“Singminji sigi·haebang ihu kyoyukcha·sahoe undongga Chang Li-Uk ŭi hwaldong kwa minjujuūi ihae”[Educational and Social Activist Lee-Wook Chang’s Activities and Understanding of Democracy].

This paper deals with Lee-Wook Chnag (1895-1983)’s activities and his understanding of Korean democracy. He was an important and active Korean intellectual and leader during colonial and post-colonial contexts. Chang was one of few people who went to the US during the colonial period and attended Dubuque College and Columbia University, BA and MA programs, respectively. In the Columbia University, his teachers were John Dewey and William Kilpatrick who developed new ideas and approaches to democracy and education. Returning to Korea, Chang worked as Principal at Sinsŏng [Middle] School and served Suyangdonguhoe, the domestic branch of Hŭngsadan whose founder was the famous Korean national leader, An Ch’ang-Ho. In the post-colonial context, Chang escaped from North Korea and took a very critical attitude toward the communist regime. Under the US Military Government, he worked as Principal at Seoul Normal School, a College Dean at Seoul National University (SNU), and then President at SNU. However, He was not greeted by Syngman Rhee, who was antagonistic toward An Ch’ang-Ho. Thus, Chang was forced to resign from the presidency of SNU. When the Korean War broke out, Chang and several Korean elites went to Tokyo to serve as the Headquarters of the Allied Forces, where he translated North Korean documents into English ones. By 1958, with the help of the Asia Foundation, Chang managed a broadcasting program on “democracy” while he supported South Korean-friendly organizations in Japan. When he returned to Korea in 1958, Chang was not still welcomed by Syngman Rhee regime. Only after April Revolution, of 1960, was he called Ambassador to the US, but that career was also disrupted by May 16 Coup in 1961. Chang again stayed in the US, helping Hŭngsadan, and only in 1964, he returned to Korea. In Korea, he participated in managing a magazine and writing several articles on Korean democratic issues. Mr. Chang’s case is highly interesting because his ideas and activities, such as anti-communism, due process, and the value of freedom in academia, show the boundary and limits of democracy in Korea during the Cold War era.