Peaceful or Disciplined?

Perceived Efficiency and Legitimacy of Nonviolent Protest by Novices and Repeaters in South Korean Candlelight Protests

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Author:
Joohyun Park Researcher, University of California, USA jp53@berkeley.edu

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/cont.2023.110202
Keywords:
candlelight protest; differential participation; novice; protest experience; repeater; South Korea; violent protest
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Abstract

Differential participation in violent protests has been explained in terms of protesters’ personal values, biographical availability, and network embeddedness. However, the form of mass protest may be influenced less by the microstructure of protesters and more by their collective past experiences of resistance. Through the South Korean candlelight protests of 2008 and 2016–2017, this article examines novices’ and repeaters’ perceptions of nonviolent protest. Onsite survey and interview data show that previous frustrating protest experiences in 2008 made repeater protesters more perseverant, even when violence was expected. Repeaters had little faith in “disciplined” protests, whereas novices hoped for change through “peaceful” protests. I argue that previous experiences of resistance and their outcomes influenced protesters’ perceptions on the efficiency and legitimacy of violent protest. By examining protesters’ varying perseverance, which mediates the condition of violence, this article advances the relationship between violence and civic participation.

Contributor Notes

Joohyun Park is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests are in gender, sociology of law, medical sociology, and political sociology. Her dissertation focuses on the making of vulnerable victims of sexual violence, with empirical work on legal and medical supports of the state and feminist movements in South Korea. Email: jp53@berkeley.edu

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The Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Protest

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Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
28
Keywords:
candlelight protest; differential participation; novice; protest experience; repeater; South Korea; violent protest
Print Publication Date:
01 Dec 2023
Online Publication Date:
01 Dec 2023
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023

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