Our paper aims to compare the historical characteristics of democratization in Korea and Britain, and its result and significance in these two countries. In carrying out this project, we put special focus on the roles and the characteristics of liberalism in Korea and Britain. In Korean and British democratization, liberalism played a leading role in the historical contexts and sociopolitical conditions of each. British democratization relied on the spread of liberal values and principles, while Korea made it its objective to normalize or actualize the framework of liberal democracy given from above. The differences in the process of democratization were accompanied by divergences in both the composition of the supporters of liberalism and in its role. The two cases also reveal clear differences in the relationship between the evolution of democracy and liberalism and the development of liberalism after democratization. From our examination of the Korean and British experiences, we argue that the fact that Korea trod a different route should not lead to the underestimation or devaluing of Korean democratization.
