The Culture of South Korea

A Look at South Korea’s Culture

South Korea is a country in East Asia, on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. To the north, it is bordered by North Korea, with which it was united until 1945 (Oberdorfer, 1997). To the west, across the Yellow Sea, lies China, and to the southeast, across the Korea Strait, lies Japan. By far the largest city is the capital, Seoul; approximately one-third of the country’s population lives in or near the capital (Cordesman, 2002). The population is overwhelmingly ethnic Korean; roughly half are non-religious, with the remainder divided between Christians and Buddhists. The history of South Korea has seen five major constitutional changes since the country was founded in 1948 (Cordesman, 2002).

Basically the family is a body of relations, which is first formed by marriage. In Korea, the family often has a habit of living under one roof. The family member is related by blood. However, the family based on blood relatives has changed over time. However, to ensure the continuance of the family lineage, the oldest son is to succeed the father as the head of the family, showing the emphasis on the paternal line of the family (Oberdorfer, 1997). Children begin their school at the age of 7. After three years of middle school and three years of high school, students may advance to university for four years of higher education. The university entrance examinations are extremely rigorous, as indicated by the term “admissions war,” which aptly describes the fierce competition.

Korean culture includes a wide variety of religious elements that shapes people’s way of thinking and behavior. At the early stage of Korean history, Shamanism was a primitive religion, which penetrated into the daily life of the people through folk beliefs. People believed in the spirit of nature and universe. They also believed that all objects in this world had spirits. This belief can also be found in some groups of Thai people. They...