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South Korea SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND VALUES
The social values of contemporary South Korea reflect the
synthesis and development of diverse influences, both indigenous
and foreign. Probably the most important of these is the neoConfucian doctrine of the Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200),
first introduced into Korea during the closing years of the Koryo
Dynasty (918-1392). The rulers of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910)
adopted it as their state ideology. The most important Korean
neo-Confucian philosopher, Yi Hwang, also known as Yi T'oe-gye
(1501-70), had a great influence on later generations of
Confucianists not only in Korea, but also in Japan.
Neo-Confucianism 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 Daoist, or Taoist, and
Buddhist metaphysics. One of the doctrine's basic ideas is that
the institutions and practices of the ideal human community are
an expression of the immutable principles or laws that govern the
movements of the cosmos. Through correct social practice, as
defined by the Confucian sages and their commentators,
individuals can achieve a kind of spiritual unity with heaven.
Neo-Confucianism defines formal social relations on all levels of
society. Social relations are not conceived of in terms of the
happiness or satisfaction of the individuals involved, but in
terms of the harmonious integration of individuals into a
collective whole that mirrors the harmony of the natural order.
Neo-Confucianism in Korea was becoming rigid and increasingly
conservative by the mid-1500s. The practice of neo-Confucianism
emphasized hierarchy in human relations and self-control on the
individual level. Society was defined in terms of the Five
Relationships (o ryun in Korean; wu
lun in Chinese) that had been formulated by classical
Chinese thinkers, such as Mencius, and subsequently sanctified by
the neo-Confucian metaphysicians: "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 a 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, including
the first relationship, which involved not so much mutual love as
the unquestioning subordination of the son to the will of his
father.
Throughout traditional Korean society, from the royal palace
and central government offices in Seoul to the humblest household
in the provinces, the themes of hierarchy and inequality were
pervasive. Persons were expected to nurture "sincere" attitudes,
which meant not so much expressing what one "really" felt as
"reflecting on" or "clarifying" one's thoughts and feelings until
they conformed to traditional norms. There was no concept of the
rights of the individual. The ideal man or woman was one who
controlled his or her passions or emotions in order to fulfill to
the letter a host of exacting social obligations.
In the context of wider society, a well-defined 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" and the "small
man" who seeks only profit. This was a central theme in the
writings of Confucius and Mencius. Confucianism as a political
theory 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.
Just as the father commanded unquestioning obedience in the
household and the scholar-official elite did so in the nation as
a whole, there was also a hierarchy in international relations.
China, the homeland of neo-Confucianism and the most powerful
nation in the region, was the center of Choson Korea's cultural
universe for most of the dynasty's duration.
Foreign observers have been impressed with the diversity of
the Korean character as expressed in day-to-day human relations.
There is, on one hand, the image of Koreans as self-controlled,
deferential, and meticulous in the fulfillment of their social
obligations; on the other hand is the Korean reputation for
volatility and emotionalism, for being the "Irish of the East."
The ecstasy and euphoria of shamanistic religious practices, one
of Korea's most characteristic cultural expressions, contrasts
sharply with the austere self-control of Confucian ancestor
rituals
(see Religion
, this ch.). 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'ondogyo (see Glossary), an
indigenous religion that originated in the nineteenth century and
combines elements of Buddhism, Daoism, shamanism, Confucianism,
and Catholicism, teach that every human "bears divinity" and that
one must "treat man as god."
Western social and political values such as democracy,
individualism, the equality of the sexes (also seen in
Ch'ondogyo), and national self-determination were introduced by
late nineteenth-century Korean reformers and by West European and
North American missionaries, who had a profound effect upon the
development of Korean education and political values. These
concepts have played an increasingly prominent role in South
Korean life in recent decades.
Although by no means democratic, the Confucian tradition
itself contains anti-authoritarian themes. Mencius taught that
the sovereign and his officials must concern themselves with the
welfare of the people and that a king who misuses his power loses
the right to rule--the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. In
Korean as well as Chinese history, there were many Confucian
statesmen who, often at the cost of their own lives, opposed the
misuse of power by those in authority. The tradition of political
protest in South Korea, particularly by university students, owes
as much to this aspect of the Confucian tradition as it does to
democratic and Marxist concepts imported from the West. Just as
Korean historians idealize out-of-power "rustic literati" or
sarim, who were said to pursue purely moral and academic
studies and to disdain government service at various times during
the Choson period, so modern-day university students, claiming to
be the "conscience of the nation," have opposed the bureaucratic
and professional elite in government and private business.
Thus, to depict traditional Korean social values in terms of
an authoritarian Confucian tradition is overly simplistic. A more
comprehensive account of social values might describe them in
terms of interacting dualities, a kind of yin-yang opposition and
synthesis. There is the tension, for example, between selfcontrol and solemnity on the one hand, and almost explosive
volatility on the other, at the level of individual behavior;
between the duty-bound austerity of Confucian family life and
ritualism, and the ecstasy and abandon of shamanistic rites;
between the conservatism of agricultural villages and the looser
social organization of fishing communities; between the orthodox
concept of male supremacy and the reality of much "hidden" female
power; between the "higher" rationalized, humanistic, or
scientific culture imported from China, Japan, or the West, and
much older indigenous or native cultural themes; between
hierarchy and equality; and between slavish deference to
authority and principled resistance.
Data as of June 1990
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