Who Are Koreans?

Preface and Acknowledgements 2
What is it about the Koreans? 5
Introduction 12

CHAPTER ONE
Who Are Koreans? 15
National Identity 16
Culture, Social Behavior, Value and Institutions 16
Self-Centered Microcosm 16
Identical Beings 18
Ecological Influence 20
Topographical and Geographical Factors 20
Communitarian Spirit 22
Nature Worship 24
Urbanization 25
Emotion Outweighs Reason 26
Religious Pluralism 27
Primitive Religions 27
Buddhism 29
Confucianism 31
Roman Catholics and Protestantism 33
Geo-political Characterization 34
The Paradox of Globalization 39

CHAPTER TWO
The Historical Identity of Koreans 45
The Myth of Ethnic Homogeneity 46
The History of an Ethnic Nation 47
Nationalism and Ideology 49
Dynastic Continuity 53
Two Koreas 57
Ideological Confrontation 57
Division of the Country 59
The Birth of Two Regimes 62
The Korean War 63
Forbidding Gaps 67
Outlook for Unification 71
Can Time Heal? 75
Modernization 76
Historiographical Warfare 80
Legitimacy of the State 81
Textbook Debate 82
The Paradox of Neighborhood 84
Distortions of History 85
Territorial Dispute 88
Comfort Women 89
Expansive View of Chinese History 90

CHAPTER THREE
Intellectual Foundation 97
Native Thoughts and Confucianism 98
Spider’s Web: The Five Binary Relationships 101
Ruler and Subjects 101
Husband and Wife 104
Parents-children 107
Elder-Younger siblings 109
Friend-Friend 110
The Moral Characters of an Awakened Man 111
Encounter with Heretic Beliefs 116
Challenges to Neo-Confucianism 119
Across the Border 122
CHAPTER FOUR
Characterization of Koreans 129
The Value Consciousness of Koreans 130
Hierarchical consciousness 130
The Collective Consciousness 132
The Cult of Family and Blood Ties 134
Ancestor Worship and Rites 136
Authoritarianism 139
The Outgrowth of Vertically Arranged Society 139
A New Father-Son Relationship 140
Authoritarianism and Personality Cul 141
Rational Authoritarianism 142
Morality 144
Retrospective of the Past 144
Situational Ethics 145
Criteria for Moral Judgment 146
The Circle of Association 148
Morality vs. Legality 149
Nationalism 152
Ethnic Nationalism 152
Nationalism and Ideology 152
The Radical Turn of Nationalism 154
The Source of Surging Pride 155
Emotional Pendulum 159
Euiri 160
Jeong 162
Han 163
Gut 164
Kibun 164
Dichotomy and Harmony 165
Child Adoption 167
Courtesy and Propriety 170
Collectivism and Factionalism 173
Collective Society 173
To Stay within a Group 176
Group Egotism 177
Factionalism 179
Partisanship in Modern Politics 180
Provincial Favoritism 181
Korean Women in a New Mirror 182
Woman’s Status 182
Sexual Discrimination 183
Breaking New Ground 186
Generation Gap 187
The Status-Conscious Middle Class 188
Kohyang, More Than Hometown 192
Education Mania 196
The Fast-Changing Society 200

CHAPTER FIVE
Youth Culture and Movements 207
The Youth Movement in a Global Perspective 208
Characterization of Korean Youth 210
Ideological Commitment 210
King Maker 213
Democratic Crusaders 214
Anti-Americanism 218
Pragmatism over Ideological 223

CHAPTER SIX
Korean Values in Transition 227
A Mess of Contradictions 228
Particularism and Universalism 231
Affectivity and affectivity neutrality 232
Ascription and achievement 233
Diffuseness and specificity 233
Group egoism and civic-orientation 233
Value Bifurcation and Its Spinoffs 235
Individualism and creativity 236
Ecological Forebodings 238
Natural Continuum 240
Reason and Secularization 241
Low and High Trust Society 243
Family Challenged 245
New Identity in Cultural Diversity 248
Liberal Democracy in a New Mirror 250
Conditions for Liberal Democracy 251
Old Values, Gemstone 253
The Cult of Equality 255
Collectivism vs. Individualism 257
Authoritarianism and Democracy 258
Digital Populism 262
Local-Based Partisanship 265
Human Bonds Broken Loose 267
Behavioral Constraints in Cultural Homogeneity 269
Going Left? 272

The Past, Present and Future 281
Bibliographical References 287