the beginning of the Chosun dynasty in 1392 until modern times, the moral value used to support chung was a new brand of Confucianism that made filial piety and ancestor worship the primary foundation of society. While total chung was never achieved at any time in Korean history, it came close during the middle centuries of the long Choson era—close enough that most Koreans seemed to have been cast from the same cultural mold, as fraternal if not identical cultural twins.
Between 1400 and 1900 the concept of group consciousness became so deeply embedded in the psyche of the people that its influence is still readily visible today, even though Koreans are no longer compelled to think and act alike for political or moral reasons. In many areas of life opinions and behavior vary greatly, but in such things as courtesy, dignity, respect, pride, and ambition, chung continues to prevail.
Foreign diplomats and businesspeople involved with Korea must deal with chung in almost every encounter, which often means repressing their tendency to concentrate on and depend on the individuality of their contacts. In most cases Koreans are still not free to act as individuals because the effects of centuries of conditioning to think and behave in terms of group interests continue to permeate their culture. Acting on their own is tantamount to disowning their group and virtually assuring that they will be severely criticized if not ostracized.
When self-centered Westerners are first exposed to the degree of chung -based morality that exists in Korea, they generally regard it as both irrational and inhuman. But the fact is, of course, that a substantial degree of chung is absolutely essential for the smooth functioning of any society and represents an advanced state of social maturity that is sorely and conspicuously absent in the United States and many other Western countries.
Individualistic Western businesspeople often find themselves seriously handicapped by the groupist morality of Koreans. But rather than viewing chung as a negative and as something that Koreans should give up, these self-directed Westerners should try to meet their Korean counterparts halfway and develop some chung of their own.
Educated Koreans with cross-cultural experience are well aware that their group-based morality often conflicts with the interests, intentions, and actions of Westerners. Many are under constant pressure to give up their traditional way of thinking and doing things and adopt the Western way. A few Koreans are making the switch to accommodate their foreign business associates. But most Koreans feel very strongly that their traditional way is superior to the Western way and are not inclined to change.
Chung 충 Chuung
Loyalty in a Korean Setting
Koreans traditionally emphasized chung (chuung), or “loyalty,” in their literature, teaching, and behavior. But loyalty in the traditional culture of Korea was not a universal concept or practice that applied to people in a general sense. It was a carefully defined and prescribed kind of behavior that was based on Confucian concepts of male superiority, authoritarianism, a hierarchical society, ancestor worship, regionalism, and other circumstantial factors. In its Korean context, loyalty came under the heading of what is now called situation ethics.
In general terms the first obligation of individual Koreans has traditionally been absolute loyalty to their immediate families. The second priority was loyalty to kin, followed by loyalty to friends, community, and the nation at large. Most of these loyalty obligations were fixed at birth and in essence were immutable regardless of the feelings involved. The closed nature of Korean families, communities, and society in general severely limited the number of personal relationships individuals could develop and therefore kept obligations for loyal behavior narrowly focused.
Chung in its Confucian context was, of course, a social principle linked to virtue. On an individual basis, virtue was demonstrated by acts of loyalty. The other side of the chung principle was that those to whom loyalty was extended were expected to be virtuous and therefore deserving of the loyalty, implying that people were not required to be loyal to the undeserving. In actual practice, however, lack of virtue in the case of fathers, other family members of superior status, and local or national authorities did not automatically release people from obligations of loyalty. Those in power could and usually did demand loyalty regardless of their own character and punished those whom they considered disloyal.
The Confucian concept of loyalty still prevails in Korea, but it has become less focused and less one-sided in response to the growth of individualism, personal choice, and personal responsibility. Young people no longer blindly obey abusive or unfair fathers; wives no longer remain loyal to abusive or distant husbands, opting for divorce instead; workers who feel they are not being paid or treated properly regularly change jobs without suffering any pangs of Confucian shame.
Probably the most conspicuous example of chung in Korea today is toward the nation as a whole. Koreans are especially proud of their country. Their pride and loyalty results in their willingly making sacrifices to benefit all of Korea.
Foreign managers in Korea should keep in mind that Koreans still relate the loyalty they extend to foreign relationships, particularly foreign employers, with their perception of the degree of virtue, including chung, exhibited by the foreigners involved. Any sign, real or imagined, that the foreign side is disloyal (looking out primarily for itself at their expense) releases them from their chung obligations.
Maintaining mutual loyalty in Korea requires extraordinary sensitivity to a variety of cultural expectations and both the willingness and ability to fulfill those expectations. Acquiring this level of awareness and experience usually takes several years of dedicated effort. Until foreigners achieve that level of expertise, they should make a point of establishing a close personal relationship with one or more older, experienced Korean men and women willing to be their mentors.
Chungjaein 충재인 Chuung-jay-een
The Go-Betweens
One might say that prior to modern times Korea was not a land of laws but a land of religious beliefs and customs. Until 1910, when the last of Korea’s royal dynasties officially ended, behavior was controlled primarily by Confucian ethics, which detailed all interpersonal relationships, including those between citizens and government authorities. A number of laws and codes had been established over the centuries by various kings and their ministers, but the ruling Confucianists believed that the fewer laws the better.
One of the reasons for this Confucian attitude toward laws was that if there were no precise laws, the government was free to interpret any action or idea to its best advantage. Another rationale was that if there were no precise laws covering a situation, people would be more circumspect in their behavior because of uncertainty over what might get them into serious trouble.
Confucius himself taught that the more laws a society has, the less people will obey them and that societies that depend on laws to control the behavior of their citizens will eventually self-destruct. His philosophy was that people will conduct themselves in a peaceful, cooperative manner only if they are taught by their parents and teachers to respect, obey, and support their seniors and superiors.
Throughout Korea’s history parents and government scholar-officials were the judges of good behavior and were responsible for keeping order. Since there was no great body of law on which to base decisions, most disputes were settled by officials or others acting as chungjaein (chuung-jay-een), or “mediators.”
Generally speaking, people preferred to make use of the services of private chungjaein rather than go to government officials, because the latter tended to be much harsher in their judgments and because it was always dangerous to bring oneself to the attention of the authorities. Over the centuries this extreme reluctance to get involved with government officials on any level became deeply embedded in the psychology of the common people, giving the role of chungjaein special importance in Korean society.
This
