Critical Theory: The Debate with Habermas in SeoulEdited by Sang-jin Han
(Seoul: Joongmin Publishers, 2026)
237 pages
Description
From April 28 to May 12, 1996, Habermas made his first and only visit to South Korea. During his two-week stay, he delivered seven public lectures in various cities, including Seoul, Daegu, and Gwangju, beginning with a lecture titled “Popular Sovereignty and National Reunification” at Seoul National University. In addition, a full-day workshop brought him together with leading Korean scholars from various disciplines for a critical dialogue on his ongoing efforts to reconstruct Critical Theory.
This book revisits and reconstructs the discussions that took place during that workshop, held on May 10, 1996, at the Hoam Faculty House of Seoul National University. More than a ceremonial gathering, the event became a historic encounter that opened a discursive space for communication, reflection, and the renewal of critical thought.
Chapters One and Two contain edited transcripts of the discussions with Habermas at a workshop at Seoul National University (SNU) and at a press conference in Seoul, respectively.
Contents
Preface
Introduction: Habermas and Korea: A Historic Encounter in Memory and Tribute
Chapter One: The SNU Workshop on Critical Theory
- Opening Remarks
- Critical Theory from a Social Science Perspective
- Habermas Confronts Classical Social Theorists
- The Linguistic Turn of Critical Theory
- Spheres of Communication and Discourse Ethics
- Discourse Ethics in Legal and Political Matters
- Question and Answer Session
- Closing Remarks
- Workshop Review: Social Philosophy (Nam-in Lee)
- Workshop Review: Social Science (Hong-lim Yoo)
Chapter Two: Habermas’s Departure Press Conference
- The Public Sphere and Korean Society
- Marxism and the West Today
- The Information Society and the Role of Intellectuals
- Religious Culture and Modernization
- The Meaning of Critical Theory in Korea
- North-South Relations and Journalism Reform
Chapter Three: Two Weeks in Korea: The Full Backstory
- Planning the Visit
- Convening of the SNU Seonam Committee
- My First Visit with Habermas
- A Second Visit with Habermas
- Lost in Translation: A Misreading of Habermas’s Intentions
- Preparations for the Workshop
- Habermas’s Arrival
- First Day in Seoul
- Conversation at Changdeokgung Palace
- A Break from the Formal Schedule
- Lecture at SNU
- Encountering the Reality of Korean Society
- The SNU Colloquium
- A Burst of Anger at the KSA Symposium
- Meeting with Kim Dae-jung
- Lecture at the Korean Philosophical Association
- Regional Travels
- A Tour of POSCO (Pohang Steel Company)
- An Afternoon by the East Sea
- Traveling to Gyeongju
- A Conversation with Monk Jong-rim at Haeinsa Temple
- Lecture at Keimyung University
- On to Namwon through Jirisan Mountain
- Paying a Visit to Mangwol-dong Cemetery in Gwangju
- Lecture at Chonnam National University
- Meetings on Thursday Afternoon
- Workshop on Habermas’s Critical Theory
- Joint Press Conference
- The Role of Philosophy in Modern Society
- Habermas’s Last Dinner in Korea
Sang-jin Han is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Seoul National University. He has lectured at Columbia University in New York and at Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing. He is the editor of Habermas and the Korean Debate (Seoul: Seoul National University Press, 1998) and Divided Nations and Transitional Justice: What Germany, Japan, and South Korea Can Teach the World (Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2012), and the author of Confucianism and Reflexive Modernity: Bringing Community Back to Human Rights in the Age of Global Risk Society (Leiden: Brill, 2019).
Jürgen Habermas in Seoul, 1996
