Lecture: The Korean Middle Class, 1960-2010

April 6, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Center for Korean Studies

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Myungji Yang, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, will deliver a presentation titled “From Miracle to Mirage: The Making and Unmaking of the Korean Middle Class, 1960–2010.”

This talk will examine the puzzle of why the celebrated middle class that was both cause and consequence of Korea’s economic development seems to have declined.

Drawing on primary archival sources and in-depth interviews from a year of field research, Professor Yang will focus on the unpredictable process inherent in the scramble for middle-class status in Korea. Her study shows that many first-generation members of the middle class achieved upward mobility by engaging in speculation and taking advantage of skyrocketing real estate prices.

Previous studies have mostly explained the rise of the Korean middle class as a consequence of a meritocratic order that provided white-collar workers, corporate managers, and engineers in large conglomerates with higher incomes, long-term job security, and consumerist lifestyles.

Event Sponsor
Center for Korean Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Merclyn Labuguen, (808) 956-7041, merclyn@hawaii.edu, http://bit.ly/2mABklQ

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Thursday, April 6
12:00pm	Social Welfare Final Oral Mānoa Campus, Gartley 018
12:30pm	Safe Zone Training: LGBTQ+ Safety and Inclusion Mānoa Campus, Campus Center 308
1:30pm	Tips & Guidelines for Preparing Conference Posters Mānoa Campus, Kuykendall 106
3:00pm	Joint JIMAR/Oceanography Seminar - Phil Thompson Mānoa Campus, Marine Science Building 100
3:00pm	Marine Biology Final Oral Mānoa Campus, Marine Science Building 114
3:00pm	MB PhD Defense: Mackenzie Gerringer Mānoa Campus, Marine Science Building 114
3:30pm	Pacific Biosciences Research Center Dissertation Defense Mānoa Campus, BioMed T-208
3:30pm	Marine Biology Final Oral Mānoa Campus, BioMed T-208
4:00pm	Lecture: The Korean Middle Class, 1960-2010 Mānoa Campus, Center for Korean Studies
4:30pm	Shidler Banking Lecture Series Mānoa Campus, Shidler College of Business, Room C-101
5:00pm	Playwriting Workshop with British Playwright Mark Ravenhill Mānoa Campus, Kennedy Theatre
5:30pm	Applying to Medical School Mānoa Campus, Webster 113
5:30pm	Social Justice Work at the Richardson Law School Mānoa Campus, William S. Richardson School of Law, Moot Court Room
6:00pm	GSO Elections: Nominations Period Ends Mānoa Campus, Webster 203
6:30pm	Waikiki Aquarium's Distinguished Lecture Series - Saving Monk Seals Thurston Memorial Chapel, Punahou School
6:30pm	Hanauma Bay Educational Lecture Series Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Theater