Chapter 6: From Ideologists to Programmers: Activists' Roles in Contemporary South Korean Social Movements

Candlelight vigils for the impeachment of South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, who was suspected of malfeasance and corruption in abusing her power, were held from October 29, 2016 to April 29, 2017. During the twenty-three weekly demonstrations, more than sixteen million citizens¹ mobilized to oust the then-head of state. This represents almost a third of South Korean citizens, as the population for that year was estimated to be about 51 million. Although the exact number of protesters is the subject of a bitter debate,² the 2016–2017 candlelight vigils were the largest social movement in recent South Korean history. The presence of mobilized citizens on the streets and in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul finally achieved its goal, and Park Geun-hye stepped down. This was the first impeachment of a head of state in Korean constitutional history and is considered by some Korean scholars to be a civil revolution (Lee, 2017, 2018; Son, 2017).