SEMINAR: Understanding the Role of Transnational Intellectual Networks within the South Korean Pro-democracy Movement � A case study of the Letters from South Korea Project

What role did transnational intellectual networks play in South Korea’s pro-democracy movement? The political turmoil in post-war Korea that culminated in the proclamation of martial law on 17 October 1972 and the promulgation of the Yushin Constitution on 27 December 1972 resulted in a fracture in the link between the South Korean state and civil society. The government actively undermined freedom of speech within the country and was accused of disregarding human rights. In response, domestic actors sought to engage international connections to pressure their government from the outside to change its behaviour. My research focuses on one particular project which sought to influence the Park Regime through a transnational intellectual network. The “Letters from South Korea” was a 16–year long series of articles that were published monthly between May 1973 and March 1988 in the influential Japanese magazine, “Sekai”. These articles were the public face of a project that was built on an elaborate network of individuals and groups that worked together to covertly collect information from Korea and smuggle it into Japan for translation and publication. The articles provided information to the magazine’s readers on Korean activists who fought to restore democracy. The articles, which were published in Japanese, were translated into many languages and circulated worldwide. By focusing on this under-explored narrative of grassroots cooperation between South Korea and Japan, my research attempts to rethink the recent political history between these two nations, with the aim of identifying possible avenues for improving relations going forward.