Recent Korean Minjung Movement as Urban Political Movement: Focusing on Subway Struggles in Rush Hour(2021~2023)

This study comprehensively examines the recent Korean minjung movement, focusing in particular on the subway struggles carried out by Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) during rush hour from 2021 to 2023. The paper examines how this movement has redefined urban political movements through a unique framework of ‘evental temporality’, especially in public spaces. Using the concept of ‘event’, this study addresses two primary questions: first, it evaluates the efficacy of urban political movement frameworks in analyzing Korean minjung movements; second, it explores the theoretical contributions that Korean minjung movements can make to the broader field of urban political movements. To answer these questions, this study conducts an in-depth analysis of the disability liberation movement, currently one of the most assertive minjung movements in Korea. Particular attention is paid to the subway struggles in rush hour, which serve as a representative case study of recent Korean minjung and urban political movements. The paper highlights how these struggles challenge conventional socio-spatial orders by introducing egalitarian injunctions into everyday urban settings, such as rush hour subway commuting. It also explores the temporal dimensions of minjung movements, highlighting how the subway struggles not only demand the recognition of legally declared rights but also strive for their practical verification and implementation. This analysis contributes to the understanding of urban political movements, the dynamics of social transformation, and the continuous evolution of the minjung concept in contemporary Korean society. By examining the intersection of disability rights activism, urban space contestation, and temporal politics, this study offers valuable insights into the complexities of minjung movements in contemporary urban contexts.