restoring lost authority is no simple matter. the main problem is that, in the process of dismantling authoritarianism, the authority that governs the notions of respect, trust, and the following of rules has also collapsed. post-authoritarianism, in its mission to break from the wrongs of the past, has harmed the essential element for social order-rational authority-in the process. as a result, while korean society was able to reject the old authority and authoritarianism, it failed to create a new authority to replace it. in other words, the authority structure based upon personalities is gone, but there is not authority structure based upon institutions and systems to replace it. korean culture is thus caught in a post-authority trap.