LAS332 Researching Korea 2

Autumn 2025/26

20 credits

Module Organiser: Dr Yookyeong Im (y.im@sheffield.ac.uk)

Overview

This module explores the intricate relationship between law and social change in contemporary Korea from historical, ethnographic, and geopolitical perspectives. We will broadly engage with a wide range of scholarship in two categories: 1) legal ideologies and practices in Korean politics and 2) intersectional development of social movements and legal advocacy. The first few weeks of the module will focus on a theoretical and historical overview of the politics of law and democracy in South Korea. In the following weeks, we will analyse current social phenomena and relevant movements, including, but not limited to, labour activism, feminist organising, queer movement and disability rights claiming. Toward the end of the module, we will examine the increasing centrality of legal advocacy in the popular perception of social justice while paying special attention to the implications that it may have on the broader social change in contemporary Korean society.

Topics Covered

• Transformation of legal ideologies and practice in Korea

• Gender and sexuality

• Labour and political economy

• Human rights

• Public interest law

• Judicialization of politics and social movements

Skills developed

• Critical thinking: you will read and critically engage with a variety of assigned texts and multimedia materials to have a holistic understanding of legal and social justice issues in contemporary Korea.

• Independent and creative learning: you will be expected to formulate new perspectives on law and social change in Korea through seminar preparation and discussions.

• Academic writing and communication skills: you will develop oral and written communication skills to create and disseminate new knowledge and participate in collective discussions with your peers at seminars.

Study Hours

The University recommends that you spend 200 work-hours on a 20-credit module. This includes:

• Lectures 12 hrs

• Seminars 12 hrs 

• Independent study 176 hrs (preparatory reading and working on assignments)

Assessment

• Question-based written assessment (30%): Students will be given a range of questions directly related to different themes addressed in the first half of the module. They will be invited to write 1,000 - 1,500 words, citing at least three academic readings from the module materials. The deadline for this assessment will be during the reading week. This assignment will be designed to test students’ ability to develop a critical argument by synthesizing their close reading of module materials, learnings from lectures, and seminar discussions.

• ■  Seminar portfolio (10%): Students will be required to bring three questions on weekly readings, from Week 3 to Week 12. The main purpose of this assessment is to ensure that students read assigned module materials before coming to class and lower the barrier of participating in seminar discussion. Each week will count 1% of the final grade. 

• ■  Creative research output (60%): Students will be required to draft a comprehensive proposal for a research project or a campaign. This assessment intends to help students to develop critical and holistic skill to apply academic learnings to their own independent research project or broader public engagement. By giving the two options, this assessment is expected to be effective for final-year students with a wide range of career plans including academic career to journalism or public service. 

If you want to get ahead...

Celeste L. Arrington and Patricia Geode eds. 2021. Rights Claiming in South Korea. Cambridge University Press.

Gi-Wook Shin and Paul Y. Chang eds. 2011. South Korean Social Movements: From Democracy to Civil Society. Routledge.