[KS] Confucianism and economic development

[Richard Miller]

Roger Janelli & Dawnhee Yim's book "Making Capitalism: The Social and
Cultural Construction of a South Korean Conglomerate" (Stanford University
Press, 1993), while not about development per se, does have a lot to say
about the uses of "Confucianism" in constructing and maintaining business
structures. I use quotation marks around "Confucianism" because the book
argues that behavior within a South Korean corporation depends precisely on
an rhetoric of Confucianism as a means of social control (such as your
advisee suggests). It thus relates rather directly to your advisee's project
on a theoretical level. The book is also drawn from fieldwork within a South
Korean company, which makes it a good counterweight for more abstract
macroeconomic or political policy approaches.

Richard Miller
UW-Madison School of Music
http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~rcmiller/

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Koreanstudies-admin at koreaweb.ws
> [mailto:Koreanstudies-admin at koreaweb.ws]On Behalf Of Morgan Pitelka
> Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 3:18 PM
> To: Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
> Subject: [KS] Confucianism and economic development
>
>
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> One of my advisees is conducting research on the connection between
> Confucianism and economic development in postwar South Korea. He is
> interested in both practice and discourse. In other words, he is not
> assuming that the connection always exists and is important, but rather
> expects that in many examples the rhetoric of Confucianism became a
> corporate and state tool in the attempt to construct certain kinds of
> identities and encourage certain kinds of behavior.
>
> The problem he is encountering is a plethora of vague references to the
> Confucian-development connection (particularly in discussions of the
> chaebol) combined with a lack of specific evidence.
>
> Can anyone suggest materials that might be useful in the study of this
> issue? Interviews, case studies, diaries, corporate PR, etc.? I've pasted
> the basic reading list he is working with at this point to the bottom of
> this message. (I am a specialist in East Asian premodern ceramics and
> cultural history, and thus out of my depth when it comes to
> modern economic
> history.)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Morgan
>
> *****************
> Morgan Pitelka
> Asian Studies Department
> 408 Johnson Hall
> Occidental College
> 1600 Campus Road
> Los Angeles, CA 90041
> 1-323-259-1421
> mailto:mpitelka at oxy.edu
> *****************
>
> Amsden, Alice. Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization.
> Oxford, 1989.
>
> Borthwick, Mark. The Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern
> Pacific Asia.
> Westview, 1992.
>
> Brook, Timothy and H.V. Luong. Culture and Economy: The Shaping of
> Capitalism in Eastern Asia. Michigan, 1997.
>
> Chung Kae H. and H.C. Lee. Korean Managerial Dynamics. Praeger, 1989.
>
> Cummings, Bruce. Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. Norton, 1997.
>
> Das, Dilip K. Korean Economic Dynamism. St. Martin's Press, 1992.
>
> Kim, Eun M. Big Business, Strong State: Collusion and Conflict in South
> Korean Development, 1960-1990. State University of New York, 1997
>
> Steers, Richard M. Made in Korea: Chung Ju Yung and the Rise of Hyundai.
> Routledge, 1999.
>
> Tai, Hung-chao. Confucianism and Economic Development: An Oriental
> Alternative? Washington Institute Press, 1989.
>
> Ungson, Gerardo R., R.M. Steers, and S.H. Park. Korean
> Enterprise: The Quest
> for Globalization. Harvard Business School, 1997.
>
>