This dissertation research focuses on the
development of South Korea’s democracy movement from 1979 to 1987, a time that
was marked by two waves of sustained protest: one of which was brutally
repressed while the other led to a transition to democracy. This dissertation
examines the cultural processes at work during the period between these two
waves. This study builds a dataset drawing on archival
data in the form of memoirs, diaries, leaflets and brochures, minutes,
statements, and testimonies of activists and activist organizations as well as
newspaper reports and government documents. Using the dataset, this study advances scholarship on contentious politics and
democratization by revising and expanding three theoretical concepts: threat,
memory work, and framing.