Moral Authoritarianism

Moral Authoritarianism offers a new perspective on the three modern Korean states-the Japanese colonial state, South Korea, and North Korea-by studying neighborhood associations during the four war decades (1930s–1960s). The existing historiography perceives the three states in relation to imperialism and to the Cold War, thus emphasizing their differences by political changes. By shifting the focus from national policy to local society, this book instead reveals their deep similarities. Neighborhood associations dated back to the premodern Choson period (1392–1910), where they had been used to assist local governance. They faded in significance until the colonial government established “patriotic neighborhood associations” in 1938 for its war against China. Through analysis of government documents from the three Koreas and additional sources including diaries, leaflets, newspapers, and even fiction, Moral Authoritarianism explores neighborhood associations as a site of negotiation