Book
Igniting the Internet: youth and activism in postauthoritarian South Korea
University of Hawaiʻi Press
2016
Abstract
Igniting the Internet is one of the first books to examine in depth the development and consequences of Internet-born politics in the twenty-first century. It takes up the new wave of South Korean youth activism that originated online in 2002, when the country's dynamic cyberspace transformed a vehicular accident involving two U.S. servicemen into a national furor that compelled many Koreans to reexamine the fifty-year relationship between the two countries. Responding to the accident, which ended in the deaths of two high school students, technologically savvy youth went online to organize demonstrations that grew into nightly rallies across the nation. Internet-born, youth-driven mass protest has since become a familiar and effective repertoire for activism in South Korea, even as the rest of the world has struggled to find its feet with this emerging model of political involvement. Igniting the Internet focuses on the cultural dynamics that have allowed the Internet to bring issues rapidly to public attention and exert influence on both domestic and international politics. The author combines a robust analysis of online communities with nuanced interview data to theorize a "cultural ignition process"-the mechanisms and implications for popular politics in volatile Internet-driven activism-in South Korea and beyond. She offers a unique perspective on how local actors experience and remember the cultural dynamics of Internet-born activism and how these experiences shape the political identities of a generation who has essentially come of age in cyberspace, the so-called digital natives or millennials. South Korea's debates on the nature of youth-driven Internet protest reverberated around the world following the events in Tahrir Square in 2010 and Zuccotti Park in 2011. Igniting the Internetoffers numerous points of comparison with countries following a path of technological development and urban youth formation similar to that of South Korea with a thorough consideration of general structural changes and locally specific triggers for Internet activism. Readers interested in social movement theory and new media in social context as well as students and scholars of Korean studies will find the work both far-reaching and insightful.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Igniting the Internet: youth and activism in postauthoritarian South Korea
- Creators
- Jiyeon Kang - University of Iowa, Communication Studies
- Resource Type
- Book
- Table of contents
- South Korean youth in the new millennium : faint memories of authoritarianism, new opportunities for political participation -- The birth of the Internet youth protest : the 2002 candlelight vigils -- The Internet in mainstream politics : envisioning a new politics during the 2002 presidential election -- Remembering the vigils : the emergence of a new repertoire for youth activism -- Internet activism transforming street politics : the 2008 "mad cow" candlelight festivals and new democratic sensibilities -- Youth at the end of the candlelight decade.; Chapter 3. Remembering the Vigils: The Emergence of a New Repertoire for Youth Activism; Introduction: Igniting the Internet and the New Dynamics of Popular Politics; Chapter 3. The Internet in Mainstream Politics: Envisioning a New Politics during the 2002 Presidential Election; Chapter 2. The Birth of the Internet Youth Protest: The 2002 Candlelight Vigils; Part II. The Maturation of Internet Politics and Postauthoritarian Youth; Index; Part I. The Rise of Internet-Born Youth Activism; Contents; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1. South Korean Youth in the New Millennium: Faint Memories of Authoritarianism, New Opportunities for Political Participation; Chapter 5. Internet Activism Transforming Street Politics: The 2008 “Mad Cow” Candlelight Festivals and New Democratic Sensibilities; Conclusion: The Ignition of the Internet and Its Aftermath; Chapter 6. Youth at the End of the Candlelight Decade; Note to Readers; Notes; Bibliography; Front Matter Table of Contents Acknowledgments Note to Readers Introduction: CHAPTER 1: South Korean Youth in the New Millennium: CHAPTER 2: The Birth of the Internet Youth Protest: CHAPTER 3: The Internet in Mainstream Politics: CHAPTER 4: Remembering the Vigils: CHAPTER 5: Internet Activism Transforming Street Politics: CHAPTER 6: Youth at the End of the Candlelight Decade Conclusion: Notes Bibliography Index Back Matter; Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note to Readers -- Introduction: Igniting the Internet and the New Dynamics of Popular Politics -- 1. South Korean Youth in the New Millennium: Faint Memories of Authoritarianism, New Opportunities for Political Participation -- Part I. The Rise of Internet-Born Youth Activism -- 2. The Birth of the Internet Youth Protest: The 2002 Candlelight Vigils -- 3. The Internet in Mainstream Politics: Envisioning a New Politics during the 2002 Presidential Election -- 4. Remembering the Vigils: The Emergence of a New Repertoire for Youth Activism -- Part II. The Maturation of Internet Politics and Postauthoritarian Youth -- 5. Internet Activism Transforming Street Politics: The 2008 "Mad Cow" Candlelight Festivals and New Democratic Sensibilities -- 6. Youth at the End of the Candlelight Decade -- Conclusion: The Ignition of the Internet and Its Aftermath -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z
- ISBN
- 0824856562; 9780824856564
- Publisher
- University of Hawaiʻi Press; Honolulu
- Number of pages
- xi, 241 pages
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2016
- Academic Unit
- Communication Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9983902998702771
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