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AnonymousI really liked that beginning presentation on the Top 10 /11 things you need to know about Korea. The explanation of the middle aged women in Korean society being outspoken and the ones who control the money, made so much sense of all the Korean films I've been watching lately. It made so much more sense to know that, rather than thinking the producer of the film wanted to create a family social hierarchy that was way off from what is seen as tradition. I had no reason to think that the social roles of women would be different in Korea than they are from any other region of the world. I guess I just never really thought too much about it before, but it is something that has now piqued my curiosity for other regions of the world as well.
edited by slemburg on 5/14/2015
AnonymousIn college, I had the opportunity to take two survey courses in Korean in history, so I feel a little more knowledgeable than your average American. Koreans are very proud of their history, culture, accomplishments, and cuisine. They are heavily influenced by Chinese culture, but have adopted it on their own unique terms. The economic success of modern South Korea is evidence that their pride is well founded. After 45 years of colonial rule and a bloody civil war, the peninsula was devastated. In the late 1950s, the Republic of Korea's GDP was on par with contemporary Tanzania. Sixty years later, it is one of the world's leading economies. The Koreans worked very hard to achieve this.
I remember when I was a little boy in the 1970s, a made in Korea label was a sure sign of low quality, now the made in Korea label is almost a guarantee of high quality. Samsung and LG are leaders in the manufacture of electronics and home appliances. K-Pop and Korean soap operas are popular the world over.
AnonymousI enjoyed Jennifer's presentation.I think there are more than 10 things I do not Know about Korea , but I am beginning to find explanations why Korean parents expect so much more from their children, why kids are burdened with a lot of extra curricular activities and they do not complain.In the last 5 years our school has been getting more Korean kids than before, thanks to its reputation of being a better school.Though the neighborhood has not changed much , the school composition has. I believe parents do whatever it takes to get their angels into a better area.
AnonymousI was aware of Siberian Shamanism and I believed that due to the strong cultural influence it had in Korea, going beyond the religion lines, surviving Buddhism and Christianity, the shamans would play a more important part in society and not be placed at at the bottom of the social hierarchy.Why is that ? Can anyone think of an explanation?
AnonymousScarjan,
My guess for shamanism placement at the bottom of the Korean social hierarchy would be that it lacks written texts and consequently has not been the subject of scholarly inquiry. Think about the role of scholarship in Confucianism. It is a philosophy of books and learning and Buddhism is a religion which emphasizes memorizing and reciting holy texts. Shamanism is an folk religion embodied in song, ritual, and the esoteric experience of "seers." Shamanistic beliefs were likely preserved among the lower classes. I am surprised that Korean shamanism did not experience a syncretistic merger with Daoism given the latter's focus on nature.
edited by kberg on 5/15/2015
AnonymousI might add that in the hierarchy of Korean religion/philosophy during the Chosun Dynasty, Confucianism held the highest place among the upper classes and served as an "official" religion. Buddhism was relegated to women and the royal family. Shamanism was no doubt the purview of peasants.
AnonymousI'm always impressed with the rate of development that South Korea went through in the last decade. Among other things, South Korea has transformed itself into one of the most technologically progressive countries in the world. However, South Korea also run into social glitches that are direct results of its rapid growth. In recent years, I've heard news of how big online gaming has become in South Korea. So much so that South Korea has been dubbed the mecca of online gaming. This might not seem alarming at first until you hear of how many young Koreans are being sent away from home for treatment of game addictions. It has gotten to the point where the government has to intervened by passing laws limiting internet access after midnight-- an online curfew. There were also news of young Korean couples neglected their babies to the point of death because of their addictions to gaming. Teaching at middle school I know how much our kids are into video games, let's just hope they don't let their entertainment turned into addiction.
AnonymousI enjoyed the presentation, what I found interesting was the different treatment of the woman. It seems Korean woman are lucky when they get married because they get to say around their family and usually are able to keep their status. This topic has lead me to do some research the way the women live and I have stumbled upon interesting finds.
AnonymousI found the presentation on Korea from Dr. Kim fascinating. I have to say that I had no knowledge of the tripikata Koreana (3 baskets of learning) and how it was carved onto 81,000 wooden printing blosks in the 13th century. Most impressive was that the Hanja script has no errors in the over 52 million characters. This invaluable work of Buddhist texts and its historical value place it under the UNESCO protection and designation.
Professor Kim also highlighted the importance of education in Korea. I found it surprising of the amount spent monthly for tutoring. I also realize that overemphasizing school rankings and grades could also impact students negatively by leaving little room for creativity. However, Korea is making progress in government services, public and private sectors.
AnonymousThis class on Korea was interesting. I learned so many new details about Korea. For example, I have been driving my Hyundai for 5 years now. I didn't know it was Korean made. The role of woman in the Korean culture stood out to me. I am delighted by the fact that woman in this culture have a more substantial role. The woman doesn't necessarily "disappear" into man when they get married. Woman are educated the same as men it seems. And Koreans had/have a woman leader!
Korea looks different from what I envisioned. It is a new location on my travel location. I would have my students compare the life of Japanese and Korean women and discuss the similarities and differences.
AnonymousI think an exploration into the evolution of gender roles in East Asia would be fascinating. There are obvious economic benefits when women's roles are expanded and women take an active and competitive place in the workforce. However the earth benefits as well- a career woman is less likely to give birth to more than 2-3 children, so population growth is kept in check and demand on earths's resources is lessened.
As discussed- there seems to be a particularly unique identity associated with middle aged Korean women. Perhaps a study is in order.
AnonymousThis sounds very interesting. I feel bad for missing this. Thank you for attaching the documents.
cgaoClick on the links below to download PDF versions of Jennifer's presentation on Monday.
Korea Shultz Top Ten
http://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/article/attachments/Korea%20Shultz%20Top%20Ten.pdf
Korea befoe 1800
http://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/article/attachments/Korea%20before%201800.pdf