Resumen de Applying environmental justice approach to sustainable development debate in South Korea
The world has been burdened with numerous unprecedented environmental challenges since the emergence of industrial society. Concerns over the environmental issue have accelerated worldwide and sustainability has appeared as an essential approach to this problem in world politics. However, environmental conflicts have only intensified along with rapidly increasing environmental degradation, which has continued to increasingly impact marginalized groups of society. Therefore, this research has applied the environmental justice approach within a debate of sustainable development. By applying an environmental justice approach as an alternative tool to guide sustainability, this research discusses why sustainable development has not been able to meet its aims. More importantly, this research has also looked for how the environmental justice approach can pave the way towards a sustainable development which promotes sustainability and peace. Accordingly, the research examined the case study of the Miryang movement in South Korea where adoptance of sustainable development has been difficult. Even after sustainable development has been employed, the social-environmental conflicts in South Korea have worsened. In this regard, the Miryang environmental justice movement provides valuable insight on how environmental justice is connected to the sustainable development discussion.
