As you can see, of all new democracies, Korea ranked highest among those believing in leftism that is, perhaps troublingly so, sympathetic with the authoritarian communism of the past. This helps us better understand their conclusion when they say “With this leftward shift in ideological identifications, South Korea became one of the most left-wing new democracies in a relatively short period of democratization. More noteworthy than this shift alone is the fact that most South Koreans who identify themselves with the left sympathize with North Korea 's left-wing ideology of communism” This helps us not only understand the Korea’s status as a Democratic Republic is susceptible to failure, but that a many Korean’s – ideologically speaking – are
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South Korea’s geographic location plays a large role on the individual perception and cultural outlook on its place in the world. South Korea’s has a long and storied past of conflict with regional neighbors –which of course still influences political issues of today as we noted above. Relations with two particular countries, North Korea and Japan, have very real and lingering effects on domestic and political life. South Korea’s strained relationship with Japan comes from Japan’s imperialist past, in which they occupied Korea from 1910-1945. Due to this, Korean-Japanese relations are still strained, despite them both being key U.S. Allies in the region. In 2012 the Korean government cancelled two large national security agreements with Japan because of their messy history. The council on foreign relations writes that “Then the Lee government publicly announced its plan to sign the GSOMIA agreement on June 29, while continuing its review of the ACSA, this provided opposition politicians—especially those who pander to citizens with lingering anti-Japanese feelings—with a political windfall they have chosen to exploit. Ruling party politicians have been equally shameful in their response. The South Korean press has also seen fit to help inflame rather than inform the public about the importance of such agreements.” (Cassa) So, this history clearly influences the politics of the modern day. Roskin rights that “The past is alive and well in current politics, forming a country’s political institutions, culture, and quarrels. The past is especially lively in the resentments of aggrieved people…” (Roskin 2013) Of course the greatest regional threat continues to be the constant tension between North Korea. It influences everything from personal individual liberties to international security to economic and trade policies. Lie and Park write that “North Korea remains a looming
South Korea’s geographic location plays a large role on the individual perception and cultural outlook on its place in the world. South Korea’s has a long and storied past of conflict with regional neighbors –which of course still influences political issues of today as we noted above. Relations with two particular countries, North Korea and Japan, have very real and lingering effects on domestic and political life. South Korea’s strained relationship with Japan comes from Japan’s imperialist past, in which they occupied Korea from 1910-1945. Due to this, Korean-Japanese relations are still strained, despite them both being key U.S. Allies in the region. In 2012 the Korean government cancelled two large national security agreements with Japan because of their messy history. The council on foreign relations writes that “Then the Lee government publicly announced its plan to sign the GSOMIA agreement on June 29, while continuing its review of the ACSA, this provided opposition politicians—especially those who pander to citizens with lingering anti-Japanese feelings—with a political windfall they have chosen to exploit. Ruling party politicians have been equally shameful in their response. The South Korean press has also seen fit to help inflame rather than inform the public about the importance of such agreements.” (Cassa) So, this history clearly influences the politics of the modern day. Roskin rights that “The past is alive and well in current politics, forming a country’s political institutions, culture, and quarrels. The past is especially lively in the resentments of aggrieved people…” (Roskin 2013) Of course the greatest regional threat continues to be the constant tension between North Korea. It influences everything from personal individual liberties to international security to economic and trade policies. Lie and Park write that “North Korea remains a looming