Korean Confucianism - 10. Koreans and Confucianism in the West: Some International Reflections

Understanding Korea Series No.3
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9. Ancestral Rites and Family Moral Spirituality: A Living Tradition in Today’s Korea	10. Koreans and Confucianism in the West: Some International Reflections	11. The Relevance and Future of Korean Confucianism in the Modern World

This chapter briefly discusses the interplay between traditional values and cultural integration among overseas Koreans. We are interested in this topic partly because as we have explored in the preceding chapters, Confucian values remain a living tradition in today’s Korea. There are some interesting things about Korean communities in North America. I reflect on my teaching and experience of Confucianism, as well as on my knowledge of Koreans in Canada. We discuss the way in which Confucian values influence Korean Canadians in relation to Western ideas and lifestyles. Our crosscultural understanding of this topic is also important for the ongoing debate on multiculturalism and public policy in Canada and beyond.

1. Koreans in Canada: Some Preliminary Notes

Over the past several decades in Canada, there have been increasing numbers of immigrants from South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. Korean immigrants have been coming to Canada steadily since the late 1960s. The rate of immigration from South Korea accelerated rapidly in the mid-1970s and 1980s when many changes were made for family-sponsored immigrants in Canadian immigration law. Over the past ten years, there has also been a higher number of business immigrants and their families. Koreans in Canada live mainly in larger cities such as Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver. Smaller concentrations of Koreans are found in Ottawa, London (Ontario), Hamilton, Calgary, Montreal, etc. Like other East Asian immigrants, Koreans are positively received in Canada, which has helped them adjust to Canadian life through a set of various channels and activities, including education, business, and religious activities.

It is worthwhile to note that the life experience of first-generation Koreans has managed to maintain Korean identity by transmitting it to their children at home and by establishing their language schools and community associations. They generally remain proud of their family and cultural traditions. These Korean-Canadians are now becoming older (ranging from mid-60s to 80s) as a senior group within the Korean community. The experience of the so-called il-jjŏm-ose (one-and-a-half) Korean generation in Canada (intermediate group of immigrants between the first and second generations) is broader and more Canadian. Most of these people (including myself) were educated both in Korea and in Canada, so they are bicultural and bilingual, Korean and English. At home and in their cultural and business communities, they understand the values of their elders and are also able to assimilate them with Canadian society and standards.

The experience of yise or second-generation Koreans is more complex and also less researched than those of their older generations. These Canadian-born, younger Koreans (including my son and daughter) understand some basic Korean values, but they are much more accustomed to Canadian society and lifestyles. Some people even say that they are “not 100% Canadian.” Some of them seem to struggle with generational gaps and crosscultural issues with their parents and other Koreans.

Accordingly, the whole topic is a challenging one because the Korean-Canadian community is by no means a homogeneous group due to certain generational, cultural and ideological factors.

2. Korean Identity and Confucian Values

Koreans generally share Confucian family values, although ordinary people do not necessarily pay specific attention to ancient sages, famous Neo-Confucian scholars, or their schools of thought. As I discussed in the preceding chapters, various aspects of this reality have been reported recently in public surveys and scholarly works. In general it might be awkward for a Korean or Korean-Canadian to call himself or herself religiously Confucian in terms of identity or group membership, insofar as East Asians generally do not acknowledge the religious identity of Confucianism as explicitly or clearly as those of Christianity, Buddhism, and other organized religions. Koreans in North America, like those in South Korea, normally do not see Confucianism as a religion. This is because Confucianism, unlike Christianity or Buddhism, is not a membership religion with an organized set of religious doctrines, beliefs, or worship; in fact, it did not need to establish a religious system of priesthood, membership, and congregational service.

Nonetheless, Confucianism exists in Canada as a diffused tradition ethically and culturally. Like their fellow Koreans in the homeland, Koreans in Canada tend to maintain family values and relationships to varying degrees, depending on generational, social, and gender-related factors. In this regard, a relevant issue is how to interpret the international heritage of Confucian values vis-à-vis Canadian lifestyles as well.

One key aspect of Korean identity raises the question of family because family values remain the backbone of modern Korean identity. As I have pointed out in the preceding chapters, the moral foundation of Confucianism remains family and social relations. Among overseas Koreans, moral education for children is usually maintained at home. It is also incorporated into the Korean heritage language schools, Sunday Bible classes, or special summer programs. I also find that the educational-ethical part of the language spoken by Korean immigrant families is reminiscent of modern Confucian values: i.e., higher learning, self-discipline, and work ethic are ideal for successful career and economic success.

Many Koreans in Canada or America have become Christians, and there is a noticeable number of Buddhists as well. However, it is important to note that many of them assimilate traditional Korean values and daily manners. Core family values and human relationships are essentially Confucian in nature; in particular, parental benevolence (in) and filial piety (hyo) are emphasized for family happiness. Although this trend may be visible to a lesser degree in the West, we can still see it at Korean (or other East Asian) homes and retail shops or by making a quick visit to a Korean church there. International Korean communities have maintained their Korean identity and values, which helped them to hold together their family and cultural heritage.

Nevertheless, generational conflict and its ideological issues exist here and there, indicating the younger generations’ opinions on occupation, marriage, lifestyle, etc. Korean-Canadian teenagers, college students, and young career men and women (including my two children) express much more individual freedom, personal choices, liberty, and privacy in the Western context. They are not really different from average Canadians of North American or European background. On the whole, there is more assimilation than conflict between Korean values and Canadian standards, to varying degrees of personal understanding and bicultural harmony.

3. International Integration of Confucian Values

Koreans in Canada, as well as those in America, see proper human relationships as a desirable part of maintaining their cultural heritage. This trend of cultural integration includes some daily patterns of traditional manners, insofar as it is assimilated with Canadian lifestyles and customs. Modern Confucian values continue to be an essential part of the Korean heritage, influencing international Koreans, whether consciously or unconsciously. From a similar angle, Robert Ellwood of University Southern California correctly pointed out in his study of East Asian religions in America:

East Asian American families are also frequently noted for the same emphasis on education, family cohesiveness and cooperation, and traditional values sometimes to the point of tension with their younger, more ‘individualized’ members over issues such as marriage or going into the family business... (Ellwood 2000:158)

As we discussed in Chapter 6, Confucian values in East Asia, often under other names, contributed to education and economic development. From a similar angle, we can talk about Confucian influence on Koreans in North America as well. For example, regarding Korean Canadian communities, the modern quality of attitudes toward family, education, and business is well-known, although there is obviously a workable balance between Korean values and Canadian standards. There is also a lot of attention to children’s higher education, work ethic, and their immense implications for professional career and economic success. Other ideals such as personal cultivation are also emphasized, thereby reflecting on some indication of Confucian values.

An average Korean in North America, whether a first-generation or even 1.5-generation person, likely assumes a particular identity in the context of integrating Western lifestyle with some Korean values. Certain kinds of cultural issues exist due to the younger generations’ strong Western opinions on their lifestyles, occupation, social life, marriage, etc. On the whole, we can discover one or another level of Korean influence on their daily values. It is therefore possible to talk about Korean-Western integration in relation to modern Confucian adaptability.

Traditionally, the Confucian teaching on ye (ritual propriety) and filial piety (hyo) was highly significant. As I discussed in Chapter 9, this is partly why many families in South Korea continue observing the national tradition of ancestral rites at home or grave sites. Likewise, some Korean immigrant families continue practicing it. I should also note that among these Korean families in the West, the tradition of ancestral rites has undergone a good deal of modification according to Western religion and society. For example, most Korean Protestant families in North America, like those in South Korea, replaced the ancestral rites with Christian memorial service.

Furthermore, it is not surprising that those families who observe the modified ancestral rites at home usually see no serious conflict between Christian life and Confucian teaching. This is partly because Confucianism is not an organized religion like Christianity in terms of religious identity, membership, ordained clergy, or institutional authority; so the two traditions of values could mutually co-exist. For instance, 92% of Korean Christians in the New York area who participated in a survey have claimed that they have experienced no real conflict between the two traditions (Mullinax 1994). As I discussed in Chapters 1 and 9 and elsewhere (Chung 2010a, 1995b), Confucianism as an ethical humanism or lay spirituality offers a set of values and a spiritual teaching of wisdom that can co-exist and interact with other spiritual traditions.

4. Conclusion

The international phenomenon of religious-cultural assimilation may contribute to our understanding Korean Confucianism from a broader global perspective. Confucianism exists among Korean immigrant families and communities in the West. Therefore, Neville’s notion of “portable Confucianism” is relevant here in terms of its contemporary crosscultural adaptability.

Contemporary Confucianism–or whatever we call it–is open to other spiritual traditions. In large North American cities, for example, we may find a new group of Confucians of Western or Christian backgrounds, including some scholars and students who respect or practice some of Confucian moral principles and human relationships. So we may start talking about some new labels such as “global Confucianism,” “Canadian Confucianism,” “American Confucianism,” etc. To add a bit of philosophy here, I note that the Confucian Way basically promotes learning and personal cultivation. Its ultimate teaching of sagehood requires a virtuous life, insofar as its role model for wisdom addresses global peace, harmony and prosperity. This may enable us to reflect further on Confucian influence on Koreans in the West regarding education, work ethic, family relations, multicultural engagement, and so on.

In the final analysis, the question is: What can we learn from this? Some scholars might see my interpretation as extending far beyond the earlier tradition of classical learning, elite Confucianism, or bureaucratic Confucianism. But we do not find international Confucianism so surprising because the Confucian Way is intended to be a continuous “human project,” one that ideally transcends language, intellectual, cultural, or religious differences. It has helped Koreans in Canada to preserve family cohesiveness and cultural heritage and also to manage bicultural social assimilation, thereby linking the East and the West.

The international paradigm of Confucian values and cultural integration is certainly a relevant topic for more scholarly research by other specialists. The intended meaning of multiculturalism and diversity is to encourage participation and assimilation rather than isolation and segregation. The Korean case of cultural integration in the West is interesting.

Footnote

Understanding Korea Series No.3 Korean Confucianism

Foreword · Acknowledgments I · Acknowledgments II · Note on the Citation and Transliteration Style 1. Confucianism: Great Teachers and Teachings 2. Korean Confucianism: A Short History 3. Eminent Korean Thinkers and Scholars 4. Self-Cultivation: The Way of Learning to be Human 5. The Ethics of Human Relationships: Confucian Influence on Korean Family, Society, and Language 6. Education, Confucian Values, and Economic Development in Twentieth-Century Korea 7. Confucianism and Globalization: National Identity and Cultural Assimilation 8. Modern Korean Women and Confucian Values: Change and Assimilation 9. Ancestral Rites and Family Moral Spirituality: A Living Tradition in Today’s Korea 10. Koreans and Confucianism in the West: Some International Reflections 11. The Relevance and Future of Korean Confucianism in the Modern World Selected Bibliography · About the Author