Korean Confucianism - 5. The Ethics of Human Relationships: Confucian Influence on Korean Family, Society, and Language

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Understanding Korea Series No.3
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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


After visiting South Korea many times since the mid-1980s, I have come to the realization that Confucian culture exists at many integrated levels of South Korean society. As we have explored in Chapters 2 and 3, particularly in the Chosŏn dynasty (1393-1910) Confucianism affected Korean thought, ethics, social structure, political system, and ways of life. Current scholarship articulates its historical and socio-political patterns in Chosŏn Korea,[1] as well as its philosophical and religious traditions.[2] By the early eighteenth century, almost all sectors of Korea accepted Confucianism, as the whole society had transformed into “a Confucian normative society.”[3] This chapter discusses the way in which Confucian values influence today’s Koreans. Our main goal is to understand why South Korea is fundamentally a Confucian-influenced society, at least in terms of its moral system and cultural identity.


1. Human Relationships

Central to Confucian ethics is a profound belief in the so-called Five Relationships (oryun): parent-child, husband-wife, sibling-sibling, friend-friend, and ruler-subject relationships.[4] According to Confucianism, socio-political order must begin in the family. As we have seen in the preceding chapter, these mutual relationships require self-cultivation as the universal basis for maintaining an orderly and harmonious society. It is to be regulated by the two principles of reciprocity and role specialization that are expressed in terms of moral virtues such as benevolence, propriety, righteousness, and so on.

The Confucian literature emphasizes the Five Human Relationships as the proper human way of life and culture, one that is taught by the sages according to the “mandate of Heaven.” These relationships are not simply biological and/or social, but also are founded on moral and philosophical principles. In a sense, Confucian ethics requires the continuous harmony of the moral, social, and political orders.

In Korea the human relationships were respected as part of the daily value system. Those who occupy the “prior” social positions were rulers, parents, husbands, older siblings and friends, and senior colleagues; those who hold the “posterior” positions were subjects, children, wives, younger siblings and friends, and junior colleagues. Most Koreans believed that the former must show benevolence and protection in a virtuous manner, while the latter should demonstrate respect and collaboration in a trustworthy way.

There seem to be two basic trends of maintaining this value system: one toward hierarchy and order, and the other toward complementarity and harmony. Julia Ching, a leading scholar in Confucianism and comparative thought, said that Confucian ethics “served to strengthen a basic belief in human equality” (Küng and Ching 1989:89). Hierarchical distinctions basically meant role specialization, leadership, or age, rather than dominance and submission in any intellectual and ethical terms. In today’s Korea, proper human relationships cultivated within the Confucian-influenced family are therefore said to be essential for moral order and social harmony.

These Confucian values have been adjusting to the economic and institutional changes that have been introduced rapidly since the late 1980s. Koreans tend to think and behave as members of groups more than as individuals with absolute self-autonomy. From a Korean perspective, North America emphasizes too strongly individual freedom, individual choice, individual right, and so on. At Korean home, school, or work place, any extreme expression of these ideas may be discouraged by the strength of cumulative values. In practical reality, an ordinary Korean person usually assumes a particular normative identity in the context of integrated settings.[5]

These patterns do not mean that there is neither change nor conflict. One growing trend, especially among young men and women, is the stronger recognition of the self. However, regardless of religious affiliation, generation, occupation, and other related factors, most Koreans see reciprocity in human relationships as an indispensable daily value. With awareness of new social problems (including the decline of morality), Korean society has been reassessing the importance of traditional values. In Chapter 7 we will discuss this topic further in relation to globalization.

2. Korean Identity and Public Moral Discourses

Confucian ethics emphasizes moral and social values in terms of mutual reciprocity and responsibility. It calls for a unique sense of identity in the holistic network of the proper roles of the self, family, society, and government. In South Korea, it is essentially the value system that still serves as the common, national discourse of Korean identity. In other words, interpersonal relationships and values are expressed in Confucian-related terms. For elementary, middle and high school students, textbooks on ethics or society also involve basic Confucian norms. The ethical education of children remains a family and societal responsibility.

In particular, filial piety (hyo or hyodo) is one of the most important values for Koreans regardless of their religious identities. It is the reverential virtue of children toward parents. What does this mean to North Americans? Children are expected to respect parents; reverence, loyalty, and compliance to parents are the trinity of filial piety. The significance of family morality and spirituality is clear from the Korean notion of ancestors as well.[6] Family continuity, solidarity, and harmony are emphasized. For this reason, the regular observance of ancestral (memorial) rites (ch’arye or chesa) at home or grave sites exemplifies Confucianism as a living tradition in South Korea.[7] Chapter 9 will discuss this topic in detail.

Undoubtedly, the family model influences other collective norms in schools, local communities, work places, and the entire nation. The extension of filial piety entails moral obligation to treat elders and superiors with proper manners (yeŭi) and reverence and respect (chon’gyŏng). Loyalty (chung) remains vital in the spirit of patriotism and national identity. The practice of self-reflection is an important part of personal cultivation. Parents and teachers emphasize other Confucian-influenced values such as sincerity and seriousness for bringing about personal success and social prosperity.

Furthermore, the virtuous realm of human life is expressed in terms of what Koreans call inchŏng (human feelings), insim (human mind-heart), and ŭri (mutual trust; principle of righteousness), all of which are based on Confucian principles. The inchŏng is a moving feeling of sympathy or commiseration considered as the fundamental basis of all human relations; the insim refers to humaneness or mutual understanding; and the ŭri emphasizes mutual obligation to behave in a proper way toward another person or between members of any social group. Koreans may basically share these values as the essential part of daily moral culture, group identity, and interpersonal relationships, even though they do not necessarily identity themselves as Confucians religiously or do not make specific references to ancient Confucian sages, Neo-Confucian thinkers like Yi T’oegye, or their doctrines.

3. Influence on Korean Language and Society

As mentioned in the preceding section, the Korean language of morality and manners is often informed by the Confucian teachings. The Korean pattern of speech, gesture, and etiquette reflects Confucian-related values with the manifold levels of expressing propriety and politeness. For example, a fundamental characteristic of the Korean language is kyongŏ (or chondaetmal; honorific language); it signifies one’s strong sensitivity to age difference, social status, occupation, degree of intimacy, and nature of previous interaction between the speaker, the listener, and any third-party referent. Each speaker needs to make a choice before uttering a proper pronoun, noun, verb, and verb ending; he or she usually bases the level of speech on combination of these factors. Because of the complexity of the chondaetmal, it is quite difficult for Westerners to master spoken Korean. As I explained elsewhere, this linguistic and social complexity is closely linked to Confucian-oriented group norms in South Korea.[8]

Koreans often maintained this tendency of preferring family-related words and collective terms over self-centered, individualistic terms (signifying exclusive personal relationships) used in North America. Even if we call this tendency a subordination of the individual to the group, it does not arise from a lack of basic human freedom and rights. To put it in another way, both Korean men and women consider themselves socially accepted and psychologically secure in a network of groups such as family, school, work place, and so on.

The public often emphasizes self-cultivation as the basis of maintaining the nation’s socio-political order. Democratic government and economic growth may not be accomplished successfully without maintaining this. These public discourses remind us of the moral-social tradition of Confucianism, which can be effective in a country like Korea where the Confucian value system remains a common, national discourse. In fact, the public understanding of two modern Korean words, kyŏngje (economy) and chŏngch’i (politics), is closely connected to that language. The latter originates from two Confucian words: “to rectify the national affairs” and “to rule the country.” The kyŏngje can be traced back to three other Confucian ideas: “to govern the nation,” “to save the people,” and “to regulate the family.” These traditional ideas served as the core of the Neo-Confucian statecraft tradition in Chosŏn Korea.

4. Confucian Influence on Political Culture

The inseparability of morality and politics was emphasized in the entire Confucian tradition of East Asia. We need to understand it on its own terms relevant to South Korea. Commenting on Confucianism in modern East Asia, Tu Weiming correctly pointed out that: “The vital energy inherent in human relationships offers a way to transform society and to establish a particular political structure. For that reason, a dominant theme in Confucian political ideology is ethics, not power....Throughout East Asia, the state is seen as a mechanism for exerting social control and establishing and maintaining moral order” (Tu et al. 1992:10-11).

The Confucian idea of political order and social stability is important in Korea; the central government is still considered to order society, control the educational system, and so on. Of course, the close link between Confucian values, human relationships, social norms, and cultural identity occupies a major position in Korean attitudes toward politics and good government.

In South Korea democracy is already elevated to the status of an official ideology in many public institutions and organizations. Most people (including intellectuals) talk about not just democratic ideas and institutions, but also the social and ethical-political obligation of the state in the traditional context of maintaining a benevolent and righteous government. We may argue that Confucian values and democratic ideas are integrated at the collective level. From a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective, this is a fascinating phenomenon with certain implications for Western societies such as the United States, where democratic systems and processes do not necessarily involve moral values and norms. Mature Korean people maintain a nationwide tendency of considering morality, society, politics, and economy as inseparable. Is this tendency not in continuity with Confucian values, suggesting another sign of the living influence of Confucianism in contemporary Korean society?


5. Conclusion

On the whole, the Confucian value system remains the backbone of Korean society, and the family is the vital core of Confucian ethics. An average person has a collective sense of Korean identity; ideally he or she is expected to think and act according to social norms and interests. Even with the massive economic, social, and political changes since the 1980s, this pattern continues to be important, although it is definitely becoming weaker and has gone through a process of transformation and assimilation. Chapters 7 and 8 will address this topic in detail.

The Confucian system can serve as a common discourse of Korean identity, and one’s religious faith is usually not hampered by it. For example, a good Korean Buddhist or Christian would not worry about his/her own religious identity when he/she participates in interpersonal values and manners.[9] As far as the daily value system of family and society is concerned, most Koreans are naturally connected to the network of Confucian cultural heritage.[10]

To be “Korean” is identified not just biologically and regionally but also in terms of culture including language, family, ethos, and customs. It means much more than to be born of Korean parents and to learn Korean. It basically locates one within of the Korean social and cultural system. An average Korean person is concerned with what it means to be an individual within a family, group, and society. In other words, there is this public awareness of maintaining these social norms in South Korea, a nation influenced by Confucian values.

Footnote

  1. The relevant literature on this subject includes the following: Deuchler 1992; Kim Haboush 1988, 1991, 2002; Yi Songmu 1985; Palais 1975; Duncan 2002; and Chung 1992a.
  2. A major question has been: Is Confucianism a religion, a philosophy, or both simultaneously? Our current scholarship therefore offers various works on the study of Confucianism as philosophy and/or religion; e.g., de Bary, Chan, Ching, Tu, Talyor, Neville, etc. For the Korean case, see Kalton, Ro and Chung in Selected Bibliography. It is also necessary to study the modern transformation of Confucianism as well; for more comments and supplementary readings on this, see note 1 (the first note in Chapter 1).
  3. See Kim Haboush 1991:91-103.
  4. “Affection between father and son; righteousness between rulers and subjects; separate functions between husband and wife; an proper order between old and young; and faithfulness between friends” (Mencius 3A:4). Lau’s translation 1970:127.
  5. For a further reading on this topic, see Chung 1995b. Regarding Korean Confucianism, marriage, and gender relationships, see Chung 1994a.
  6. The casual notion of ancestors in North America is quite different from the somewhat moral-religious notion of ancestors in Korea (and other East Asian countries influenced by Confucian values). As we know, most North Americans view ancestors as the dead people of the past from whom a living individual is descended. Ancestry is usually considered part of a person’s biological (and social) past; however, it is not significant for living one’s own life including its family spiritual dimensions. By contrast, the traditional Korean notion of family extends from the dead ancestors through the living members to the to-be-born members in the future. Its ancestry embodies a moral-religious belief in maintaining family values, promoting family prosperity, and even aspiring for personal health and fortune.
  7. For this topic on Korean family spirituality and ancestral rites, I consulted Chung 2006 (my conference paper) and updated its key points.
  8. I discussed this topic before: Chung 1995b, 1994a.
  9. As I said in Chapters 9-10, there are two fundamental reasons for this co-existence: first, Confucianism remains a diffused tradition intermingled with daily Korean values; second, it has never been a theistic and organized confessional religion like Christianity.
  10. Koreans are said to be “Confucian” in the sense of satisfying one or more ethical, social or religious criteria relating to Confucian awareness and experience. For example, 92% of four hundred Korean men and women who participated in a survey study of religious identity are said to be “Confucian” in this way. Furthermore, 90% of Korean Catholics are said to be Confucian in the same context (Korea Gallop Research Centre 1984). Among the four hundred people who participated in the survey, all seventy-seven Buddhists are viewed as Confucian at the same time, and ninety percent of twenty Catholics, Confucian. This poll certainly indicated an interesting but not surprising result about interaction and participation involving Confucianism and another religion in East Asia. Another work on a similar topic (Kim Sung Hae 1988) indicates that 75% of the respondents affirmed general ethical similarities between Confucianism and Christianity. One major element of the result shows that Korea’s cultural heritage (including Confucianism) could be assimilated.


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