activism

Open Letter from Rainbow Action in Seoul

Apparently Mayor Park yielded under pressure of extreme rightists and conservative protestant groups of South Korea. These groups of bigots have persistently pathologized and stigmatized sexual minorities and gender nonconforming people. They have been virtually following every public event held by LGBTQ groups to violently disrupt those scenes and attack the participants for last few years.… more →

Concerned scholars’ statement on National Intelligence Service interference in South Korean democracy

The following statement has been drafted and endorsed by over 200 scholars concerned about Korean democracy. “Recent actions by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) are raising concerns that Korea’s hard-won democracy is under threat. The NIS and its former director are currently under investigation for very serious allegations of interference in last year’s presidential election. But with that investigation ongoing and talk among politicians across party lines of the need for NIS reform, the agency has mounted what appears to be a counterattack, moving against a minor opposition party and one of its lawmakers with charges of plotting a rebellion.”… more →

Emergent Forms of Engagement and Activism in Japan: Politics, Cultures and Technologies

This conference brings together an international, multi-disciplinary group of scholars seeking to document and understand emergent forms of political activism, social engagement and cultural resistance among youth in Japan. From street politics to new forms of socialities, from creative representation to active resistance, our goal is to develop a critical language that captures the range of alternatives to what was once considered political. Through the heritage of post-war student and citizens’ movements, popular culture shifts during 1970‚ affluence, and post-bubble recessionary disenfranchisement, we will explore these alternative currents right into our post-3.11 moment.… more →