Unravelling the dynamics and trends of social capital: Case of South Korea

Analyzing the World Values Surveys, the present study reveals how Korean people trust their fellow citizens and participate in associations in the process of democratization. It has been argued that trust and participation in voluntary associations go hand in hand. Although results revealed a remarkable growth of participation in voluntary associations since democratization, the level of trust has not increased. Instead, it declined sharply during the same period. A further analysis found no obvious connection between levels of civic activism and interpersonal trust, as suggested in the theoretical literature. Contrary to what has been argued in the literature, face-to-face interactions within voluntary associations have not occasioned these civic activists in Korea to greater trust in one another.