[Park Sang-seek] Clash of Western civilization and Korean culture

Koreans celebrate the two New Years: the solar New Year and the lunar New Year. The first is based on Western civilization and the second on Chinese civilization. Their contradictory behavior is symbolic of the clash of cultures in Korea.

In the present, Western civilization and Korean culture are mixed like a salad bowl, and Koreans experience a culture clash. In order to deal with this, Koreans need to understand the characteristics of Korean culture and their impact on the political, economic and socio-cultural life in Korea.

The main principles of Western civilization are individualism, freedom and equality, the rule of law, rationalism and confidence in the controllability of the environment.

Democracy, capitalism and modernization originated from Western civilization. Democracy and capitalism share the same values and norms such as individualism, freedom and equality, and the rule of law, while capitalism has been the most powerful driving force of modernization. For this reason they have reinforced and enriched one another.

On the other hand, they have some contradictory elements. For one thing, democracy and capitalism both are founded on individualism, but the former advocates political freedoms and the latter economic freedom. For another, democracy can be more prosperous when economic equality is guaranteed, but capitalism does not guarantee economic equality.

Korean culture is rooted in shamanism, Chinese civilization (Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism), collectivism, authoritarianism and paternalism. Since South Korea became independent after World War II, it has pursued democracy, capitalism and modernization simultaneously under the strong influence of the U.S. Consequently, it has become rapidly westernized and traditional culture has seriously been eroded. The culture clash is becoming increasingly serious.

Our present concern is not whether Westernization will eventually destroy traditional Korean culture or whether a hybrid culture will emerge, but how the clash has changed the Korean mind and influenced the Korean way of life.

Culture’s structure is comparable to the Earth’s structure: just as the Earth’s structure is composed of several strata, so is culture. Korean culture’s structure can be divided into four strata: the modes of living, patterns of behavior, ways of thinking and finally values, norms and principles.

Additionally, just as the Earth’s structure is vertically layered, so is culture’s structure. It means that when two different cultures come in contact, the upper stratum (crust) is pierced first and gradually they penetrate into the lower strata. The upper stratum of a culture is basically materialistic in the sense that those elements are visible and tangible.

Cultural infiltration is easiest at the upper level, becomes more difficult at the intermediate level, and is most difficult at the lowest level. The reason is that humans are basically animals and tend to be attracted to material things and well-being first and foremost. The lower the levels, the more spiritual the culture becomes. The more spiritual it becomes, the more difficult it is for other cultures to penetrate it.

Korea willingly adopted democracy, capitalism and modernization for political and economic development. For this reason, they accepted Western civilization because it is the very foundation of these concepts.

Some older people initially resisted Western civilization, but their strength has gradually weakened. It is a futile struggle because without abandoning democracy, capitalism and modernization it is close to impossible to reject Western civilization.

Now, the first stratum of Korean culture has been almost replaced by the Western modes of living, while the second stratum is being attacked by Western behavioral patterns. As Western civilization penetrates into the lower crusts of Korean culture, the schism between the two becomes sharper and wider.

Under the circumstances, Korea is faced with a dilemma. If it wants to become a global modern state, it has no choice but to accommodate the main traits of democracy, capitalism and modernization. However, it is most important, but most difficult, to replace the last crust of Korean culture with Western culture even if Korea makes all-out efforts.

Traditional values and norms such as collectivism, authoritarianism and Confucian principles cannot easily be replaced by individualism, rationalism and egalitarianism over a short time. It will be easier to Westernize the young generation but very difficult to Westernize the old generation. Mainly because the old generation was born before democratization and modernization were progressing more vigorously and rapidly, while the young generation was born after that. Middle-aged people are caught between the two.

Whether Korea wants to or not, it has no choice but to accept Western values, norms and principles. If it does not, it cannot achieve a global modern state as mentioned. Moreover, most of Western values and norms are becoming universal values, and globalization is accelerating this process.

There are three reasons why the clash of cultures in Korea is serious. One is that the generation gap in political opinions and behavior is largely caused by the clash.

Another is that Korea has reached the mature stage of modernization five times faster than Western nations and has achieved democratization more than ten times faster. Therefore, Koreans don’t have enough time to digest Western civilization and suffer from mental indigestion.

The third reason is that Korea has accepted democracy, capitalism and modernization simultaneously without solving their deficits and the contradictory aspects, and consequently the clash of cultures has become more complicated.

Koreans celebrate two New Years without realizing the logical contradiction, but different generations celebrate them for different purposes, although outwardly they behave the same. This is testimony to prove that Koreans both benefit and suffer from the culture clash.

The old adage, “dongdo seogi” (the Eastern way and the Western means), has become either rhetoric or a swan song. Rudyard Kipling did not say that the West and the East shall never meet but he prophesied that there will be no West and no East.

By Park Sang-seek

Park Sang-seek is a professor at the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University. ― Ed.