For a village’s bountiful harvest of green tea

1. UNDERSTANDING KOREAN CULTUREKim EungiProfessorDivision of International StudiesKorea UniversityEmail: aekim@korea.ac.kr

2. Out of many types of shaman rituals, gosagoot, a ritual to usher in good fortunes, is still popular today, although it is typically practiced without a shaman. • Table is set with plates of food, rice wine and pig’s head. • People bow in front of the table and stuff an envelope of money into the pig’s mouth.

3. For a village’s bountiful harvest of green tea

5. On the drama set of “East of Eden”

6. On the drama set of Choegangchilwoo

8. Professional baseball team

10. Gosagoot at a conglomerate

13. At an alternative energy tech company

15. For safety of drivers

16. For an accurate diagnosis of the newly bought machineat a medical clinic

18. The most striking characteristic of this folk religion is thus its preoccupation with and emphasis on the fulfillment of material wishes, fostering this-worldly and materialistic tendencies of Koreans. • As such, Shamanism has been the enduring core of Korean religious and cultural thought, exercising a profound influence on the development of Korean attitudes and behaviors as well as cultural practices.

19. The influence of Shamanism has been so profound that newly introduced religions, including Buddhism and Christianity, had to compromise with and absorb elements of Shamanism in order to be accepted by the Korean populace. • For example, Buddhism deified Sanshin (the Mountain God) and Chilsung (the Spirit of the Seven Stars or the Big Dipper) of Shamanism and set up shrines in their honor on temple complexes in order to win wide support.

20. Sanshin (Mountain God)

21. Chilsung (the Spirit of the Seven Stars or the Big Dipper)

24. Korean Buddhist monks, moreover, have been more than ascetic devotees to world-renouncing discipline, for many have functioned as fortunetellers and performed rituals usually reserved for shamans: for begetting children, especially sons, for prosperity and longevity. • That is why the fortunetelling establishments usually use the Buddhist symbol on their signboards.

29. Protestantism has been also influenced by Shamanism. • Example: Yoido Full Gospel Church, the world’s largest church with more than 700,000 members today. • The church’s evangelical slogan that has attracted large audiences—and inspired other churches to emulate—is the threefold blessings of Christ, i.e., health, prosperity and salvation.

31. 2. Korean Values: Confucianism • Confucianism has long been accepted and revered by Koreans as an essential system of ethics or moral codes. • Korea is said to be the most Confucianized society in the world, more so than Japan and China, where Confucianism originated. • Every Korean can be said to be Confucian, for he or she acts in a Confucian manner every step of the way in social interactions.

32. Surveys show that Koreans in general subscribe to Confucian values such as filial piety and loyalty and observe the basic Confucian rituals such as burial rites and ancestor worship. • In terms of “conviction” and “practice,” therefore, practically every Korean, including Buddhists and Christians, is said to be Confucian.

33. The Confucian moral order comprises Samgangoryun (Three Cardinal Principles and Five Ethical Norms). • Three Cardinal Principles: 1. goonwisingang (군위신강) or the relationship between king and subject, with the emphasis on loyalty of the subject to the ruler (choong); 2. buwijagang (부위자강) or the relationship between father and son, with the emphasis on filial piety to parents (hyo); and 3. buwibugang (부위부강) or the relationship between husband and wife, with the emphasis on the latter’s chastity, obedience, and faithfulness to husband as well as her filial piety to parents (yeol).

34. Five Ethical Norms (Oryun) dealt with responsibilities and obligations governing the relations between individuals: 1. 의 (ui)—the principle of righteousness and justice between the ruler and his subjects; 2. 친 (chin)—cordiality or closeness between parents and sons; 3. 별 (byeol)—distinction between husbands and wives, i.e., wives’ inferior status; 4. 서 (suh)—order or seniority between elders and juniors; and 5. 신 (shin)—trust between friends

35. Regardless of social status, all people were expected to behave according to these prescribed principles. • Those who did not subscribe to these values were regarded as uncivilized persons without principles and self-cultivation.

36. Confucian Values • 1. Filial piety: • Filial piety stipulates the immense debt of children to their parents and by extension, of individuals to their ancestors. • It demands strict obedience, unwavering respect for authority, and emotional, financial and ritual care of parents and ancestors by the offspring.

37. Filial piety is performed at three levels: • 1) take care of the parents while they are alive; • 2) hold an elaborate funeral when they die; and • 3) conduct ancestral rituals on death anniversaries and on Korean Thanksgiving and Lunar New Year’s Day. * There is no real escape from the culture of filial piety in Korea.

38. 2. Ancestor Worship • These sentiments of filial piety and family loyalty are reinforced through ancestor worship, the culturally most significant feature of Korean customs. • Ancestor worship is generally viewed as a ritualization of the moral importance of filial piety, and the ritual itself is seen as a faithful demonstration of filial piety.

39. Ancestor worship is based on the principle of the immortality of the dead ancestor; ancestors or their spirits live on as their sons commemorate them through the dutiful and regular performance of ancestral rites. • The offspring perform ancestral rites not only on death anniversaries but also on such culturally significant holidays as the Lunar New Year’s Day) and Korean Thanksgiving.

44. 3. Emphasis on education • 4. Collectivism • 5. Emphasis on social harmony and conformity • 6. Emphasis on loyalty • 7. Deference to the elderly • 8. Emphasis on hierarchy • 9. Other Korean values may include ethnic homogeneity, son preference, and respect for authority