Culture and costums of Korea - Assignment Example

?Final Project Introduction Section Culture refers to a set of socially transmitted human behaviors, beliefs, arts, among other thoughts and works of the human mind. The definition implies that culture is reliant on the interaction and integration of humans. Historically, regions had secluded boundaries owing to the numerous geographical barrier such as mountains, seas and rivers, which enclosed specific regions thus cutting off human interactions. At such times, regions had specific cultures defining their languages, arts, dietary and religion among many other aspects of human lives. However, with the onset of industrial revolution, the use of machines resulted in the invention of better ways of transportation and communication thus overcoming the previously existing geographical barriers. Located in North East Asia, Korea is an expansive territory currently divided into two political territories; North Korea and South Korea because of divergent political interests of both the leaders and the citizens (Kleiner, 2001). The use of the internet in the modern society and the advanced modes of communication such as mobile phones have resulted in the creation of a global village in which people can live anywhere and work anywhere. The intensified human interactions in the contemporary society have therefore revolutionized culture. A conflict between the previously definite traditional cultures and the modern culture has diverse effects depending on the type of the society. Whenever cultures conflict, the people abandon their previous cultural practices that they consider backward and adopt certain features of the new culture that they feel appropriate. Culture in the modern global society is relative and liberal with every individual and social institution choosing only the specific cultural practices that best protects their interests. Korea is one such region in which the conflict between the traditional culture and the modern culture is evident and the effects of the modern culture on the traditional culture thus manifest itself. The division of the region into two might have affected the culture of the people in the region but since culture is reliant on the interaction of humans, the regions still share some of their cultural practices as they had throughout history with their neighbors in the eastern bloc such as China and Japan. Both the south and North Korea are developed economies and industrial hubs. South Korea for example is home to some of the leading electronics manufacturing companies such Samsung and HTC among many other local and international brands. With an internet infiltration of more than seventy percent, Korea is an active part of the global village as her citizens interact with others throughout the world. Korea has numerous international airports and attracts millions of tourists annually. Such features of both the economy and social structure imply that the intensified human interactions in the modern Korea presents numerous cultural conflicts as the modern culture through the revamped interactions and economic activities in the modern society. Previously, Korea had definitive cultural practices and arts. Such practices included specific languages, religions, arts such as ceramics and dietary among others. However, with time the region opened up for trade with the West and other parts of the world such as African and South America. Coupled with the concepts of urbanization, globalizations seamlessly turned the expansive Korean region into a metropolitan society habiting people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Korea thus forms an effective choice for the study assignment since the cultural conflict between the traditional and new culture is evident. The society is developed and industrial; the living pattern of the people has changed with time to the perfect urban settings in the modern Korea. Such a society thus exhibits diverse cultural patterns as native Koreans continue holding onto some of their traditional cultural practices while the society continues to acknowledge the changing social structure thus accommodating both the visitors and immigrant who bring with them their diverse cultural practices and products (Korean Cultural Service, 1980). Section 2 It is evident that the traditional Korean culture is conflicting with the modern western culture and the results of the conflict are numerous and readily manifested in the Korean population. An interview coupled with observation of the Korean people reveals major changes in the cultural practices that portray that in deed the cultural conflict necessitated some cultural changes. Among the most evident cultural changes included the current manifestation of Christianity in South Korea. Historically, the Koreans had their definitive religions, which included Buddhism among many other. However, the intense interactions with the west and other parts of the world necessitated the introduction of Christianity in the region. Currently, Christianity is the leading religion in South Korea with most Koreans adopting the faith. The trend evidently portrays the nature and effects of the religious conflict exhibited in the liberal society. Several historians and behavior scientists have studied the changing cultures in the Korean society. Such scholars study the effects of both industrialization and globalization on the integration and cultural tradeoffs in the people living in the Korean society. The essay below analyses some of the established articles. Brown & Brown, (2006) investigate the cultural manifestations in the eastern bloc. The writer investigates the similarities in the Korean cultures to those of her neighbors such China and Japan. According to the scholar, the three countries have maintained close economic relationship for a long time as the citizens in the three countries interacted historically thus resulting in cultural similarities. Among the similar cultural practices and products, include religion, language, dietary and martial arts among others. While some of such practices and products may differ, they exhibit a similarity implying that the countries once exhibited a uniformity of cultural practice. The cultural exchange began with the country’s espousal of the Chinese writing style in the second century. This marked the beginning of a great interaction and cultural tradeoffs in East Asia. From the adoption of the Chinese writing styles, the Chines martial arts spread throughout the East Asian region. Such religious beliefs such as Buddhism and Confucianism are equally prevalent throughout Japan, China and Korea thereby portraying a great religious interaction among the citizens of the three countries. Lately, the East Asian region opened up its boundaries for the rest of the world owing to the development of faster means of transportation. Additionally, the cheap labor costs in East Asia are an economic concept that has attracted several western conglomerate in the region. The modern Korea is a metropolitan society with millions of people from all over the world some permanent residents of the region while others coming in annually as tourists. Such people bring their cultural practices with them thus resulting in cultural conflicts between the traditional Korean culture and the modern cultures originating from the west because of the intensified interactions. Despite the division of the region into South and North, Koreans have held on their beliefs in the of Mahayana Buddhism, Korean Shamanism, and Confucianism faiths. The three are definitive of the traditional Korean culture, which the people continue to preserve. The three religious beliefs had coexisted peacefully, which each safeguarding her practices without interfering with the others. However, owing to the intensive interaction with the west and other parts of the world, Christianity arrived in the region thus changing the religious beliefs of the people a fundamental aspect of the traditional culture. The infiltration of Christianity in the region is manifest especially South Korea as the Northern Korean continues to hold onto their traditional religious beliefs (Clark, 2000). Peaceful coexistence among religions comes naturally since religions share values. They may have different customs and foundations but all the religions teach peaceful coexistence among other virtues that help create unified and coherent societies. Koreans therefore uphold the dictates of the religion and exist with each other peacefully regardless of their religious differences as they maintain secular relationship in most of their interactions. Additionally, religions believe in recruiting new followership thus expanding their influence, Christianity has continued to manifest the feature as it carries out conversion crusades thus increasing its influence in East Asia especially in South Korea. Just as any other cultural product and practice, when different religions conflict, people abolish their previous beliefs that they consider redundant and unrealistic and adopt the new religion that presents better and more relevant values. The modern Korean society has adopted the independent and equal social structures of the west owing to the spread of globalization and urbanization. In such social structures, the people maintain private lifestyles and are therefore free to ascribe to different cultural practices without social interference. Unlike in the traditional Korean societies where culture was communally owned, culture is currently privately owned with every individual and family ascribing to specific religions among other cultural practices. It thus becomes more difficult to investigate the cultural practices and prevalence in such societies. However, the people maintain some cultural features as distinctive attires and dietary. The intensified interaction among the Koreans and other people throughout the world necessitated the use of different languages. The official language in Korea is the Korean spoken predominantly with everyone in the region. The intensified interaction between the region and the west necessitated the spread use of English in the region. Currently, Korean schools offer English language as a course and millions of Koreans study the language with the view of demystifying their cultural practices. Korea on the other hand is an international language taught in institutions of higher learning in countries all over the world a feature that portrays the desire of the rest of the world to interact with Korea (Son, 2006). Clothing was an important mark of the Korean cultures, historically; Koreans would dress different clothes depending on their social status. This made attire a fundamental cultural product but with the intensified interaction with the west, the society became more liberal as more people gained financial security and independence. It is therefore very common to notice men and women dressed in suits rushing to work in the morning. The same is evident in the Korean cuisine. Rice is the staple food of Koreans. The people cook different rice meals for different occasions and meals in the day. Koreans also eat other animal and plant products such fish among other seafood, barley and beans among others. The urbanization of the society has introduced such concepts as eateries and fast foods in which people eat junk food in a rush to get back to the office. Such outlets dispense beef sausages, fries and bottled drinks among others. This portrays the disintegration of the Korean society owing to the increased interaction with the west. In retrospect, the Korean society presents a perfect scenario in which the modern culture conflicts with the traditional cultures. As Korea developed, interactions intensified and the society became increasingly urbanized, thus introducing different cultural products and practices. In such a society, the liberal feature of culture manifests itself as the people adopt new and relevant cultural practices while abolishing their previous cultural practices that they consider backward. Such portrays the dynamism of cultures. References Brown, J., & Brown, J. (2006). China, Japan, Korea: Culture and customs. North Charleston, South Carolina: BookSurge. Clark, D. N. (2000). Culture and costums of Korea. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press. Kleiner, J. (2001). Korea: A century of change. River Edge, N.J. [u.a.: World Scientific. Korean Cultural Service (Los Angeles, Calif.). (1980). Korean culture =: Han?guk munhwa. Los Angeles, CA: Korean Cultural Service. Son, H. (2006). Korean language in culture and society. Honolulu, Hawaii: Univ. of Hawaii Press. Read More