Sociologist Ilan Go-young-bok sought a sociology of moderate coexistence

A group of former students has published a book to re-examine the academic contributions of sociologist Ilan Go-young-bok, whose career was significantly impacted by accusations of espionage. Go-young-bok, who held positions advising the presidential family during the Park Chung-hee regime and later led the Modern Society Research Institute under the Chun Doo-hwan government, was labeled a "pro-government professor" by those involved in the anti-dictatorship movement at the time.

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Ilan was a scholar who sought a sociology of moderate coexistence beyond the logic of ideological confrontation.

The controversy intensified in 1997 when the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) announced that Go-young-bok had been a "long-term spy" for North Korea for 36 years. Although the Supreme Court later acquitted him of espionage and aiding espionage charges, he was convicted of violating the National Security Act related to communication, receiving a two-year prison sentence. The court found that while he had met with a North Korean operative sent by his uncle, a professor at Kim Il-sung University, and failed to report it, these actions did not constitute espionage or aiding espionage.

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Ilan avoided taking sides in either camp, seeing his role as a mediator or intermediary.

Despite the legal acquittal on major charges, the "36-year spy" label has persisted in public perception. Fifteen years after his death, ten of his former students, including Han Sang-jin and Kim Dong-chun, published "The Era of Division and Social Integration: The Scholarship and Life of Sociologist Ilan Go-young-bok." They organized 12 collective discussions over two years to position his academic achievements, which had been sidelined due to the 1997 incident. Han Sang-jin describes Go-young-bok as a scholar who "sought a sociology of moderate coexistence beyond the logic of ideological confrontation," noting his effort to act as a mediator and his desire for a politics of integration that captures common ground.

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Ilan yearned for a politics of integration that captures common ground, seeking the common world behind the opposing camps.

The book also delves into Go-young-bok's engagement with unification issues in the 1980s, where he proposed theories of unification that treated North and South Korea on equal footing, avoiding "unilateral superiority." Kim Young-beom highlights Go-young-bok's approach to unification through socio-cultural dimensions, viewing this as a foundational element rather than merely a layer. The research also clarifies the biography of his uncle, Go Jeong-ok, who was an independence activist and later a prominent folklorist in North Korea. Shim Young-hee's chapter analyzes the "stigma effect" on Go-young-bok, discussing his own words from 2001: "If I report it, not only will my uncle in North Korea be in trouble, but my own situation will become difficult... I would be unable to engage in social activities for life. Rather than live an ordinary life just to survive by reporting, I would hide it and contribute to the country, believing the law would forgive me."

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Ilan proposed unification theories that placed North and South on equal footing, excluding 'unilateral superiority' during the Fifth Republic, which was an act of great courage at the time.