This study aims to explore and describe the emergence and differentiation of the civic movement in Daejeon area since the Democratic Movement in 1987. Based on the agenda, strategy, and characteristics of the subjects, the movement is divided into three distinct periods: the formation period, the growth and differentiation period, and the transition period. The political opportunity structure is selected as a structural element to explain the differentiation of the movement and the diversification of the subjects. This study analyzed the distinction in the features of the civic movement and the movement subjects by period, how they were related to the political opportunity structure, and derived its implications of the movement.
The civic movements in Daejeon sought to consolidate the democratic system through the strategies of 'politics of inclusion' and 'politics of reform' into the system, while also trying to solidify grassroots democracy from below through the creation and institutionalization of alternative community models.
Since 1991, when the local autonomy system was revived, the civic movements promoted the expansion of political opportunity structures, such as attempting to power grassroots politics, forming recipients of the movement within the system, and institutionalizing an intermediate support function to improve grassroots autonomy. With the progress of the local autonomy system and the democratization of the national system, the participation of civic movements expanded, and the movements were institutionalized to a level that partially shared the functions of the system. Paradoxically, the institutionalization of the movement led to the marginalization and colonization of the movement. The movement started to defend against the colonization of the system by money and power following the institutionalization of various support for grassroots. The foundation of grassroots autonomy was strengthened by creating and spreading alternative economic models such as community organizations and 'pumasi' that autonomously solve the needs of individuals and communities. The change in the village was an opportunity to place the grassroots movement at the center of the local movement as the 4-year cycle of local political system focused attention on the village and residents' autonomy. The activists working in the village emerged as a new main force of the local movement, and the village emerged as a reproduction base of the social movement.
Since 1987, the civic movement in Daejeon has changed as follows. For the past 30 years, the civic movement in Daejeon has undergone a compressed growth and differentiation. And the character of the civic movement was changed from the system reform movement to the life world democratization movement, and the identity of the activists was changed from the radical system transformation to the practical radicality of ecology, egalitarianism and grassroots democracy. In addition, the network of social movements has changed from a network of strong ties to a network of weak ties. The organizational differentiation of civic movements and the weakening of human linkages promoted relaxation and decentralization of local movements solidarity, and reduced the role of institutionalized movements, leading to movement crisis theory. On the other hand, new activists that focus on the lives of grassroots citizens are creating and disseminating grassroots alternatives that are ecological, egalitarian, and effectively working with citizenship power, promoting democratization and new local movement solidarity within civil society. A creation of new alternative movement to overcome these complex challenges and restructuring of loose and fragmented local movement solidarity are the tasks facing civic movement at the transition period.