[KS] Varieties and taxonomy of evolving Korean (post-)nationalisms

[Frank Hoffmann]

>(...) although it still
>leaves me in some confusionism as to what exactly
>is new, or post-, about the 'new' Korean nationalism(s).


Cross out "new" and accept that the Korean bling-bling generation is 
probably the worst possible example for "post-nationalism" and you 
get the picture.

"What globalization means in structural terms, then, is the increase 
in the available modes of organization: transnational, international, 
macro-regional, national, micro-regional, municipal, local. The 
ladder of administrative levels is being crisscrossed by functional 
networks of corporations, international organizations and 
non-governmental organizations, as well as by professionals and 
computer users." (Jan N. Pieterse, 1995, p. 50). "Post-international 
politics" in Rosenau's terminology.

May it be post-internationalism or post-nationalism, these are all 
closely related or can be seen as the product of globalization. Then 
again, Korea is one of the geo-intellectual places where I see least 
of that, and that again is closely related to the particular 
understanding and formation 'globalization' there, a country where 
the decolonization process has not ended. Globalization though does 
not mean that nationalism ends. Rather than a post-nationalist 
generation (and post-nationalist historiography, etc.) what I see in 
Korea is a new generation that applaudes a neomodernization theory 
(by means of globalization). Harootunian nicely pins it down: "This 
neomodernization theory celebrates cultural difference 
enthusiastically, very much in the manner of the united colors of 
Benetton yet fails to recognize that the production of plural 
identities is consistent with the propensity of global capitalism to 
undermine all fixed positions for fetishized 'narcissism of small 
differences.'" (_History's Disquiet_, p. 47) From what I see, it is 
in this context that terms like postnationalism are being brought on 
the table.

Frank



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Frank Hoffmann
http://koreaweb.ws