RUQAYA SAMI NEAMA
201503753
KOREA POLITICS
In "The Politics of the Vortex" (1968), his book, Gregory Henderson, a former political and cultural officer at the United States Embassy in Seoul, observed that political rallies in Korea for the past thousand and a half years were mainly associations of individuals whose desire for personal power may far outweigh any desire in the continuity of the group. There presents itself as a vortex-like phenomenon in Korean politics.
In reviewing this social and political analysis piece, it is distressing to see that these observations of an American in the sixties still hold true in South Korea today, even though the country has been functioning under representative democracy for over twenty years. Moreover, …show more content…
Ahn shocked the political parties when he indicated he may join the Seoul mayoral by-election, thus also bumping his numbers in popularity amongst polltakers. Though he ultimately decided not to run, rather choosing to support liberal activist Park won-Sun, Ahn has proved himself as the most formidable competitor in South Korean politics.
Quoting President Lee Myung-bak "what has to come has come." is evidence that he saw the frustrations of the people with the existing political parties and lead to raised expectations of Ahn. The President seemed like he was admonishing parties, including his own Grand National Party, in unison with Ahn.
However, the President has his share of responsibility in the current chaos in the GNP as it failed to reach true reconciliation with Park Geun-Hye, his presidential nomination competitor. His administration experienced difficulties from the rift, and many of his own major projects could not gain approval from the parliament due to the lack of cooperation from Park's faction. While the conflicts between Park and Lee's supporters continued in the GNP, the President was wise to maintain distance from the conflict given he has a five year term to
201503753
KOREA POLITICS
In "The Politics of the Vortex" (1968), his book, Gregory Henderson, a former political and cultural officer at the United States Embassy in Seoul, observed that political rallies in Korea for the past thousand and a half years were mainly associations of individuals whose desire for personal power may far outweigh any desire in the continuity of the group. There presents itself as a vortex-like phenomenon in Korean politics.
In reviewing this social and political analysis piece, it is distressing to see that these observations of an American in the sixties still hold true in South Korea today, even though the country has been functioning under representative democracy for over twenty years. Moreover, …show more content…
Ahn shocked the political parties when he indicated he may join the Seoul mayoral by-election, thus also bumping his numbers in popularity amongst polltakers. Though he ultimately decided not to run, rather choosing to support liberal activist Park won-Sun, Ahn has proved himself as the most formidable competitor in South Korean politics.
Quoting President Lee Myung-bak "what has to come has come." is evidence that he saw the frustrations of the people with the existing political parties and lead to raised expectations of Ahn. The President seemed like he was admonishing parties, including his own Grand National Party, in unison with Ahn.
However, the President has his share of responsibility in the current chaos in the GNP as it failed to reach true reconciliation with Park Geun-Hye, his presidential nomination competitor. His administration experienced difficulties from the rift, and many of his own major projects could not gain approval from the parliament due to the lack of cooperation from Park's faction. While the conflicts between Park and Lee's supporters continued in the GNP, the President was wise to maintain distance from the conflict given he has a five year term to