POLITICS OF REGIONALISM AND KOREA: CLASS HABITUS AND IDENTITY

HONG SEONG MIN

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to critically examine existing theoretical trends on
regionalism in Korea, as well as to serve as a preliminary stage toward creating a more
appropriate model for its analysis. Without a doubt, regionalism is an extremely important
issue in understanding Korean politics. While regionalism is easily found in other parts
of the world such as Europe, the United States, as well as the neighboring Northeast Asian
nations Japan and China, regionalism in Korea is markedly distinguishes itself from the
others in that it wields much greater power as a political variable. It does not merely act
as a representation of ideological or class identification. In other words, regionalism is
the key issue in order to resolve present problems and to provide new visions for Korean
politics.