[Citizen College Season 2] Power Inequality and “Gap-Eul” Relationship

On November 2, 2018, the third lecture of “Citizen College Season 2: Complex conflict and reconciliation of Korean Society” was held by the Seongbuk Village Citizenship Education Center and the Korea University Peace and Democracy Institute (PDI). The third speaker was Professor Gye-Won Jo of the PDI.

The subject of the lecture was “Power Inequality and “Gap-Eul” Relationship: An empirical analysis of the “Gapjil” in Korean society”. Professor Jo showed the present condition of “Gapjil” along with the political analysis, and participants discussed the topic. “Gapjil” is a coined word for an individual or a group that are in a socially advantageous position, using their power to treat others unfairly. This happens when they think their status were damaged or when they want to be recognized by others. Unlike the libertarian view that ‘A’ and ‘B’ contract on an equal condition, republican perspective assumes that an unfavourable contract can be made due to the inequality of power resources existing between party A(Gap) and party B(Eul). Recently, in Korea, “Gapjil” is increasing, as the cost of escaping from the existing relationship is greatly augmented because of the income inequality and employment instability. The professor emphasized the importance of institutional devices to prevent and help the victims of “Gapjil” in order to reduce social anger. (Summary: Eun-Bi Lee)