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This paper offers an analysis of the excessive education fever in Korea from the perspective of religious studies. Based on reviews of previous discussions of this phenomenon, centered mainly around sociology and education since the 1980s, the paper first points to what these previous discussions lacked. It then examines the religious nature of Confucian education during the Joseon dynasty, and explores why Koreans' interest in education has been dubbed an "excessive fever" by looking at some examples. The paper concludes that Korean education fever is a product of parents' sacrifices for their children, and that this sacrificial attitude is heavily influenced by the traditional Confucian theory of "salvation." By doing so, this paper tries to demonstrate that a religious studies' approach to the issue can contribute new understanding of the excessive zeal for education in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explain why and how the middle class in Korea decisively joined the democratic movement in 1987 by drawing special attention to the role played by the “middling grassroots” (MG). MG was formed out of the common experience of student activism and contesting subcultures, which were widely dispersed over Korean university campuses during the 1980s. In addition, this paper examines the contrasting views on the Korean democratic transition by Bruce Cumings and Adam Przeworski. This substantive analysis attempts to show how such discord can be resolved by working out a mediating variable between action and social structure. It is suggested that the concept of MG is a good example of such a mediating variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]