the 518-year reign of the Choson dynasty, Koreans were so thoroughly programmed in the concepts of Neo-Confucianism from infancy on that both Buddhism and shamanism became little more than private folk beliefs involved with the spiritual welfare of the people, while Confucianism controlled their practical everyday values, attitudes, and interpersonal relationships.
Christianity, introduced to the common people of Korea in the late 1800s, near the end of the Choson era, was to have a dramatic effect on the thinking and behavior of Koreans within a very short period of time. The Christian ideas of universal brotherhood and social equality were new and exciting concepts to Koreans and caused a great deal of ferment among the small literate class, completely overshadowing Buddhism and causing the validity of Confucianism to be questioned.
In fact, some Korean scholars like Tong Shik Yu say that Buddhism had virtually nothing to do with forming the modern-day Korean mind, despite its long history in the country. Yu says that traditional Korean mentality is a mixture of Confucianism, shamanism, and Christianity. Yu adds that shamanism satisfies the Koreans’ need for spiritual solace, Confucianism provides answers for social and political challenges, and the concepts of universal equality and brotherhood taught by Christianity appeal to their intellect.
Yu’s description of the Confucian contribution to Korean culture is essentially negative. He lists these negatives (paraphrased) as dependency on others because of a lack of a strong sense of self, conservatism and fear of change that grows out of lack of personal control over their lives, pragmatism that is self-centered because of the first two elements, a powerful tendency to form factions that are bound together with religious fervor, submission to bureaucratic control by authoritarian politicians and corporate bosses, and a hedonistic obsession with enjoying the good life now because the future is so uncertain.
Yu goes on to identify the shamanist elements in the traditional Korean character as a strong belief that the fate of individuals, good or bad, is determined by supernatural spirits; a deep-seated resistance to changes in attitudes and values; a strong concern for present-day, here-and-now needs, and a “pleasure orientation” manifested by copious singing and dancing.
Korean historian Sang Yun Hyon offers an additional list of the effects of Confucianism on the Korean mind—all of them negative. He says Confucianism kept Korea dependent on China and thereby discouraged the growth of an independent and self-reliant spirit, resulted in the creation of a family- and faction-centered society that tended to ignore all public responsibility, brought about severe discrimination against people based solely on their social class, justified an authoritarian government and an all-powerful bureaucracy that controlled and limited the lives of the people, prevented economic development by regarding profit making as immoral, encouraged people to resort to bribery and other unscrupulous means to raise their social status, and kept people focused on the past, thereby further discouraging progressive changes.
Hyon does say there is a plus side to the effects of Confucianism, however. He notes that Confucianism made Koreans famous for their stylized etiquette (Chinese officials originally referred to Korea as “The Eastern Country of Correct Manners and Propriety”), promoted the concept of mass education and the importance of learning, provided an ethical foundation for Korea’s feudal society, promoted the idea of human relatedness and mutual responsibility, and encouraged people to be content with “honest” poverty and develop their character rather than attempt to accumulate material wealth.
Not all Korean historians are totally critical of Buddhism. Buddhist scholar Ki Yong Yi holds that Buddhism is a far more humane religion than Confucianism; that Buddhism promoted good, discouraged evil, called for evildoers to be punished, promoted mercy and charity, advocated the development of endurance to withstand the daily challenges of life, and endorsed individuals’ sacrificing themselves for others and for their ideals.
A recent semi-governmental study that focused on the influence of Christianity in Korean society, in comparison with shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, came up with some intriguing conclusions. The study concluded that Korean shamanism had become much more practical, Buddhism had become nationalistic, and Confucianism was giving way to Christian thought because the latter is human and personally oriented rather than bureaucratic-authoritarian-harmony oriented.
The study also reported that Buddhist and Christian thought and behavior were publicly very conspicuous in everyday life in Korea, while the influence of shamanism and Confucianism was generally “below the surface” and more subtle. Ultimately an amalgam of Korea’s four great “Heavenly Ways” may prove to be their most important legacy.
Chong 총 Chohng
Ties That Bind
Historically Koreans have had especially strong bonds with their families, kin, schoolmates, teachers, work colleagues, and other people from their birthplace—bonds that come under the label of chong (chohng), or “feelings.” These bonds were of special importance because the people could not depend on laws, government agencies, or outsiders to assist them in times of need. Generally their only recourse was to call on people with whom they had personal chong bonds derived from a common relationship, preferably chinchok (cheen-choak), or “blood kinship.”
Despite the dramatic changes that have taken place in Korea since the mid-1900s, chong continue to be one of the most important factors in Korean society. Koreans still think in terms of their chong links in private matters as well as in business and politics. Businesspeople prefer to hire family members, relatives, fellow alumni, and people from their home village or hometown, usually in that order. When people find it necessary to contact a government or business office for any purpose, they first try to find out if they have any chong -bound links in the office or in any related office.
Korean social scientists say that chong was also the basis for the hwa (whah), or “harmony,” that was long associated with their culture. It was this emotional element, they add, that made it possible for groupism to take precedence over individual interests, even overriding the concept of personal identity. Not surprisingly, the official end of the feudalistic family system in Korea in the mid-1900s and the demise of the authoritarian state power that was used to enforce the Confucian philosophy of hwa have since resulted in dramatic changes in Korean attitudes and behavior.
Koreans are still primarily family and group oriented, and a great deal of their behavior that confounds and frustrates foreigners derives from the lingering influence of generations of programming in avoiding confrontation, but Confucian-style harmony is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
The personal feelings of young Koreans are no longer totally smothered in family or group bonds. They generally conform to high standards of etiquette in interacting with seniors and superiors with whom they have social relationships, particularly in school and the workplace, but in other situations they do not hesitate to express their chong as individuals.
Still today, Koreans are inclined to overreact both vocally and physically when expressing their feelings in public as well as private settings—a symptom that is no doubt exaggerated because such behavior was totally forbidden in the past. To some Western eyes Korean women, for example, are masters at using emotion to achieve their goals. In the words of one longtime foreign resident in Seoul, “they will rant and rave and carry on like banshees until they get what they want.” Traditionally, Korean behavior was characterized by extreme swings from stone-faced passivity to loud and sometimes violent outbursts.
All Koreans are apt to resort to institutionalized outpourings of emotion, some angry and aggressive and others designed to express humility, sorrow, anguish, and the like, in situations that in the West would more likely be resolved by calm, rational consideration. This conspicuous use of chong no doubt derives from the fact that historically matters were never settled by rational consideration or debate in Korea. The Korean language itself was not designed for clear, objective reasoning. All relationships, personal
