Where is the Ordinary? Understanding People’s Engagement in the Korean Peacebuilding

Abstract

AbstractThis article provides a nuanced explanation of the ways in which the ordinary activists engage with the Korean peacebuilding. By undertaking three years of field research and analyzing the collected data, we have found that two aspects of the engagement are of great importance. First, the ordinary activists understand peacebuilding as an embodiment of everyday identity and language. Second, they make use of peacebuilding as a realization of ordinary people power. Both aspects reflect the people’s subjective reasoning of who they are and what they can do in their conflict-affected daily lives. The findings are expected to flesh out the ongoing conversation of people-centred or everyday peacebuilding in the Korean peninsula. Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsHyukmin KangHyukmin Kang is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Ewha Womans University, South Korea. He completed his doctoral studies at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand. His research focuses on the nexus of transitional justice and peacebuilding in the Korean Peninsula and East Asia. E-mail hyukmin213@gmail.comJi Young HeoJi Young Heo is a Research Professor at the Inha Center for International Studies of Inha University, Korea. Her research includes peace and conflict transformation theories, intractable conflicts, peace on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia, European Politics, international cooperation for peace, identity politics and narrative identity of South Korea. E-mail: heoj@tcd.ie