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North Korea SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND VALUES
Confucian and Neo-Confucian Values
Neo-Confucianism, the dominant value system of the Chosn
Dynasty (1392-1910), combines the social ethics of the classical
Chinese philosophers Confucius (Kong Zi, 551-479 B.C.) and
Mencius (Meng Zi, 372-289 B.C.) with Buddhist and Daoist
metaphysics. One of neo-Confucianism's basic ideas is that the
institutions and practices of a properly ordered human community
express the immutable principles or laws that govern the cosmos.
Through correct social practice, as defined by Confucian sages
and their commentators, individuals can achieve self-cultivation
and a kind of spiritual unity with heaven (although this was
rarely described in mystic or ecstatic terms). Neo-Confucianism
defines formal social relations on all levels of society. Social
relations are not conceived in terms of the happiness or
satisfaction of the individuals involved, but in terms of the
harmonious integration of individuals into a collective whole,
which, like the properly cultivated individual, mirrors the
harmony of the natural order.
During the Chosn Dynasty, Korean kings made the neoConfucian doctrine of the Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200)
their state ideology. Although it was a foreign philosophy,
Korean neo-Confucian scholars, of whom the most important was Yi
Hwang, also known as Yi T'oe-gye (1501-70), played a role in
adapting Zhu Xi's teachings to Korean conditions. This was done
without denying the cultural superiority of China as the homeland
of civilized thought and forms of life.
Neo-Confucianism in Korea became quite rigid and conservative
by the mid-sixteenth century. In practice, the doctrine
emphasized hierarchy in human relations and self-control for the
individual. The Five Relationships (o ryun in Korean;
wu lun in Chinese), formulated by classical Chinese
thinkers such as Mencius and subsequently sanctified by Zhu Xi
and other neo-Confucianist metaphysicians, governed proper human
relations: that "between father and son there should be
affection; between ruler and minister there should be
righteousness; between husband and wife there should be attention
to their separate functions; between old and young there should
be proper order; and between friends there should be
faithfulness." Only the last was a relationship between equals;
the others were based on authority and subordination.
Throughout traditional Korean society, from the royal palace
and central government offices in the capital to the humblest
household in the countryside, the themes of hierarchy and
inequality were pervasive. There was no concept of the rights of
the individual. In the context of the wider society, a welldefined elite of scholar-officials versed in neo-Confucian
orthodoxy was legitimized in terms of the traditional ethical
distinction between the educated "superior man" or "gentleman,"
who seeks righteousness, and the "small man," who seeks only
profit. This theme was central in the writings of both Confucius
and Mencius. Confucianism and neo-Confucianism as political
philosophies proposed a benevolent paternalism: the masses had no
role in government, but the scholar-officials were supposed to
look after them as fathers look after their children. In the
Chosn Dynasty, status and power inequalities, defined precisely
within a vertical hierarchy, were generally considered both
natural and good. The hierarchy extended from the household
relationships of fathers and children through the intermediary
relationships of ruler and ruled within the kingdom, to Korea's
subordinate status as a tributary of China.
There is a danger, however, in overstressing the idea of
Korea as a homogeneously Confucian society, even during the
Chosn Dynasty. Foreign observers have been impressed with the
diversity of the Korean character as expressed in day-to-day
human relations. There is, on the one hand, the image of Koreans
as self-controlled, deferential, and meticulous in the
fulfillment of their social obligations; on the other hand, there
is the Korean reputation for volatility and emotionalism. The
ecstasy and euphoria of shamanistic religious practices, one of
Korea's most characteristic cultural expressions, contrast
sharply with the austere self-control idealized by Confucianists.
Although relatively minor themes in the history of Korean ethics
and social thought, the concepts of equality and respect for
individuals are not entirely lacking. The doctrines of
Ch'ndogyo (see Glossary),
an indigenous religion that arose in the
nineteenth century and combined elements of Buddhism, Daoism,
shamanism, Confucianism, and Catholicism, taught that every human
being "bears divinity" and that one must "treat man as god."
Data as of June 1993
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