A Korean Year of Love and Sorrow: The Culture, Politics & Economy of South Korea (1990)

The Sixth Republic began in 1987 and remains the current republic of South Korea. It started with the election of Roh Tae-woo as president for the 13th presidential term in the first direct presidential election in 16 years. About the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871133571/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0871133571&linkCode=as2&tag=tra0c7-20&linkId=06bfdeb595d20af75bbc9060ccd26205 Although Roh was from a military background and one of the leaders of Chun's coup d'etat, the inability of the opposition leaders Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam to agree on a unified candidacy led to his being elected. Roh was officially inaugurated in February 1988. The government set out to eliminate past vestiges of authoritarian rule, by revising laws and decrees to fit democratic provisions. Freedom of press was expanded, university autonomy recognised, and restrictions on overseas travels were lifted. However, the growth of the economy had slowed down compared to the 80s, with strong labor unions and higher wages reducing the competitiveness of Korean products on the international market, resulting in stagnant exports, while commodity prices kept on rising. Shortly after Roh's inauguration, the Seoul Olympics took place, raising South Korea's international recognition and also greatly influencing foreign policy. Roh's government announced the official unification plan, Nordpolitik, established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, China, and countries in East Europe. An historic event was held in 1990 when North Korea accepted the proposal for exchange between the two Koreas, resulting in high-level talks, cultural and sports exchange. In 1991, a joint communiqué on denuclearization agreed upon, and the two Koreas simultaneously became members of the UN. When Roh's tenure was over, Kim Young-sam was elected president in the 1992 elections. He was the country's first civilian president in 30 years and he promised to build a "New Korea". The government set out to correct the mistakes of the previous administrations. Local government elections were held in 1995, and parliamentary elections in 1996. Adhering to popular demand, former presidents Chun and Roh were both indicted on charges linked to bribery, illegal funds, and in the case of Chun, responsibility for the incident in Gwangju. They were tried and sentenced to prison in December, 1996. Relations with the North improved and a summit meeting was planned, but was postponed indefinitely with the death of Kim Il Sung. Tensions varied between the two Koreas thereafter, with cycle of small military skirmishes and apologies. The government also carried out substantial financial and economical reforms, joined the OECD in 1996, but met crisis with political and financial scandals. The country also faced various catastrophes at the time; train collision and ship sinking in 1993, Seoul's Seongsu Bridge and Sampoong Department Store collapsing in 1994. These incidents, which claimed many lives, were a blow to the civilian government. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis and the government had to approach the International Monetary Fund for relief funds. This was the limit to what the nation could bear and led to the opposition leader Kim Dae-jung winning the presidency in the same year. Kim Dae-jung was officially inaugurated in February, 1998. South Korea had maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes and this was the first transfer of the government between parties by peaceful means. Kim's government faced the daunting task of overcoming the economic crisis, but with the joint efforts of the government's aggressive pursuit of foreign investment, industry's cooperation and the citizen's gold-collecting campaign, the country was able to come out of the crisis in a relatively short period of time. Industrial reconstruction of the big conglomerate chaebols were pursued, a national pension system was established in 1998, educational reforms were carried out, government support for the IT field was increased, and notable cultural properties were registered as UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted with Japan, brought upon a new culture where millions of supporters gather to cheer in public places. In diplomacy, Kim Dae-jung pursued the "Sunshine Policy", a series of efforts to reconcile with North Korea. This culminated in reunions of the separated families of the Korean War, and the summit talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. For these efforts, Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_south_korea Image By LG전자 (LG 시네마 3D TV 새 모델 '소녀시대' 영입) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons