Political Economist

Changing society and determination to study abroad

During these professional experiences, I could not at all throw away academic concerns. I decided to host regular seminar groups in order to read many political economy classics which were frequently neglected in contemporary academia regardless of their significance.

We focused on modern economic thinkers ranging from Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John M. Keynes and others. Through this reading group activities, I was able to read classical masterpieces such as An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, The principles of political economy and taxation, and The general theory of employment, interest, and money, The formation of English Working Classes by E.P. Thompson, Modern World System by I.M. Wallerstein, and finally The Distinction — Social Critique of the tastes by Pierre Bourdieu and so on.

This intensive reading experience gives me better opportunity to broaden my knowledge about the history of economics and modern social and political thoughts. I think these broad reading experiences can be cited as a firm basis of my academic aptitude.

Of course, basic motive behind these studies comes from changing socio-economic realities. Korean society is on the verge of rapidly changing politico-economic order. As a peripheral, divided country located in highly competitive and unstable North East Asian region, Korean society has to cope with outer blows in a bare face. Historically inherited U.S-Korean relations have set a series of structural constraints over autonomous decision-making of Korean society. When it comes to the realm of economic policies, there seems to be no alternative developmental strategies different from those of U.S driven financial market-oriented model.

Since 1992, especially after Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, this narrowest economic policy with long lasted bureaucratic administration of the government have aggravated Korean economic situation. International financial capital inflows and monetary organizations have badly influenced on Korean economy. Unlike advanced countries which are facilitated with various types of social welfare system and security net, these short-sighted financial market-oriented decision-making mean death-like chronic unemployment, increasing job instability, aggravation of quality of life, inveterate deflation, increasing income discrimination, and finally relative sense of deprivation to most of the population.

These Korean economic circumstances made me realize following significant theoretical problems: Are not there any alternative solutions to international financial volatility? Are not there any alternative resolutions to the problem of economic efficiency? Is not there any rational line into which sustainable economic development and democracy can be converged? What is the nature of, and how did transformation process of international monetary organizations occur? What are synthetic approaches with which social scientists can articulate various exogenous factors including “world system” (international industrial division of labor and interdependence) with endogenous elements affecting specific government’s policies?

I think these questions require studies of comparative political economy and Economics. However, I could not find any appropriate academic curricula and official educational institutions in Korea to solve these theoretical concerns. That is why I decide to study abroad. I hope I had opportunities to continue my academic interest, and absorb various interdisciplinary approaches of social sciences.