The Korean Mind. Boye Lafayette De Mente
sundry gods. The ritualization of these functions consisted primarily of creating and following precise ceremonial actions designed to honor and placate the various spirits, from making food and drink offerings to performing dances, chanting prayers, and singing.
The introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism into Korea from China between A.D. 300 and 600 brought a variety of new rituals, both religious and social, that were to have a profound effect on the overall attitudes and behavior of Koreans down to the present time. For century after century Koreans were physically, emotionally, and intellectually programmed in all of the chongshik (chohng-sheek), “processes” or “procedures,” making up the Korean lifestyle—from worshiping, bowing, sitting, eating, performing household chores, and working, to the way they used their language.
This behavioral conditioning was so pervasive that it eventually became an integral part of Korean culture, something that was automatically taught to each child, directly as well as indirectly, and thus became a part of his or her character and personality.
A deep attachment to chongshik, which is also the Korean word for “formality,” remains a key element in Korean culture. Although most present-day Koreans, particularly those in younger generations, are significantly less formal in their behavior than what was characteristic until the last decades of the twentieth century, the legacy of millennia of conditioning in chongshik continues to distinguish Koreans from most Westerners, particularly Americans.
Some of the formalities that remain characteristic of Korean behavior include their treatment of guests in both their homes and places of work, their use of respect language, their dress, their conduct of meetings and ceremonies, and so on.
While this ceremonial behavior may be time consuming, it nevertheless adds a certain nuance to life in Korea that most foreign visitors and residents—especially those from countries where the niceties of social etiquette have become so diluted that they are hardly noticeable—find reassuring and often pleasant if not charming.
There is another facet of chongshik, however, that generally elicits a negative reaction from foreigners as well as a growing number of Koreans. This is the ongoing penchant for people in both business and the government to formalize their activities to the point that initiative, spontaneity, and innovation become difficult or impossible. Even the most mundane activities must be done “according to the book” in the ultimate bureaucratic mode, almost inevitably complicating and delaying things.
In recent years the Korean government as well as private organizations, including commercial enterprises, have inaugurated policies and programs to eliminate some of the chongshik from their operations, but it persists to varying degrees, especially in many government offices, because it continues to be part of the traditional culture. The challenge now is to find the degree of formality that continues to add decorum to personal relationships but does not detract from getting things done.
Chongui 총의 Chohng-we
Justice Korean Style
During Korea’s long feudal era, which actually did not begin to end until the mid-1900s, whole families were held responsible for the behavior of individual members, with the primary responsibility falling on the male heads of families. This Confucian-based system provided extraordinary incentive for Korean patriarchs to rule their families with an iron hand and was at the heart of the order and harmony that existed in pre-modern Korea.
In ruling their families, Korean patriarchs were prosecutor, jury, and judge. Their rules and their decisions were based primarily on Confucian ethics instead of man-made laws, and to that extent there was uniformity in the standards society required of people. But Confucianism was not so cut-and-dried that it required the same kind or degree of punishment generally demanded by man-made laws. Confucian “law” was more situational and was generally applied according to personal rather than objective circumstances.
In the Korean concept of things, chongui (chohng-we), or “justice,” within families was what served the best interests of the family, which is quite different from a universal concept of punishing an individual for misdeeds. Legal justice applied by the official judicial system of pre-modern Korea also had a personal element that made it different from Western justice.
In both family and official justice in feudal Korea the first consideration of importance was whether or not the accused admitted guilt, expressed remorse, and asked for forgiveness or maintained his or her innocence. If the accused confessed and begged to be forgiven, crying and carrying on in the process, the punishment was invariably less. (Or, in the case of people accused and convicted by authorities of capital crimes, the death sentence could be carried out in a more humane manner.)
Ordinary Koreans are extraordinarily sensitive about the concept of chongui because throughout the history of the country common people were treated by the government and the elite ruling class as second-class or third-class citizens, with few inherent human rights and no legal rights except those granted to them by the ruling powers. They therefore looked on those in power as arrogant and unjust and on themselves as eternal victims whose only recourse was to pretend to obey the laws and to get by with as much as they could without getting caught.
In the minds of most ordinary Koreans today the government is still more authoritarian than democratic, still denies them rights that they should have, and tramples on those that have been enacted into law. It often seems that the greatest—and sometimes only—champions of justice in Korea today are university students. Knowing that government officials would pay little if any attention to them if they presented their criticisms and demands in petitions—the traditional practice of scholars and others—the students take to the streets.
The Confucian-oriented concept of proper behavior, collective responsibility, and personalized justice still prevails in Korea. While punishment is no longer officially collective, most Koreans still believe that misbehavior by one member of a family dishonors the whole family, and there is extraordinary pressure on family members to obey both customs and laws. (Korean students who are active enough in street demonstrations to attract personal attention to themselves endanger their chances of getting jobs with prestigious companies after their graduation. Some companies have a policy of not hiring former student agitators.)
There is one other important factor in the Korean concept of chongui that is not totally unique to Korea but is much more developed there than in most cultures. When someone confesses to misconduct or a crime, expresses remorse, and asks for forgiveness but is subjected to the full measure of punishment anyway, the person typically takes it as an injustice, resents it deeply, never forgets or forgives, and, if possible, exacts some kind of revenge in the future.
Justice in Korea also has a nationalistic element that favors the Korean side in any situation involving foreigners. Some of this bias is to be expected. Consciously and unconsciously, most people favor their own kind. But in business and political disputes with foreigners, the tilt toward the Korean side is generally open and aggressive.
There is also often an easily discernible clan, regional, and relational aspect to local justice in Korean courts. The local judicial system can be expected to favor people who are members of the same family lineage or the same community. Part of this bias is a holdover from earlier times when local people regarded the central government as an adversary rather than an ally and generally resisted what they regarded as unfair treatment by bending laws or ignoring them altogether to benefit the local community.
Still today, the concept of Korean justice is generally based on what is best for society rather than on what is best for the individual. Because of this concept, individualistic foreigners who become involved with Korean courts are likely to be disappointed with the decisions handed down.
Chongyong 총용 Chohn-gyohng
Paying Proper Respect
One of the key Confucian principles of Korea’s traditional lifestyle was maintaining absolutely harmonious relationships among all people at all levels of society. The basis for this interpersonal harmony was the suppression of individual interests and desires coupled with unquestioning obedience to all superiors and the authorities, along with unselfish service to the family, the local community, and the nation.
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