ADRN

The KF Korea Workshop is hosted by the Korea Foundation and organized by the East Asia Institute to promote and share understanding of Korean social, political, and economic issues among international residents in Korea.

The second lecture of the 2019 KF Korea Workshop was held by Professor Joon Han from Yonsei University’s Department of Sociology. His lecture dealt with social changes in Korea since the end of World War II, and their causes and effects on Korean culture and society.

The main part of the lecture analyzed “Korean Cultural Grammar(한국인의 문화적 문법)” where Prof. Han introduced general characteristics of Korean culture as well as their social influences. In particular, he elaborated on the role of family, the strong presence of materialism and sentimental nationalism. Prof. Han also talked about the concept of speed in Korean society as well as the social tendency to place ends above means.

He tied these characteristics to a phenomenon called “Compressed Development.” According to Prof. Han, the dynamics of Korean cultural characteristics are changing disproportionately due to the accelerated growth the nation has achieved since the division of the Korean Peninsula. For instance, traditional values such as the role of family have begun to erode as more individuals prefer live in single-units. Due to the growing emphasis on individualism, the public is also demanding for less hierarchical and more equal practices to be applied both at home and at the workplace. Furthermore, Korea is also witnessing a transition from materialism to post-materialism.