV supply |
(Number of TV
supplied/Households) x 100 |
|
CATV subscriber |
(Number of CATV supplied/Household)
x 100 |
[4] Korean Network Information
Center (KRNIC) just released updated statistics on the increase in the Internet
population by age groups. Estimated 25.6 million people, or 58 percent of the country's
population, use the net at least once a month. The figures represent an
increase of 1.4 percent over the number of users tallied last December when
56.6 percent or 24.3 million people logged onto the Internet. By demographic,
93.4 percent of those aged between six and 19 were connected to the Internet.
This was followed by an online user rate of 86 percent and 66.7 percent for
those in their 20s and 30s, while the Internet connection rate for people in
their 40s and 50s fell off to 38.9 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. Refer
to Korea Herald article on
[5] The Hyundai Research
Institute, an affiliate of Hyundai Group, named it the “R generation”,
borrowing from the Red Devils, the red-clad young soccer fans who led the
phenomenal stadium and street cheering for the Korean squad during the World
Cup tournament in June of 2002.
[6] Government set the standards
for Chabol workout program in debt-to-equity ratio, reduction in non-performing
long-term bank loans, electing board directors from outside company, and
consolidating financial statement. According to the report of the Ministry of
Finance and Economy on January 4, 2000, the top five chaebols - Hyundai,
Samsung, Daewoo, LG, and SK - have reduced 2.3 trillion won of their assets (19.5
percent of their total assets) either through selling off their subsidiaries to
more competitive companies (i.e., semiconductors, oil refining, and power
generation facilities) or through spinning off the subsidiaries to independent
companies (i.e., aircraft, rolling stock, petrochemicals, and vessel engines).
The five largest conglomerates also slashed 8.9 trillion won of their debts
(28.1 percent of their total liabilities) by eliminating overlapping assets,
swapping debts to equities, and attracting foreign investments. The five
largest Korean chaebols have virtually completed their industrial restructuring
of nine core sectors as of the end of December, 1999, according to the Ministry
of Commerce, Industry and Energy. These sectors include petrochemicals,
semiconductors, aircraft, automobiles, electronics, oil refining, power
generation facilities, vessel engines, and rolling stock. Restructuring efforts
in the nine core sectors, which were aimed at enhancing international
competitiveness of the five chaebols, have been implemented through their
voluntary participation.
[7] The government has already
deregulated 71 percent of all 11,125 public administration regulations, and
will moderate the remaining regulations to pave the way for a solid knowledge-based
economy. By September 2000, a comprehensive deregulatory plan will be
established, the implementation of which will be completed by end-2001.
[8] A Government Renovation
Committee is established to set up action programs for public sector reform and
to evaluate their performance. Moreover, the privatization of such
government-owned enterprises as POSCO and Korea Heavy Industries &
Construction will be enforced as scheduled.
[9] There is no ceiling on
foreign ownership of special or value-added service providers. And the ceiling
on single person ownership of facilities-based service providers has been
abolished except Korea Telecom. Ceiling on foreign aggregate ownership of
facilities-based service providers is 49% . Acquisition by a non-telecom
company has been also allowed. There is no ceiling in telecommunications
equipment and software businesses.
[10] It is political in that its
eventual goal is to strengthen democracy but it is social in that it sees its
activities apolitical, rather social and cultural.
[11] One must distinguish civil
society both from what I call a “political society” of parties, political
organizations, and political public spheres (parliaments) and from an “economic
society” composed of the organizations of production, distribution, and associated
publics, usually firms, cooperatives, institutions of collective bargaining,
unions, councils, etc. (Cohen, 1995: 36-38)
[12] Empirical research on the
impact of social capital as an independent variable upon society is well
documented in Edwards, Foley, and Diani (2001)’s Beyond Tocqueville.
[13] Knack and Keefer (1997)
empirically examine the correlation between the presence of sound social
capital and the successful economic performance in their cross-country
research.
[14] The term Red Devils dates back
to 1983, the year the nation’s under-20 squad advanced to the semifinals of the
World Youth Championship in
[15] The N generation, the one
after the 386 Generation, however, is oriented toward individualism and
patronizes the Internet.
[16] The R generation, rooted in
the N generation, is a combination of the 386 and the N generation. It is
group-oriented but respects individuality. Its members networked themselves
through the Internet and gathered by the millions in spontaneous displays of
patriotism. (Yoo,