Transcript korean_culture_4

UNDERSTANDING
KOREAN CULTURE
Out of many types of shaman rituals,
gosagoot, a ritual to usher in good
fortunes, is still popular today,
although it is typically practiced
without a shaman.
Table is set with plates of food, rice
wine and pig’s head.
People bow in front of the table and
stuff an envelope of money into the
pig’s mouth.
For a village’s bountiful harvest of green tea
On the drama set of “East of Eden”
On the drama set of Choegangchilwoo
Professional baseball team

 Gosagoot at a conglomerate
At an alternative energy tech company
For safety of drivers
For an accurate diagnosis of the newly
bought machine at a medical clinic
The most striking characteristic of this folk
religion is thus its preoccupation with and
emphasis on the fulfillment of material
wishes, fostering this-worldly and
materialistic tendencies of Koreans.
As such, Shamanism has been the
enduring core of Korean religious and
cultural thought, exercising a profound
influence on the development of Korean
attitudes and behaviors as well as cultural
practices.
The influence of Shamanism has been so
profound that newly introduced religions,
including Buddhism and Christianity, had
to compromise with and absorb elements
of Shamanism in order to be accepted by
the Korean populace.
For example, Buddhism deified Sanshin
(the Mountain God) and Chilsung (the
Spirit of the Seven Stars or the Big
Dipper) of Shamanism and set up shrines
in their honor on temple complexes in
order to win wide support.
Sanshin (Mountain God)
Chilsung
(the Spirit of the Seven Stars or the Big Dipper)
Korean Buddhist monks, moreover,
have been more than ascetic
devotees to world-renouncing
discipline, for many have functioned
as fortunetellers and performed
rituals usually reserved for shamans:
for begetting children, especially
sons, for prosperity and longevity.
That is why the fortunetelling
establishments usually use the
Buddhist symbol on their signboards.
Protestantism has been also
influenced by Shamanism.
Example: Yoido Full Gospel Church,
the world’s largest church with more
than 700,000 members today.
The church’s evangelical slogan that
has attracted large audiences—and
inspired other churches to emulate—
is the threefold blessings of Christ,
i.e., health, prosperity and salvation.
2. Korean Values: Confucianism
Confucianism has long been
accepted and revered by Koreans as
an essential system of ethics or
moral codes.
Korea is said to be the most
Confucianized society in the world,
more so than Japan and China,
where Confucianism originated.
Every Korean can be said to be
Confucian, for he or she acts in a
Confucian manner every step of the
way in social interactions.
Surveys show that Koreans in
general subscribe to Confucian
values such as filial piety and loyalty
and observe the basic Confucian
rituals such as burial rites and
ancestor worship.
In terms of “conviction” and
“practice,” therefore, practically
every Korean, including Buddhists
and Christians, is said to be
Confucian.
The Confucian moral order comprises
Samgangoryun (Three Cardinal Principles
and Five Ethical Norms).
Three Cardinal Principles:
1. goonwisingang (군위신강) or the
relationship between king and subject, with
the emphasis on loyalty of the subject to
the ruler (choong);
2. buwijagang (부위자강) or the relationship
between father and son, with the emphasis
on filial piety to parents (hyo); and
3. buwibugang (부위부강) or the relationship
between husband and wife, with the
emphasis on the latter’s chastity, obedience,
and faithfulness to husband as well as her
filial piety to parents (yeol).
Five Ethical Norms (Oryun) dealt with
responsibilities and obligations
governing the relations between
individuals:
1. 의 (ui)—the principle of righteousness
and justice between the ruler and his
subjects;
2. 친 (chin)—cordiality or closeness
between parents and sons;
3. 별 (byeol)—distinction between
husbands and wives, i.e., wives’ inferior
status;
4. 서 (suh)—order or seniority between
elders and juniors; and
5. 신 (shin)—trust between friends
Regardless of social status, all
people were expected to behave
according to these prescribed
principles.
Those who did not subscribe to these
values were regarded as uncivilized
persons without principles and selfcultivation.
Confucian Values
1. Filial piety:
- Filial piety stipulates the immense
debt of children to their parents and
by extension, of individuals to their
ancestors.
- It demands strict obedience,
unwavering respect for authority, and
emotional, financial and ritual care of
parents and ancestors by the
offspring.
Filial piety is performed at three leve
ls:
1) take care of the parents while
they are alive;
2) hold an elaborate funeral when
they die; and
3) conduct ancestral rituals on death
anniversaries and on Korean
Thanksgiving and Lunar New Year’s
Day.
* There is no real escape from the
culture of filial piety in Korea.
2. Ancestor Worship
- These sentiments of filial piety and
family loyalty are reinforced through
ancestor worship, the culturally most
significant feature of Korean customs.
- Ancestor worship is generally viewed
as a ritualization of the moral
importance of filial piety, and the
ritual itself is seen as a faithful
demonstration of filial piety.
Ancestor worship is based on the
principle of the immortality of the
dead ancestor; ancestors or their
spirits live on as their sons
commemorate them through the
dutiful and regular performance of
ancestral rites.
The offspring perform ancestral rites
not only on death anniversaries but
also on such culturally significant
holidays as the Lunar New Year’s Day)
and Korean Thanksgiving.
3. Emphasis on education
4. Collectivism
5. Emphasis on social harmony and
conformity
6. Emphasis on loyalty
7. Deference to the elderly
8. Emphasis on hierarchy
9. Other Korean values may include
ethnic homogeneity, son preference,
and respect for authority