Summary Of South Korea Since 1980

South Korea became a nation in 1948 following a breakdown in negotiation talks between U.N./U.S.A. officials and the Soviet Union after the end of WWII. From this breakdown two countries emerged, North Korea and South Korea. A leftist communist regime materialized in the North under its leader Kim Il-Sung, and a democratic ideology was pursued in the South with the election of the first South Korean President Lee Sung-Man. For the purpose of the paper I will look at the country that emerged in the South. To do so I read, South Korea Since 1980. South Korea Since 1980 was written by Dr. Uk Heo with help and input from Terence Roehrig. It was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010, with a reprint in 2011 to accommodate for the passing …show more content…
In his book, South Korea Since 1980 he lays out his claims as to why South Korea is an emerging power, and as Cambridge University stated of the series, an important country over the past two and a half decades.
Uk Heo is currently teaching political science at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. He received his B.A. at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. He later obtained his M.A. at the University of Wyoming, and followed that with a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His interest according to the University of Wisconsin’s website are international relations, comparative politics, and Asian politics. Uk Heo’s interest in politics would dictate the direction he chose to go in examining South Korea in his book. His approach offers great insight into certain aspects, but neglected other areas of growing …show more content…
It had many key and crucial points; however, it came up short in other areas of justification. UK Heo, as I stated many times throughout my review, is a political science professor. Therefore, he often fell into his comfort zone and viewed South Korea’s history through a social and political lens rather than a more encompassing view. The goal of the “World Since 1980” series by Cambridge University is to offer growing nations history’s with, “no prior background knowledge of a given country by the readers.” Uk Heo’s lack of diversity limits readers with no prior background in South Korean history. I found that Uk Heo would often make bold claims with minimal to no evidence to support it. He also failed to include growing aspects of South Korean power, for example rapid progress in the spread of South Korean culture. No mention was made of the influence that South Korean movie, drama, or pop culture has played in the nations growth or recognition. Overall, I would highly regard the book for its detailed look into the social and political history of South Korea over the last two to three decades. However, I would recommend the book to be read in conjunction with an undergraduate level Korean history course. A college professor could aid students against fully accepting some of the bold claims made by Uk Heo, and could also supplement with the areas that are lacking or even omitted