scholarly journals A Nation of One: A Critical Analysis of the Rise of the Notion of Ethnocultural Oneness in Twentieth-Century Korea

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Josiah Gabriel Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Korean War ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Korean People ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
The People ◽  
The Korean War

This essay has been written to critically explore the societal idealization of oneness held among the Korean people. Particular emphasis is paid to scholarly works published between the years 2010 and 2016. The central finding procured by reviewing works meeting this study’s inclusion criteria suggests that the notion of ethnocultural oneness is a modern myth structured along the political ideologies of the state. As such, attention is duly afforded to the historic origins of oneness and how this perception emerged in the twentieth century as a response to the period of Japanese colonization (1910-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953), and the years (1960-1988) in which Korea experienced rapid industrial development. It is assumed that the knowledge generated from this study may be used to (a) extend critical discourse on Korea’s cultural history, (b) provide an alternative view on the formation of Korea’s national identity, and (c) illuminate taken for granted perceptions that have been propagated among the people of Korea in the twentieth century as means to promote a sense of togetherness.

scholarly journals Egyedi jellemvonások a modern dél-koreai kereszténységben = Unique features of Christianity in modern South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-247
Author(s):  
Fábian Armin Vincentius
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Korean War ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Japanese Occupation ◽  
Korean People ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Korean Christianity ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Protestant Denominations ◽  
High Share

A „Han folyó csodája” kifejezésről sokan hallottak Dél-Korea rendkívül gyors és drámai fejlődésének eredményeként, ám az talán kevesek számára ismert, hogy a Japántól való felszabadulást (1945), illetve a koreai háborút (1953) követően a kereszténység is komoly áttörést ért el az országban. Jelenleg a lakosság több mint negyede, 13.5 millió személy vallja magát kereszténynek, a domináns protestáns felekezetek mellett pedig számottevő a hozzávetőlegesen 5 millió katolikus száma is. Mindez nemcsak a régióban található többi államhoz viszonyítva különleges, hanem azt is jelenti, hogy a Dél-Koreában élő keresztények aránya meghaladja az országban létező többi vallás követőinek számát együttvéve. A folyamat különösen érdekesnek tekinthető azon szempontból, hogy a távol-keleti állam teljesen más kulturális, vallási és történelmi szempontok alapján fejlődött a kereszténység megjelenése előtt, napjainkra azonban mégsem a sámánizmus vagy a buddhizmus, hanem a kereszténység bír központi szereppel vallási életében. Jelen tanulmány célja épp arra választ adni, hogy milyen okoknak köszönhetően volt képes a kereszténység hívek sokaságának bevonzására, illetve milyen egyedi, Dél-Koreára jellemző sajátosságok alakultak ki a fejlődés eredményeként. Jelen kutatás során egy rövid összefoglaló keretén belül szó esik a kereszténység Korea területét érintő kezdeti megjelenéséről, majd külön fejezetekben olvasható a katolicizmus, ortodoxia, anglikanizmus és protestantizmus helyzete. A munka autenticitásához és részletességéhez hozzájárul, hogy a szerző kilenc kvalitatív interjút készített a különböző felekezetek képviselőivel, illetve délkoreai tanulmányútja során személyesen is meglátogatta több felekezet lényeges helyszíneit. = The term "Miracle on the Han River" has been heard by many as a result of South Korea's fast and dramatic development, but it is probably known to few that in parallel Christianity managed to gain as well a significant popularity in the country after the liberation from Japanese occupation (1945) and the end of the Korean War (1953). Currently, more than a quarter of people living in South Korea consider themselves as Christians, and in addition to the dominant Protestant denominations, the number of Catholics is also significant with a number of around 5 million followers. The high share of Christians may seem peculiar not only compared to other states in the region, but also by acknowledging that before the emergence of Christianity Korea evolved based on different, cultural and religious principles. Still, instead of Buddhism or Shamanism nowadays Christianity has a central role in the religious life of South Korean people. This study attempts to find the main reasons behind the remarkable popularity of Christianity, as well as to show the unique features of South Korean Christianity resulted by the distinctive development. After a short introduction presenting the first stage of Christianity on the territory of Korea, the main features and situation of different Christian branches are discussed, namely Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and Protestantism. Contributing to the authenticity and detail of the work, nine qualitative interviews with representatives of different denominations are included, all conducted by the author during his study trip to South Korea. Also, as the author had the opportunity to visit important religious sites during his field trip in Seoul, his experiences are briefly reported too in the study.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Korean War ◽  
State System ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Territorial Sovereignty ◽  
The Korean War

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book tells a story of the changing script of warfare in the mid-twentieth century through the Korean War. At stake in this conflict was not simply the usual question of territorial sovereignty and the nation-state. The heart of the struggles revolved around the question of political recognition, the key relational dynamic that formed the foundation for the post-1945 nation-state system. This book argues that in order to understand how the act of recognition became the essential terrain of war, one must step away from the traditional landscape of warfare—the battlefield—and into the interrogation room.

scholarly journals De strijd der twee zielen in het werk van Walter Schubart

Literator ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Ester
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Critique ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The People ◽  
The One ◽  
Europe Today

The struggle between two souls in the work of Walter Schubart.This essay explores the relevance of the work of Walter Schubart (1897-±1941), a virtually unknown cultural philosopher from Lithuania, for today. The writer focuses on the importance of Schubart’s programme of spiritual rebirth and on his intriguing vision for the people of Europe today. To counterbalance the metaphysical egotism of Europe, Schubart finds in Russia, and in Dostoyevsky in particular, a living consciousness of a relation to the whole that could heal Europe. The twentieth century is for Schubart a battlefield between, on the one hand, the promethean period of deserting God focusing on the earth, and on the other hand, the johannean period of the Messianic era that acts out of a desire for charity and healing. Despite criticism of Schubart’s somewhat simplistic views of cultural history, the author emphasises the surprising topical manner in which Schubart’s cultural critique confronts modern Western culture with a critical reflection of itself.

“Tan Yanks” and Black Korea

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-84
Author(s):  
Daniel Y. Kim
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Korean War ◽  
Japanese Colonialism ◽  
Black Newspapers ◽  
Korean People ◽  
Hollywood Films ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Racial Solidarity ◽  
Mainstream Press ◽  
Hearts And Minds

This chapter analyzes cinematic and journalistic depictions of the Korean War that centered on the role played by African American soldiers serving in integrated combat units. Heroic depictions of “Tan Yanks” in both the mainstream press and black newspapers highlighted the usefulness of an integrated military to the global ideological battle against Communism, especially in terms of winning “the hearts and minds” of the formerly colonized. This chapter demonstrates how the Korean War facilitated the articulation of an early version of the ideology that Melanie McAllister has termed “military multiculturalism,” which is evident in two Hollywood films from the 1950s: Pork Chop Hill (1959) and All the Young Men (1960). This chapter also addresses two strains of Orientalism that also surfaced on the pages of black newspapers: the first expressed an Afro-Asian sense of racial solidarity and intimacy with the Korean people as a nonwhite nation that had suffered under a Japanese colonialism that had been supported by US and European powers prior to World War II; the second took shape as a fascination with amorous relationships that had formed between black servicemen and Japanese female civilians prior to and during the Korean War and the interracial desires they embodied.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Carol V. R. George
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Korean War ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Business Community ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Meaningful Connections

TO MANY THOUGHTFUL Americans in the closing years of the twentieth century, the statistical evidence on the health of the culture speaks of a giant, fatal cancer, steadily and inexorably destroying the quality of life that was familiar and comfortable to anyone born before the Korean War. The data, regularly published in the press as if to titillate morbid sensibilities, confirm that one’s personal experience with social disruption is general: Marriages and families increasingly fragile; children of all ages appear more at risk; the elderly live longer, hollower lives; ethnic groups battle each other for an even smaller part of the national pie; women and men weary of ever understanding each other; and national resources and prestige decline as the business community grows paralyzed from competition, complacency, and cultural pollution. There are people in middle life to whom it seems difficult to remember a brighter day, when life promised hope, a future of meaningful connections, and children had a right to large dreams. Who could think positively about the future?...

5. Competing states, diverging societies

2020 ◽  
pp. 87-106
Author(s):  
Michael J. Seth
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Korean War ◽  
The State ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Korean People ◽  
Culture History ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Korean Nation

By 1953 almost all Koreans had accepted that they belonged to a single nation united by blood, culture, history, and destiny. However, the end of the Korean War left them divided into two states. ‘Competing states, diverging societies’ explains that each state shared the same goal of creating a prosperous, modern, unified Korean nation-state that would be politically autonomous and internationally respected. The leadership of each saw the division as temporary and themselves and the state they governed as the true representative of the aspirations of the Korean people, and the legitimate successor to the pre-colonial state. While sharing many of the same goals they followed very different paths to reach them and became ever more divergent societies.

Forgetting Korea: The Korean War in popular memory, 1953–2014

2018 ◽  
pp. 157-178
Author(s):  
Grace Huxford
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam War ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Korean War ◽  
The United States ◽  
British History ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Relative Neglect ◽  
War Aims ◽  
Second World

This chapter suggests that the awkward nature, purpose and outcome of the Korean War led to its relative neglect in British history and popular culture, unlike in the United States where both its anti-Communist rhetoric and proximity to the Vietnam War gave its veterans greater prominence. Together with its distance from Britain, unclear war aims and the growing dominance of the Second World War in British culture, charted in the other chapters of this book, this final chapter examines the ‘forgotten’ war in the context of post-1953 British history. It first examines the significance of forgetting war in the twentieth century, before turning to Korea’s cultural history in the post-1953 era and the lives and attitudes of its ‘forgotten’ veterans. It suggests that Britain’s Korean War veterans have a unique degree of agency as guardians of this war.

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