{"id":19447,"date":"2026-03-16T02:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T02:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/?p=19447"},"modified":"2026-03-16T02:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T02:33:16","slug":"grassroots-cosmopolitans-in-east-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/16\/grassroots-cosmopolitans-in-east-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Rooted Cosmopolitan Citizens in East Asia: Toward Caring Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;19448&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Authors: <\/strong>Suk-Ki Kong, Hyun-Chin Lim<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publication Date:<\/strong> February\/ 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:\u00a0<\/strong>Zininzin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]\n<div class=\"flex flex-col text-sm pb-25\">\n<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-turn-id=\"request-69ae5436-8e10-83a3-a3a3-877ae771c24d-7\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-36\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"9612439b-daf3-441b-a8ed-22126dad9662\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-3\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling\">\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"21\"><strong>About the Book<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"23\" data-end=\"418\">The twenty-first century world stands amid a series of intertwined crises: climate change, rapid population aging, extreme inequality, platform capitalism, democratic backsliding, and the collapse of care systems. These crises are not separate problems but rather symptoms of a broader civilizational transformation produced by the convergence of neoliberal globalization and digital capitalism.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"420\" data-end=\"465\">This book begins with a fundamental question:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"467\" data-end=\"512\">\u201cWho will confront these crises\u2014and how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"514\" data-end=\"969\">The authors locate the answer not in the state, the market, or abstract discourses of global citizenship, but in \u201crooted cosmopolitan citizens\u201d\u2014grassroots actors working within local communities. Rooted cosmopolitan citizens address everyday challenges such as climate change, care, education, healthcare, aging, finance, and local economic development through practices grounded in relationships, cooperation, experimentation, and responsibility.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"971\" data-end=\"1190\">Based on more than a decade of field research and in-depth interviews conducted across East Asia\u2014including Korea, Japan, and Taiwan\u2014this book explores emerging forms of citizenship taking shape within local communities.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1192\" data-end=\"1268\">The authors propose a new model of democracy centered on three key concepts:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1413\"><strong>Rooted Cosmopolitan Citizens<\/strong><br data-start=\"1302\" data-end=\"1305\" \/>Citizens who remain rooted in their local communities while recognizing and responding to global challenges.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1415\" data-end=\"1545\"><strong>Light Communities<\/strong><br data-start=\"1436\" data-end=\"1439\" \/>New forms of community characterized by flexible participation and open, loosely structured relationships.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1547\" data-end=\"1683\"><strong>Caring Democracy<\/strong><br data-start=\"1567\" data-end=\"1570\" \/>A political order that places the question\u2014<em data-start=\"1613\" data-end=\"1645\">\u201cWho cares for whom, and how?\u201d<\/em>\u2014at the center of democratic practice.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1685\" data-end=\"1949\">Through these conceptual lenses, the book analyzes a range of social innovation initiatives across East Asia and identifies the emergence of grassroots global citizens. These cases are examined in relation to the dynamics of light communities and caring democracy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1951\" data-end=\"1983\">Representative examples include:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1985\" data-end=\"2468\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1e9gckf\" data-start=\"1985\" data-end=\"2049\">\n<p data-start=\"1987\" data-end=\"2049\">Ecotourism initiatives by the Hangang Social Cooperative<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"3cb7iu\" data-start=\"2050\" data-end=\"2145\">\n<p data-start=\"2052\" data-end=\"2145\">Educational experiments for future generations at Kamiyama Marugoto University in Japan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"dpkrya\" data-start=\"2146\" data-end=\"2204\">\n<p data-start=\"2148\" data-end=\"2204\">Zero-waste regional innovation in Kamikatsu, Japan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1ivcz1c\" data-start=\"2205\" data-end=\"2262\">\n<p data-start=\"2207\" data-end=\"2262\">Community healthcare initiatives in Dulan, Taiwan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"69skbc\" data-start=\"2263\" data-end=\"2395\">\n<p data-start=\"2265\" data-end=\"2395\">Local education experiments by Starlight Social Cooperative in Chuncheon and Utsuho Elementary School in Wakayama, Japan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"4lszq0\" data-start=\"2396\" data-end=\"2468\">\n<p data-start=\"2398\" data-end=\"2468\">Senior community initiatives and financial care cooperative models<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2470\" data-end=\"2669\">These cases are not merely local development projects; rather, they represent social experiments through which grassroots cosmopolitan citizens reconstruct democracy around the principle of care.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2671\" data-end=\"3013\">Building on this analysis, the authors propose a new social model: the regional care ecosystem. This model envisions networks of local cooperation linking ecology, education, healthcare, finance, and the social economy, offering an alternative civil society framework capable of addressing the multiple crises facing East Asian societies.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3015\" data-end=\"3177\"><em data-start=\"3015\" data-end=\"3081\">Rooted Cosmopolitan Citizens in East Asia: Toward Caring Democracy<\/em> is both a scholarly study and a civic manifesto. It ultimately poses a question to its readers:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3179\" data-end=\"3239\">\u201cIn your community, who is building a caring democracy?\u201d<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"3241\" data-end=\"3244\" \/>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"1iz91iu\" data-start=\"3246\" data-end=\"3262\">Key Features<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3264\" data-end=\"3451\">(1) A New Theoretical Framework for East Asian Civil Society Studies<br data-start=\"3336\" data-end=\"3339\" \/>Introduces the analytical concepts of rooted cosmopolitan citizens, light communities, and caring democracy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3453\" data-end=\"3622\">(2) Based on More Than a Decade of Field Research<br data-start=\"3506\" data-end=\"3509\" \/>Draws on case studies and in-depth interviews conducted in local communities across Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3624\" data-end=\"3815\">(3) An Integrated Approach to Regional Innovation and Civil Society Research<br data-start=\"3704\" data-end=\"3707\" \/>Analyzes regional resilience by connecting ecology, care, education, healthcare, and the social economy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3817\" data-end=\"3969\">(4) A Book for Scholars, Policymakers, and Practitioners<br data-start=\"3877\" data-end=\"3880\" \/>Offers practical insights for researchers, policymakers, and civil society activists.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"3971\" data-end=\"3974\" \/>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"19zhnas\" data-start=\"3976\" data-end=\"3997\">About the Authors<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3999\" data-end=\"4266\">Suk-Ki Kong<br data-start=\"4014\" data-end=\"4017\" \/>Research Professor in the Civil Society and NGOs Program at the Seoul National University Asia Center. His research focuses on civil society, local communities, grassroots democracy, and global citizenship, with ongoing fieldwork in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4268\" data-end=\"4608\">Hyun-Chin Lim<br data-start=\"4285\" data-end=\"4288\" \/>Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Seoul National University, member of the National Academy of Sciences of Korea, and founding director of the Seoul National University Asia Center. A leading scholar of Korean civil society, he has published extensively on civil society, globalization, social movements, and democracy.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"4610\" data-end=\"4613\" \/>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"3tx5ol\" data-start=\"4615\" data-end=\"4638\">Recommended Readers<\/h3>\n<ul data-start=\"4640\" data-end=\"4961\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">\n<li data-section-id=\"d90mso\" data-start=\"4640\" data-end=\"4698\">\n<p data-start=\"4642\" data-end=\"4698\">Researchers of civil society and local communities<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1cpjbqw\" data-start=\"4699\" data-end=\"4765\">\n<p data-start=\"4701\" data-end=\"4765\">Scholars in sociology, political science, and area studies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1oyknb3\" data-start=\"4766\" data-end=\"4822\">\n<p data-start=\"4768\" data-end=\"4822\">Public policy and local government practitioners<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1xu926v\" data-start=\"4823\" data-end=\"4894\">\n<p data-start=\"4825\" data-end=\"4894\">Activists working in the social economy and regional innovation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"13j187g\" data-start=\"4895\" data-end=\"4961\" data-is-last-node=\"\">\n<p data-start=\"4897\" data-end=\"4961\" data-is-last-node=\"\">General readers interested in care, community, and democracy<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;19448&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] Authors: Suk-Ki Kong, Hyun-Chin Lim Publication Date: February\/ 2026 Publisher:\u00a0Zininzin [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] About the Book The twenty-first century world stands amid a series of intertwined crises: climate change, rapid population aging, extreme inequality, platform capitalism, democratic backsliding, and the collapse of care systems. These crises are not separate problems but rather symptoms of a broader civilizational transformation produced by the convergence of neoliberal globalization and digital capitalism. This book begins with a fundamental question: \u201cWho will confront these crises\u2014and how?\u201d The authors locate the answer not in the state, the market, or abstract discourses of global citizenship, but in \u201crooted cosmopolitan citizens\u201d\u2014grassroots actors working within local communities. Rooted cosmopolitan citizens address everyday challenges such as climate change, care, education, healthcare, aging, finance, and local economic development through practices grounded in relationships, cooperation, experimentation,&#8230;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publications","category-snuac-asian-studies-in-a-global-context-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19449,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions\/19449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuac.snu.ac.kr\/eng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}