Interview mit Juniorprof. Dr. Hannes Mosler

Einführung des Ausländerwahlrechts. 
Südkorea macht es (ganz Asien) vor? 

Juniorprof. Dr. Hannes Mosler (Freie Universität Berlin) 

Wann? Mittwoch, 06.11.2013, 18-20Uhr

Wo? Koreanistik, Wilhelmstraße 133, Raum 30

Herr Dr. Mosler hat sich bereit erklärt, The Koins ein paar thematische und persönliche Fragen zu

beantworten:

1. Where are you from? (Country and City) 

Germany, Bremen

2. Could you give us a short summary of the topic you presented at our university?

Since 2005 South Korea is the pioneer state in Asia to extend voting rights at the local and regional levels to foreign residents. The few explanations of this unlikely reform remain partial and contradictory. With this research I presented, I and my colleague intend to contribute to a fuller understanding of the political process that led to this electoral reform. (As I told you during the talk the presentation drew from a recent research my colleague Luicy Pedroza and I conducted.) From a middle-range perspective I wanted to emphasize the role of the construction of these rights and negotiation about them between political groups along a decision-making process. I concluded that some characteristics of the Korean enfranchisement of non-citizens render it indeed a special case, but that it also confirms the explanatory power of the factors proposed by the more specific comparative literature dealing with this phenomenon. The message I tried to get across in the talk was that South Korea is a pioneer in Asia in terms of voting rights for foreigners, however, due to the fact that it is quite difficult to meet the conditions for the status that one needs to have for more than five years in order to be eligible for those voting rights only on regional level South Korea still has a long way to go.

3. When did you first get in contact with Korea? How did you gain interest in Korea?

My first direct contact with Korea was in 1994 during my last high school holidays that I spent travelling around the country as a backpacker. I became interested in Korea because no one else seemed to be interested.

4. What was the most memorable experience you made during your years of study in Korea?

There are so many memorable experiences, but the most interesting might have been the stay at a detention room for a night. The authorities interrogated me because they had seen me at a rally organized by the Songnam Foreign Workers’ House an organization caring for foreign or migrant workers. Obviously, I was at the right time at the right place. It was only the wrong people who took pictures of me and had the wrong impression of who I was.

5. Are there advantages of promoting in South Korea as an international student?

There are many advantages of studying in Korea, depending on where you want to go from there. For me it was important to get to know Korea from inside. So I needed to get in. I studied together with Koreans, my research topic concerned a problem of Korean politics, and I wrote my thesis in Korean. I really learned a lot that helps me now on my way going further.

6. What do you think is the biggest social "Brennpunkt" in South Korea. 

I think the most pressing social issue in Korea is the polarization of society, the growing gap of the poor and the rich, and precarious employment conditions.

7. Do you consume Korean entertainment like TV shows or music?

I watch news shows such as Newstapa, JTBC News 9, Etulnam, or documentaries.

8. What is your favorite Korean dish? 

Kimchi Stew

9. Which legislation in the Republic of Korea of the last five years were you most fond of? 

I can’t remember.

10. What is the most essential aspect of your topic you would like us to remember? 

Korea is developing dynamically. Not always is the development as we would wanted it to be. In order to find out why problems occur and how things could be handled differently, we have to look at phenomena always with a passionate heart for the drive and a rational mind for careful analysis at the same time.

Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. Mosler, wir danken Ihnen nochmal recht herzlich für Ihre Zeit und Mühe!

Dear Dr. Mosler, thank you once again very much for your effort and time!