Magna Carta of 1215, often called the first human rights document, was itself drawn up by nobles to defend themselves against the king's unjust power. Its point was that anyone exercising power, king or state, must follow at least minimal procedures and must not act arbitrarily. Human rights therefore began as 'minimal rights,' the hope that the state would not violate individuals' rights. That is why, even today, the phrase 'minimal rights' comes to mind as soon as we hear the words human rights. This attitude sets a kind of bottom line, saying at least these rights must be guaranteed, but at the same time it limits the scope of human rights. After the Second World War, reflecting on humanity's horrific self-destruction, people began to think of human rights not as 'something minimal' but as something to be guaranteed as fully as possible. This was also when a positive role for the state, such as the welfare state, came to be stressed. People thought that to avoid repeating world war and crimes against humanity, the concept of human rights had to be redefined more richly. Human rights should be viewed not only from a minimalist perspective but from a maximalist one.

For those of us used to seeing human rights as minimal rights, the maximalist view of 'something maximal' is admittedly unfamiliar. The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 was the citizens' uprising that made the Sixth Republic possible. Following the March First Movement and the April Revolution, it was a momentous historical event that laid the foundation for Korea's constitutional values and ideals. The public's desire for democratization during the June Struggle was intense, and it was gathered into a single slogan: 'Win direct presidential elections!' As a result, direct presidential elections were restored, and Korea set out on the long road to democratization. Yet direct presidential elections were an important issue and one necessary condition of democratization; they did not in themselves mean democratization. The demands of the citizens who took part in the June Struggle were the same.

'Democratization' was a broader concept that included direct presidential elections but meant much more. It referred not just to how the president is chosen but to all the institutional and attitudinal changes needed to make our society more democratic. No one chanted slogans for full local self-government during the June Struggle, yet democratization included it. It also included hopes for peace and unification and a safer society, and above all the creation of a world worth living in, where poor people are not humiliated merely for lacking economic means and everyone can live with human dignity and worth. In short, democratization was understood from a 'maximalist' perspective. Today people speak of 'democracy after democratization' and stress tasks beyond particular institutions, but even during the June Struggle democratization meant as many things as there were people longing for it. The same view is needed to understand human rights. Human rights should not stop at freedom from unjust intervention, interference or violation by state power; rather than a passive, negative, minimalist view, they should be seen actively and positively, from a maximalist perspective.

Korea's Constitution already stated, in an express provision of the 1963 Third Republic Constitution, the principle of guaranteeing human rights to the fullest (a little awkward, since Park Chung-hee's military rule was just beginning).

The new view that human rights should be interpreted more actively spread around the world after the Second World War. As a result, the understanding of human rights itself changed greatly, and many social issues began to be reinterpreted in the name of human rights. In the past, human rights were attacked by progressives as meaning only a very narrow kind of freedom, but as the concept expanded, they were able to move beyond that limited image. Human rights began to extend into every area of people's lives.

To add: the clause on 'dignity and worth as human beings' was first added in the Fifth Amendment of 1962, and the 'right to pursue happiness' was added in the Eighth Amendment of 1980; both carried over into Article 10 of the 1987 Constitution. The whole provision the paper quotes was not in the 1963 Constitution as such. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, by 48 votes to 0 with 8 abstentions. Swiss women won the federal vote in a February 1971 referendum, and French women won the vote in 1944.