Comparing the Korean Environmental Movement with U.S. Justice

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the Korean Environmental Movement, contrasting it with the environmental justice movement, particularly as it is understood and implemented in the United States. It begins by defining both environmental movements and environmental justice, highlighting the focus of environmental justice on protecting civil rights and addressing the disproportionate impact of environmental issues on vulnerable populations. The paper then discusses the evolution of the Korean Environmental Movement, from its origins in pollution protests to its current focus on sustainable development and environmental management. It contrasts this with the U.S. environmental justice movement, which emphasizes fairness and equity in environmental policy, particularly in addressing the placement of waste dumps in minority communities. The essay concludes by highlighting the key differences between the two movements, noting that while environmental movements are often broad and inclusive, environmental justice movements are more politically focused on empowering marginalized communities and promoting equitable access to resources and decision-making processes. The document is available on Desklib, where students can find a wealth of academic resources.

Running head: KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 1
Korean Environmental Movement Paper
Student Name
Institution

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 2
Korean Environmental Movement
Give An Account of One Environmental Movement in East Asia. Critically Assess Its
Differences from the Environmental Justice Movement
Introduction
Korea is a region in East Asia, well-known for its success in economic and democratic
advancements. As of 1987, the region has since experienced a significant rise in political
democratization which led to a rapid decrease in the evils associated with the old system,
including regionalism, political corruption, and anti-communism tendencies of the cold war.
Since Korea’s social, cultural, regionalism, and democratic developments are not entirely
streamlined, it faces common issues in its society, such as, discrimination, authoritarianism, and
collective egoism. These issues, together with the increasing environmental awareness, have
resulted in the gradual growth of ecological democracy, and sparked people’s interest and their
steady support of environmental movements (Ku, 2009). This paper therefore attempts to analyze
the Korean Environmental Movement, in comparison to the ecological justice actions in the
United States.
Assessment Criteria
1. Definition of Environmental Movement and Environmental Justice Movement
1.1. Environmental Justice Movement
Environmental justice, as used in this context, is defined a mechanism of general liability
used in the protection of the people’s civil rights, and the prevention and atonement of harms
associated with the unbalanced outcomes of the region’s development on the defenseless and
poor in society (Guha, 1997). Environmental justice programs therefore not only facilitated
general public awareness, but also caused a shift in policy-making to allow for public

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 3
participation in all environmental platforms. By so doing, the states were obligated to allow for
access to all governmental or judiciary proceedings pertaining to matters of remedy or redress
(Bullard, 2005).
1.2. Environmental Movement
According to Gregson and Crang (2015), the environmental movement refers to a social
advocacy often facilitated by professional environmental organizations, to alter the existing
social systems by putting pressure on administrational bodies and enterprises for the sole purpose
of rectifying environmental problems. Consequently, environmental movements are also
commonly referred to as ecology movements, or new conservation movements (Gregson &
Crang, 2015).
2. Emphasize the Example of Environmental Movement in East Asia, and Introduce the Core of
the Environmental Justice Movement in the U.S and Give an Example of It
2.1. Environmental Movement in East Asia
The Korean Environmental Movement initially begun as a protest by victims of pollution.
Following these protests, a democratic movement against pollution ensued in Korea during the
1980s, and was later absorbed by an environmental movement group that made its debut in the
1990s. After this acquisition, the existing mainstream environmental groups and NGOs then
experienced a period of institutionalization during which they sought memberships, regularly
hiked membership donations and fees, agreed to periodic governmental assistance, and took part
in conducting programs for political reforms based on the environment, while taking part in
numerous other activities, like education, public relations, and development dissuasion to allow
for proper resource mobilization techniques. In the 1990s, the resistance to these advocacies, also
known as a left-environmentalist concept dominant the 1980s, was put aside in exchange for new

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 4
debates on the environment, for example, environmental management, and sustainable
development (Gregson & Crang, 2015).
Since significant number of the reform groups in the 1980s believed in more radical and
socialist substitutes, the groups in the 1990s dwelled on the management of capitalism and the
rapid industrialism in a more eco-friendly manner. During the late 1990s, these mainstream
groups undertook other realistic approaches which found favor with the masses. Subsequently,
they were successful in forcing the government to abandon development plans to construct a dam
on the Donggang river, thus making a great contribution to the onset of resource recycling
legislations. Above all, this was mostly beneficial in the expansion of environmental awareness
among the people of Korea (Ku, 2009).
2.2. Environmental Justice in the United States
Environmental justice is a term constantly featured in environmental debates over the last
two decades, however it was only publicly recognized among researchers in the late 1990s.
Environmental justice is mainly concerned with the unequal allocation of environmental
advantages and disadvantages among the varying categories of people. This concept in the
United States, therefore, broadly deals with the dimensions of fairness and equity with regard to
environmental policies (Kameri-Mbote & Cullet, 2004).
The upsurge of the ecological justice association has since brought about the proliferation
of grass-roots programs and initiatives that oppose the unfair location propositions of waste
dumps in areas inhabited by the minority. These took place in the form of protests, civil
disruption, and campaigns that challenged the propositions to site these waste dumps, such as,
the Not-In-My-BackYard (NIMBY) campaigns, and the Locally-Undesirable-Land-Use (LULU)
movements (Kameri-Mbote & Cullet, 2004). Legal instruments have also been employed in the

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 5
environmental justice movements, like, the Equal Protection Clause of the environmental statute,
and the Title VI in the Civil Rights Acts. The central government commission of the United
States faced massive backlash when they failed to consider the implication of their policies to the
minorities, as stipulated by these statutes (Dunlap & Mertig, 1995). As such, the main goals of
environmental justice movements are to emphasize on the need for proper human health
conditions for the vulnerable communities, to ensure that there are non-discriminative programs
initiated by the government that could affect the health of the local communities, and to provide
greater opportunities for collective public participation (Kameri-Mbote & Cullet, 2004).
3. Difference between Environmental Justice Movement and Environmental Movement
3.1. Environmental Justice Movement
An environmental justice perspective therefore adopts a more contextual examination of
historical instances of injustice and exclusion as faced by the local community, and deals in the
proper understanding of notions of justice and nature that may exist among the vulnerable
members of the community. These are then reflected daily in their actions through their
advocacies to change any local, informal, and traditional systems of justice charged with
determining the rights and claims to natural resources within the community. By enhancing these
social and environmental justice systems, the rights of each individual at local levels is
recognized, thereby excluding them from being constant victims of past developments. They are,
thus, agents of change with a vision for the future that allows for equity in the natural resources
that they host (Pellow, 2007).
Generally, environmental justice movements are known for causing positive alterations in
policies in the direction of lawful structures that facilitate ecology frameworks plus recognize
natural resources as public property, encourage collective responsibility, and influenced public

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 6
access as a remedy in environmental sustainable development. In this scenario, the poor and
vulnerable also benefit because the legal changes empower the community far beyond the reach
of reforms based on singular policies and regulations. These changes seek to shift the political
norms of exclusion and ecological degradation towards a system of governance that allows the
complete participation of everyone in the decision-making process concerning the environment
(Long, 2012).
3.2. Environmental Movement
On the other hand, the environmental movement is political composition within which all
matters concerning political opinion on conservation may be found. It entails propositions for
everything, including solutions to better the local community, such as, community clean-ups, and
social revolutions. These movements therefore mainly want to increase environmental awareness
among the people, fight to restore and preserve the environmental resources, and want to relate
the common man with the society on a platform that would benefit the physical society in a
creative way. They abhor exploitation as well, and want to cause radical changes in matters of
production and consumption (Sills, 1975).
In addition, while environmental justice movements are more political in nature,
environmental movement are considered as a voluntary association in which all institutional
involvement, including schools, federal agencies, and commercial groups, may all participate
(Kameri-Mbote & Cullet, 2004). However, such movements are mainly dominated by
preservationists who consider the use of utilitarianism, as is common in institutionalized
agencies. Consequently, there are numerous political leaders who believe themselves to be
members of environmental movements, as would mostly be an anomaly in environmental justice
movements (Ku, 2009).

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 7
As opposed to the newly established environmental justice movements, environmental
movements have considered a majority of the social and political life as being crucial to their
agenda. Hence, different aspects of the environment, including the wildlife and other natural
resources have become part of their concern. Consequently, their works to popularize their basic
ides on ecology has influenced the public’s understanding of man’s relationship with nature. The
involvement of political leaders in their undertakings has also generated a sense of crisis to their
cause, thereby leading to a realistic quality of predicament with regard to the alteration of the sea
level, and atmospheric downturns (Ku, 2009).
Conclusion
According to Ku (2009), environmental movements are mainly based on Western
concepts, thereby making them quite similar to environmental justice movements. Since
environmental movements have also become an avenue within which any member of the public,
including scientists, can actively participate, it has led to several ecological advancements, such
as stirring public skepticism on the adverse effects of technology and science. On the other hand,
environmental justice movements are a major element for ecological change. Several
governments and civil movements globally have now been forced by environmental justice
movements to come up with new legislations that mitigate the negative effects of development
on the people. The poor in the society, for that reason, now have a voice, and can reap the
benefits of sustainable resource use and allocation (Kameri-Mbote & Cullet, 2004).

KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 8
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