Global Justice Movements in the Neoliberal Era:
The Korean Engagement in the Global Justice Movements

Suk-Ki Kong
Asia Center
Seoul National University
Seoul, 151-742
South Korea
sukki.kong@gmail.com

Hyun-Chin Lim
Department of Sociology
Seoul National University
Seoul, 151-742
South Korea
hclim@snu.ac.kr

This paper intends to explain why and how the Global Justice Movement (GJM) has emerged so quickly. To answer the questions, we focus on the diffusion of the World Social Forums (WSF) worldwide since 2001. To show the diffusion process, I highlight the differences among the WSFs held in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Then, we narrow down these broad comparisons to the concrete relationships between Korean civil society and the WSFs. Arguably, the case study of the Korean civil society engaging in the WSFs can show what challenges and opportunities are laid for the GJMs. Throughout the paper, first, we highlight the ‘bridging’ role of transnational social movements between the global north and south in the course of the WSF processes. Secondly, by considering less empirical studies on the GJMs in Asia, we track and examine such a quick engagement of the Korean civil society in the World Social Forums with respect to social movement theory such as political opportunity structure, networks, and framing. Whereas transnational social movement approach points out various obstacles to Korean social movements engaged in the WSFs, globalization from below approach emphasizes opportunities for the Korean civil society in that the WSF can empower them to develop a robust network with transnational groups and furthermore to raise the so called, ‘rooted cosmopolitans.’ Thirdly, we examine to what degree such local engagement in the WSFs vary along movement sectors. Given these analyses, we argue that international factors such as the WSFs and Neoliberalism, whether positive or negative, have forced Korean civil society not only converged in the GJMs but also expand their activism into transnational arenas. Despite different sensitivity among the movement sectors, Korean civil society has come to feel a strong affinity for active engagement in global justice movement and also recognize a high necessity of overcoming tough challenges at the inside and outside of the local movements throughout the participation in the WSFs.