By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Korea's civil society is strong and its citizen participation in terms of impact and values is good but the overall structure and environment are not so positive, said a professor, Monday.
In a paper prepared for an international conference being held today, Professor Joo Sung-soo of Hanyang University claimed that the structure of civil society and its environment are not supportive here.
Joo said gaps between four aspects ― impact, values, structure and environment ― have led to a lack of balance.
He is scheduled to present the observation at the conference organized by the university's Center for Local Autonomy in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
The two institutions have held the annual event since 1987 and the theme of this year's conference is civil society and democracy in Korea.
Professor Bernard Rowan of Chicago State University, who is also to present his views at the conference, said when it comes to civil society and citizen participation, American mechanisms must be translated appropriately.
``The scientific basis for conceptualizing citizen participation is significantly different in the United States and Korea,'' he said in a paper.
Rowan said, `` In the United States, increasingly it is the case that civic participation has to be created or drawn out through consciously and systematically constructed opportunities and structures.''
In South Korea, Rowan observed there still is greater reserve of social capital to call upon, greater social cohesion, and greater sense of a common national trajectory.
``This is not to say that American mechanisms cannot be of assistance, or that Korean citizens do not need constructed opportunities or mechanisms. It is to say that social capital remains higher in South Korea for democratic mobilization,'' he said.
The professor said the candlelit vigils launched here to protest the government decision to resume imports of American beef have been scorned by many because of misinformation.
He claimed that it is much less likely that one would see this type of civic outpouring in the United States.
Henry Thiele, who is scheduled to present lessons from Germany, said that civic groups' political involvement in the country in general is at a relatively low level.