On October 9, 2025, the Clough Center’s Fall Colloquium hosted Professor Ingu Hwang, who delivered a speech on democracy in South Korea. Ingu Hwang is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the International Studies Program at Boston College. Hwang’s first book, Transnational Democratization: Human Rights in South Korea and US Cold War Policy (University of Pennsylvania Press, Human Rights Series) was published in March 2022.

Hwang discussed the resilience of democratic institutions in South Korea, including a recent coup attempt at a coup by former President Yoon Suk Yeol., Though the former president who tried to declare martial law. However, the coup attempt was met with resistance from civil society organizations in addition to the parliament. Hwang explained that the intense political polarization in South Korea (People Power Party vs Democratic Party) prepared the ground for the coup attempt. Also, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, a member of the People Power Party, sought to consolidate power after his election in 2022 by appointing far-right figures in important positions. This abuse of power by Suk Yeol deteriorated the situation. 

However, as Hwang highlighted, South Korea has developed strong institutions of democracy since the 1970s, when South Korea’s democratic movements emerged. Hwang stated that South Korea’s democratic resilience is rooted in a deeply institutionalized culture of democracy and human rights that began to take shape in the 1970s. In 1987, South Korea’s democracy movement succeeded in pressuring the authoritarian government to adopt a new constitution. The new constitution mandated presidential elections, reaffirmed the sovereignty of the people, and established constitutional courts. The historical legacy of democracy movements has continued to shape political culture in South Korea. Therefore, after the incident of the coup attempt, civil society organizations responded promptly and restored the rule of law through peaceful and nonviolent protests.

You can watch the full video of Professor Ingu Hwang from the Clough Center’s YouTube Channel.