VAN’s standing research organisation is producing On the Line, a collection of social-criticism essays carrying the uncomfortable but necessary questions young people put to Korean society today.
Rather than offering conclusions, contributors from different backgrounds re-examine society through their own experience. By connecting everyday concerns to social structures, the book casts young people as active speakers and critics rather than passive observers.
The manuscripts and the editorial direction were written and shaped by VAN members and invited outside contributors. A crowdfunding campaign for the printed edition is running on Tumblbug; the cover and interior designs, table of contents and specifications are below.
Back the book on Tumblbug→Depending on the tier, backers receive the printed book, an e-book (PDF), an editors’ notes archive and conference tickets. The e-book is supplied for backers’ personal reading only and is therefore not hosted on this page.
Table of contents
Outside submissions are still open, so some titles and details may change or be added during editing.
Part 1 · Lines of existence
- What are the standards of success and happiness
- Crossing the threshold of Seoul National University
- Social justice and individual happiness
- Young people left in a world without gods
Part 2 · Lines of competition
- How credentialism works on young people psychologically
- What has the cult of competition left us
- Is education a right or an obligation
- What should universities teach in the age of AI
Part 3 · Lines of conflict
- Reconsidering the far-right turn among young people
- Political tribalism — on societies where idolisation comes easily
- How the language of hatred produced in anonymous online spaces distorts law and political discourse
- A report on the European far right
Part 4 · Lines of relationship
- Should marriage exist as an institution in contemporary society
- The zeitgeist of Korea’s younger generation — dialogue
Part 5 · Lines of community
- Are young Koreans favourable towards Japan
- What prosecutorial reform and abolition would leave behind
