KJC Korea
Journal Central

Political consequences caused by disparities in political participation are depending upon political resources. Among other things, money is virtually essential in politics. Many political scientists are concerned about the power of money in the process of integrating opinions of citizens as economic inequality aggravates. In particular, as political donations make up a large portion of political funding, the possibility that donors can take control of political parties has been controversial in unequal democracy. With this in mind, this study explores how political contributions make an impact on political representation which is a core principle of representative democracy. What is more, this study pays attention to roles of political parties that would mediate the relationship between political contributions and representation. Using data of political funds raised by members of National Assembly in Korea, together with data measuring political representation of members of Korean National Assembly, the paper examines the research topics as mentioned above. The empirical results show that political contributions collected under party brands increase democratic responsiveness of representatives.

One of the distinctive features of Korea’s ODA policy process is the phenomenon characterized by bureaucratic politics over ODA leadership between the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This study examines this phenomenon from the perspective of “rupturing confrontational process” which takes place when one party of competitive bureaucrat groups infringes on the jurisdiction of the other party. This paper explains resultant patterns of this process: one-sided victory of the dominant group, one-sided dominance of the dominant group, and frustration of the intention of the dominant group. This phenomenon of the rupturing confrontational process is expected to be further deteriorated considering the Korean government’s aim to increase its ODA/GNI ratio to 0.3 in 2030 from 0.14 in 2015. Forty eight government officials and field experts were interviewed for this study.

The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of Korean multicultural society distinguished from Western Europe, to suggest the direction of multicultural policy and discourse, and to seek civic education plan for activating immigrants’ political participation. The Korean multicultural society has a different historical and cultural background than Western European multicultural society. Korea needs multicultural society discourse and policy setting rather than ‘multiculturalism’. ‘Multiculturalism’ allows immigrants to remain as a permanent outsider or minority group. We should respond to the multicultural society with the concept of ‘citizenship’ of migrants. As immigrants grow up as citizens and actively participate in politics, they can strengthen their sense of belonging to the Korean society, and they can form a positive perception of the immigrants of ordinary citizens. Therefore, the citizens ‘education for citizens’ It is necessary to search. Citizen education should be structured to enhance understanding of Korean political system and culture and strengthen citizens’ identity.

This paper examines Japanese perception and approaches to the East Sea/Sea of Japan Rim Region in modern times, namely how Japan tried to use the East Sea and the surrounding area for a full-scale invasion upon the continent after it defeated its greatest competitors over the domination of the Korean Peninsula through the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. In 1907 after the Russo-Japanese War, Japan(Niigata prefecture) dispatched an investigation team to Vladivostok in Russian Far East and Karafuto, the southern part of Sakhalin Island in order to inspect not only the merchants but also the fishermen focused on the area of the East Sea. One of the reasons for the Niigata investigation team was to obtain information about the economic situation in these areas as a prerequisite for establishing Japanese territory in Karafuto. Niigata Prefecture proposed a regional framework for developing a commercial network between Niigata Port and Vladivostok and Karafuto. The proposed structure of the ‘the East Sea Rim Regions’ is strikingly similar to the territory of the Japanese colonial empire, where overseas colonies spread around the archipelago. Therefore, this paper argues that it is ‘petit Japanese imperialism of the East Sea Rim Region’ as a politico-geographical interpretation of the regional commercial framework that Niigata prefecture conceived after the Russo-Japanese War. In other words, modern Japan perceived the East Sea as a spatial mediator of interactions connecting the mainland Japan with (domestic and overseas) colonies. And the coastal area of the East Sea has formed a regional network commercially economically and militarily connected with the mainland Japan. And the development of the western coast of Japan has been developed with such a goal.

Women in the Mithila region in Nepal have been severely restricted and controlled by the male members of families. The Mithila community follows deeply entrenched patriarchal traditions. The women’s home-centric culture in Mithila society has resulted in the development of rich ritual art, passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter. Mithila homes are often decorated with extensive place painting and wall paintings, which depict religious scenes and motifs especially in the religious festivals and other important occasions like weddings. Since the early 1990s, the wall paintings have been transferred to paper for income generating opportunities by NGO running ‘Janakpur Women’s Development Center(JWDC)’ as well as some individual artists. This study aims at exploring that Mithila women’s painting ritual art on paper is enabling the empowerment of women. This paper argues that women engaging in painting ritual art, namely ‘Mithila paintings’ are increasingly finding opportunities to empower themselves in terms of finding of economic independence and voice of their own, improving of self-esteem, breaking of gender-stereotypes, and looking at socio-political issues from new perspective. However, in spite of undoubtedly improving of the lives of many women who are engaging in paintings collectively or individually, it takes a long time to empower women in the strong patriarchal Mithila community.

The purpose of this writing is to analyze the environmental factors of the phenomenon of acculturation that has been formed in Uzbekistan while investigating the national borders situation and the domestic and overseas political processes. I state that the system conversion policy of Uzbekistan gets around to stimulating the inflows of the external cultures, that the cultural elements between each other get transmitted by having the cultures that are different from each other contact each other in such a process, and that Uzbekistan has been directly confronting the situation of the acculturation which changes to become a new culture. This writing begins while putting in order the phenomenon of the prolonged one-man rule by the President Karimov, who has been having a lot of the influences on the inflows of the external cultures and the acculturation phenomenon of Uzbekistan. While investigating the structure of the national borders of Uzbekistan, the environment in which the external cultures are flowed in is investigated. I state that, together with the restoration of the inherent culture, the structure of the national borders has been having a certain amount of the influences in making the culture of the Middle East (Islam) get transmitted more flourishingly. And, while stating the extent of the inflows of the external cultures in the domestic and overseas political processes, the environmental factors behind Uzbekistan’s permission of the acculturation through the participation in a multilateral consultative organization are analyzed. I state that, together with this, with the external cultures penetrating, it has been showing the changeability phenomenon through which the preexistent cultural order of Uzbekistan can be dismantled.