Conservatism as a political philosophy in South and North Korea

Conservatism still has a huge influence on the political life of two Korean countries. Nevertheless, in our opinion, conservatism in these countries differs substantially; primarily it is connected with the political events on the Korean Peninsula in the mid-twentieth century and the great "outside" impact on formation of the ROK and the DPRK. So, the article substantiates the relevance of studying conservatism as a political philosophy in South and North Korea. We consider correlation of traditionalism and conservatism in Korea, special attention is paid to general and particular in conservatism of North and South Korea. The novelty lies in identifying of common and different features of North Korean and South Korean conservatism, in clarifying the characteristics of Korean traditionalism. So, we have come to the conclusion that Korean traditionalism, being a foundation of modern Korean conservatism, unites South and North Korean conservatism. However, since two Koreas have been formed, we can speak about two types of Korean conservatism - South Korean and North Korean. North Korean conservatism has metaphysical basis. For early conservatism are characteristic clearly pantheistic traits. North Korean conservatism divides all transformations into 2 types: destructing and giving a certain probability of improvement. Meanwhile, South Korean conservatism admits transformations, which contribute to outright improvement. We reveal the main trends of North Korean and South Korean types of conservatism.