The voluntary organizations and democracy in Korea: A civil society perspective

After achieving the dramatic progress of democracy recently, the preconditions of democracy in Korea are a major concern for scholars at home and abroad; These days, therefore, finding factors for successful democracy might be an important agenda for Korea as much as for all less-developed countries. Among many factors conducive to democracy, this study emphasizes the important role played by voluntary associations as mediating and countervailing mechanisms to both the central government and markets. Even though there have been many factors at work in shaping political democracy, Korean experience during last three decades calls attention to the importance of the transition of the resurrection of civil society through an explosion of autonomous interest group expression and activity. The Korean experience supports that the organization of the citizenry is an indispensable condition for the development and maintenance of democracy.