Research Paper On The Koreans Culture

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Research paper on the Koreans culture

Introduction

Koreans is one of the ethnic groups that have suffered a lengthy history of political

disagreement. For example, the war between the Southern regime and the Northern regime that

took place between 1949 and 1953 was chiefly incapacitating, thus leaving the Northern Korean

isolated, communist, and poor. The symbol of an ideological disagreement between South and

North Korea, The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), is the distressing reminder of the Southern and

Northern war. The DMZ winds 155 miles across the Peninsula of Korea. The symbol reminds us

that the war did not cease and that an uneasy lull persists between the zones. Large numbers of

the Koreans have been immigrating to the United States since before the start of the war (Hanbok

1). The Koreans constitutes third largest numbers in New Zealand of immigrants from Asia.

Many of them migrate for improved healthcare facilities, education opportunities, and lifestyles.

Both Japan and China have a vital influence on the Korean culture. Therefore, the paper focuses

on discussing some of the Korean cultures since the start of the ethnic group to date. The

following are some key concepts that will be captured in the paper to ensure extensive analysis

of the ethnographic research paper on the Korean culture: communication, tradition, health care

beliefs, special events, work of art, and spiritual practices. Other minor aspects that will be

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discussed in the paper include equality of men and women, loyalty, and honesty in the Korean

setting.

Koreans value greetings, thus being part of Korean culture. The following show the

common greetings used by the Koreans during different times of the day, and the greetings are

translated:

The greetings are through shaking hands and bowing as a sign of honor and respect. The Korean

key language is “Han-gul,” and there are various dialects of the key language. The dialects are

similar, thus making Koreans from different ethnic groups to understand each other at ease. The

Koreans tend to be reserved regarding using a novel language until they have a feeling of

expressing themselves efficiently, thus making Koreans considered reticent in interactions

compared t some immigrants (Hanbok 2).

Koreans have beliefs that the eldest sons are considered the ones to inherit family wealth

and leadership. The elder sons are also considered to take care of the parents. Contrary, the

younger songs are required to leave their homes and leave near the homesteads (Hanbok, 2).

Fate, translated to Korean as “Karma,” is observed as the motive for ill-health. For

instance, when we consider the Mahayana tradition, Korean Buddhism has vitally influenced

Korean culture, and many Korean’s beliefs are focused on the Buddhist’s principles resulting in

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death and sickness being observed as part of the Korean life. Moreover, Koreans have beliefs

that disharmony is a natural force and such natural forces are “Yang” and “Um.” “Um,” open a

way to cold illness such as abdominal cramps, hypothermia, indigestion, depression, and many

others. “Yang” imbalances result in stroke, seizures, hyperthermia, and many others. Koreans

beliefs that such conditions can be treated by the use of opposite forces to achieving balance and

dietary food are prescribed accordingly. Koreans accepts the western perception of disease

causation. The following are some of the traditional methods of treating diseases adopted by the

Koreans: massage or acupressure, cupping, acupuncture, dietary therapy, herbal remedies,

traditional treatment methods, and “Shamans,” although not widely used by the Koreans.

Koreans have a belief that a children disability is an aspect of punishment by ancestors on

parents, and Koreans accepts physical problems more than they accept mental illness in the

family (Hanbok 4). Additionally, homosexuality is not tolerated by the Koreans and the aspect of

homosexuality would probably remain suppressed so as to prevent Korean community from

ostracizing. Donation of organs is not common among the Koreans, and much of the patient’s

cares are provided by the family while the patients are hospitalized. Koreans have a belief that it

will be a misfortune in carrying the body at home when a patient dies while receiving medication

in the hospital. However, this belief is accepted by few Koreans. The bodies of those Koreans

who die from home are kept for few hours to show the last respect to the deceased. Respect is

done through the display of emotions such as moaning and crying rituals with the eldest son

remained near the body.

The Lunar New Year, regarded as “Seol-nal” in the Korean, traditionally holds much

essentiality for Koreans. Koreans usually make pilgrimages in their hometowns and cities during

the three days of “Seol-nal.” They always gather with their extended families in the hometowns

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and home cities after making the pilgrimages. The holiday of three days includes various

opportunities and traditions for ancestor worship and food preparation. The Chinese Lunar

Calendar determines the dates of the holidays and the days are usually quoted from January to

February each year. Moreover, there is a disinclination among the Koreans to spend the three

days holidays in churches since gathering as a family is essential for the Korean culture.

It is not common for the Koreans to include various spiritual opinions into the religious

system of belief. The common religions in Korea are Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism,

Confucianism, and Shamanism. Some academic sources claim that Shamanism religion is not

widely used today. However, the Shamanism has woven a rich and colorful tradition into various

elements of the Korean culture. Other academic sources assert that Shamanism is alive, and the

religion is growing although the religion has been incorporated into other religious system. The

religion has not disappeared, but it is still continuing to exist together with other key religions

(Ryu 2). Based on this information from different academic sources, we can assume that some

Koreans that are impacted by the principles of religion. Other Koreans consider Shamanism as a

heritage that makes up the culture of the Koreans (Hanbok 9).

Clothing and textiles are some of the essential artwork of the Korean culture. Embroidery

and sewing are the key domain for the Korean women of all classes. The sewing tools were well-

decorated since they were considered precious and represented the aesthetic taste for the Korean

women. Some of the tools that are widely used for the embroidery and sewing includes “ja”

(ruler), “silpae” (spool), “beoseonko indu” (sock-shaped iron), and among many others (Salem

8-9).

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Korean culture is hierarchical based on the aspect of men and women. According to the

Korean culture, men and women are not equal. Let us consider the discussed words to

understand the culture of Korea based on the equality of men and women: There is no word in

the Korean culture for “brother.” However, there are words such as elder brother and younger

brother. The elder brother is regarded as “hyong,” and the younger brother is regarded as

“tongsaeng.” Korean brothers are not equal since the elder brother is given responsibility to take

care of the family. The younger brother is given the responsibilities different from the elder

brother, thus showing that men are not equal in the Korean culture. Besides, Koreans separates

words for younger sister and elder sister. The words are considered different because they are

given different responsibilities, thus making Koreans claim that women are not equal as per the

Korean culture (Underwood 3-4).

Loyalty and honesty are considered virtues by the Koreans. Honesty is considered to have

a higher virtue in different cultures. However, in the Confucian society like Korean culture,

loyalty is considered to have a higher virtue compared to the aspect of honesty. The difference in

the two virtues is based on the Korean culture, and the differences have implications in the

Korean culture (Underwood 3-4).

When we consider marriage in both North and South Korea, we will find that a woman is

required to leave her parents and to start living with the identified husband’s parents only if the

husband is the first son in the family. Traditionally, women have limited independence within a

family not until the women is passed the years of childbearing. With modernization and

development of the economy, women in Korea are enjoying a great deal of independence that

they experienced in the past years (Hollingsworth 2).

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Both men and women in Korea are marrying later than the marrying age was considered

in the past decades. For example, the Korean men marry at the age between 28 and 31 years

while women are married at the age between 26 and 30 years. This trend of marriage in men and

women in Korean culture tends to take place following two phases incorporated in with the level

of the economy or economic development. For example, at an early phase of economic

development, the population in the rural settings will tend to enlarge until an adequate land is

acquired for cultivation. Once a suitable land has been acquired for cultivation, families with

many children will start to face a key challenge. In this case, such families must subdivide the

acquired land into smaller parcels of land. Also, there is an alternative to such families to leave

the reduced land and look for another alternative land ((Hollingsworth 2).

The choice and decision to marry and whom to marry are different from different young

adults with work experience and level of education than young adults who depend on their

families. Therefore, an essential element of the shift in the number of years towards late marriage

is because of different facts such as dependent of the men and women of their families, the level

of education, and work experience.

Divorce is another aspect that is rare in the Korean culture. Divorce is a rare aspect in the

Korean culture because of the strengthened awareness regarding the issues related to divorce.

Also, unmarried men and women are motivated to obtain good jobs and get a good education,

thus solving the issue of divorce (Hollingsworth 5).

Conclusion

All the captured aspects evident in the Korean society makes up the Korean culture, and

the Korean culture has survived over a long time since the start and the end of different wars

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experienced in Korea. The cultures are changing slowly although they cannot disappear

(Underwood 9). The culture will remain in place and appear in all the Korean generations, thus

making the young generations understand that there existed culture since particular period. The

cultures are unique from one society to another society. However, migration and evolution of

western lifestyle are considered as a key aspect that can lead to the disappearance of culture, but

the culture of society will remain just like the Korean culture.

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Works Cited

Hanbok. Korean Culture. 2016. Print.

http://www.ecald.com/Portals/49/Docs/Toolkits/C2%20S3%20Koreans.pdf

Hollingsworth, J. Tradition and Change in Marriage and Family Life. 2002. Print.

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/misc/FuturePop04Marriage.pdf

Ryu, T. Shamanism. The Dominant Folk Religion in Korea. Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

1984. Print. https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3341

Salem, M.A. A Teacher’s Sourcebook for Korean Art & Culture: Featuring Korean Art

Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. Print.

http://www.pem.org/aux/pdf/learn/asia_curriculum/korea-tsb.pdf

Underwood, H. Series of Essays on Korean Culture. Yonsei University. 2015. Print.

http://gwmoon.knu.ac.kr/Lecture_Library_Upload/Essays_on_Korean_Culture.pdf

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