Changing Social & Cultural Values in South Korea Even as its culture remains in many

Even as its culture remains in many ways rooted in the religious, ethical and familial traditions of its past, South Korea has experienced a wide number of changes over the past generation allowing new opportunities for women and members of the younger generations to gain a measure of equality in their own society and a greater degree of individual expression. This paper looks at some of ways in which social and cultural values and practices have changed over the past generation in South Korea and how these are reflected in behaviors and beliefs among South Koreans today.

Most Americans probably still derive most of their knowledge about Korea only from the war (1950-53) or because of the communist North's nuclear potential and noisy aggressiveness, but of course this ancient country is much more than that. Koreans have a fierce sense of identity and have remained a distinct people for centuries, despite domination by China, Japan, and others and often horrible acts against the Koreans - illustrated in the terrible image of a 100,000 pickled Korean noses the 16th-century Japanese warriors took to their country to certify their body counts (Hur, 1992, p. 37).

South Korea has recently been propelled into the forefront of economic growth by the late South Korean president Park Chung-hee, although he also headed a country that was rife with pervasive bribery and corruption in the Korean business, education, medical, and legal systems.

Despite this, the rise of South Korea is

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h Korean returned for every two who left (Cumings, 1998, p. 46). The high density of the population, the decreasing rates of emigration and the highly homogeneous nature of the population are all essential elements of the country's cultural dynamics. Historical Background Shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism constitute the background of modern Korean culture. Since World War II, and especially after the Korean War, the modern trends have rapidly progressed. Traditional thought, however, still plays an important role under the surface. Korea belongs historically to the Chinese cultural realm. After the Three Kingdoms period in particular, Korean culture was strongly influenced by the Chinese, although this influence was given a distinctive Korean stamp (Cumings, 1998, p. 44). In 1995 nearly one-half of the people in South Korea did not profess a religions. Buddhism claimed more adherents (some 10.4 million) than any other religion in South Korea. Confucianism, more a moral philosophy than a religion, is a more prominent element in Korean life than its relatively small number of adherents (0.4 percent of the population) would suggest. Christian missionaries were first permitted in Korea in 1882; by 1995 the Christian populati

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