한국 헌법의 비서구적 발전과 자기정체성 형성의 동학: 서구와 한국 헌법담론의 비교분석을 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to compare the social science discourse on theConstitution of Korea which began its modern history as a peripheral countrywith that of Europe of the West, so as to criticize the strong inclination ofKorea, a non-western country, toward the West; and elucidate the dynamics thatprompts the Constitution of Korea, to go beyond the importation stage and formits own identity of the Constitution. For this purpose, this study focused on thefounding Constitution of the 1948, the Constitution of 1987 and the constitutionalsignificance of the candlelight vigil of 2008. This study pays particular attentionto analyzing the structure of political representation and symbolism of the 1987Constitution within the context of the candlelight vigil of 2008, so as to explainthe process in which the Korean Constitution was transformed from a cursoryinstitution that defines the political ruling order into a mechanism that constitutesthe political identity and life of the people. The Constitution of Korea began toacquire the new symbolic significance, set apart from the previous constitutionalorder, in the development of the 1987 constitutional system, where the Constitutionof Korea has taken root, although grounded in the Western universalism, as theconstitutional order with its own unique identity.