Join us for a talk that examines the role of constitutions, law, and courts in a non-democratic political system, grounded in Korea's contemporary history and politics.

Modern Korean history has never had a dull moment. Cold War crises in the years after the Korean War not only resulted in the north-south divide, but created profound fissures among South Koreans, giving rise to deeply divided and ideologically tinged debate over politics and government in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Central to this discussion is the evolving role of the judicial courts, which have been criticized for having failed to protect citizens' rights under illiberal governments during the period of South Korea's military government. Korean judicial history reveals classic dilemmas of judges facing unjust law sustained by constitutional legitimacy.