[KS] Confucianism and economic development

[Hilary Finchum-Sung]

Here is another source you may find helpful:
Okon Hwang's 2001 dissertation, "Western Art Music in Korea: Everyday
Experience and Cultural Critique," while not focused on economics,
contains a fascinating section (pp. 174-209) on the influence of
Confucianism on twentieth-century cultural developments. She ties her
ideas in with a "post-Confucian hypothesis in economics."  The
hypothesis includes theories on transferred behavior and status
association.  She argues that the mass acceptance of Western art music
in South Korea was not caused by outside influence in the form of
cultural imperialism (as often hypothesized). She believes, instead,
that internal cultural mechanisms (i.e. Confucianism) fascilitated
Western art music's successful dissemination in South Korea.


Again, while not focused on economics, this study draws on fieldwork
and personal experience, and it provides an interesting perspective on
Confucianism's connection with contemporary cultural changes.

Hilary Finchum-Sung
Ph.D. Ethnomusicology
U.C. Berkeley, Center for Korean Studies




-------------------
> 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.
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
Ph.D. Candidate, Ethnomusicology
Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology
Indiana University