Korean Confucianism

Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural exchange from China. Today the legacy of Confucianism remains a fundamental part of Korean society, shaping the moral system, the way of life, social relations between old and young, high culture, and is the basis for much of the legal system. Confucianism in Korea is sometimes considered a pragmatic way of holding a nation together without the civil wars and internal dissent that was inherited from the Goryeo dynasty, and before.

Contemporary society and Confucianism

By 2005, with almost 50% of the Korean population putting themselves down as Christians, the landscape of Confucian schools, temples, places of ancestral worship, and scholarship have been minimized, if not put to the side as historical artefacts worthy only of tourists, scholars, or neglected preservation. However, Confucian values arguably still immensely influence the psyche of Korean people. Moreover, Confucianism may also not be regarded as a religion, therefore allowing one to be a Taoist, Christian, Muslim, Shintoist or Buddhist and still profess Confucianist beliefs.

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This despite strong elements of the thought that still exist in day to day administrative and organizational hierarchies, but without the fixtures and services which brought these into being. Taken out of the school curricula, and taken out of the daily life of Koreans, the sense that something essential to Korean history is missing has led to a rebirth of Confucianism in the late 1990s, as well as an interest in foreign scholars on seeing Korean Confucianism as an over-riding element within governance, and maintenance of the new elites within Korea dependent on all the cohesive devices of confucianism from the 14th century onwards.

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Culturally, the arts still maintain great traditions: Korean pottery, the Korean tea ceremony, Korean gardens, and Korean flower arrangement follow Confucian principles and a Confucian aesthetic. Scholarly calligraphy and the most serious poetry again continue in much fewer numbers this heritage. In films, school stories of manners and comic situations within educational frames fit well into the satires on Confucianism from earlier writings. Loyalty to school, and devotion to teachers is still an important genre in popular comedies.

Related Topics:
Korean pottery - Korean tea ceremony - Korean gardens - Korean flower arrangement

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