Comparative Politics Study: Seoul, South Korea

I. Introduction On May 9th of this year, South Koreans will vote for their next president after the eventful and historic removal of former president Park Geun-Hye. In this tense time of uncertainty and polarization, the Republic of Korea is challenging its relatively young democratic institutions; driven by the prospect of both change and, paradoxically, return to fundamental traditionalist policies. It is under these opposing pressures that the strength of democracy in Korea is tested, and thus presents a need for a detailed analysis that synthesizes empirical representations of the current political climate and evaluation tools already put in place. More specifically, the purpose of this piece is to provide a perspective on Korea's position in the global democratic ranks and present either conflicting or agreeing opinions on these rankings drawn from interviews of Korean citizens. Not only will this be helpful as a specific case study in the highly generalized field of global