Abstract

RIOS OYOLA, Sandra Milena. Social memory: a transitional justice tool in Chile and South Korea. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2017, vol.40, suppl.1, pp.129-147. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v40n1Supl.65910.

The article explores the concepts of social, cultural and collective memory and examines the way in which the policies of memory implemented by transitional justice and the narratives of social memory resulting from truth commissions led to delegitimizing authoritarian regimes and to the empowerment and civic participation of marginalized groups in the cases of South Korea and Chile. In South Korea, the memory of the heroic victim has served to delegitimize the former antidemocratic regime, but it has not succeeded in overcoming the existing political polarization. On the other hand, in Chile, the memory of human rights violations has delegitimized the dictatorship and served as the basis for the actions of a leftist political movement, but has not managed to successfully connect past and present human rights violations.

The article is based on the findings of the interdisciplinary project "The Impact of Transitional Justice Mechanisms on the Construction of Democratic Institutions". It employs a qualitative methodology that compares international case studies and carries out secondary analysis of data, interviews, and field visits. Taking into account the social and cultural mechanisms involved in the construction of social memory, the paper concludes that the remembrance of atrocious events as a social practice emerges almost spontaneously, but that its incorporation into official transitional justice policies requires joint efforts and the participation in the public sphere of memory carrier groups. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how these processes of construction of social memory arise and to what extent they contribute to the social transformation necessary to strengthen democracy in transitional societies. The article also makes some recommendations that are applicable to the Colombian case.

Keywords : Chile; Colombia; South Korea; empowerment; transitional justice; legitimization; social memory; civic participation.

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