South Korea: Dissent Within the Economic Miracle

By George E. Ogle

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1856490033
• ISBN13: 9781856490030
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Zed Books
• Length: 189 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

The best book out there on industrializing Korea

Korea's rapid industrialization is often lauded as a wonderous event, but many textbooks fail to mention the extent to which this rested upon the backs of entire generations of young women who dutifully answered the call of an authoritarian military regime determined to succeed no matter the cost. George Ogle has written a comprehensive, easy-to-read account of the brutal Pak Chung-hui and Chun Doo-hwun regimes in 1960-1988 South Korea, a time when press was strictly controlled, unions were co-opted by government agents, and labor movement supporters were regularly taken into custody for days-long questioning sessions. Ogle, now a professor at UCLA, writes with distinct clarity despite -- or perhaps because of -- his first-hand experiences as a minister in Korea's Urban Industrial Mission, a church group that educated, supported and provided sanctuary for two decades' worth of the exploited working class. It is a shame this book has gone out of print - although there are several similar studies written by historians and anthropologists, no other work so eloquently portrays the story behind the "Economic Miracle". Highly recommended to readers interested in social movements, Asia's industrialization, and the economics of development, as well as those who think 10-hour days at five bucks an hour is the epitomy of hardship...