Scholars of Korean history and society are often puzzled by why South Korean workers are so egalitarian.
To propose answers to this question, Hwasook Nam, assistant professor in the history ?department, organized a Korean conference at which scholars from around the world presented lectures on the theme “The Roots of Egalitarianism in ?Korea.”
Professor Sun Joo Kim from Harvard gave the first presentation for the conference on Feb. 9 in Orson Spencer Hall on the late Choson period of Korea’s history and the emphasis placed on education during that time.
“According to Korean states, the important thing was not pedigree,” Kim said, “but examinations for eligible positions in the state.” ?
Kim also discussed the rebellion of 1823.
“Even violent struggle didn’t motivate the court to reform; they didn’t recognize immediate need for reform,” he said.
Marginalized groups tried to improve their ?careers by rationalizing through conflict and logic, Kim said.
Seung Kye from Washington State University studied the formation of egalitarianism from a different perspective. He discussed the distinction between first and second sons and how Korean Confucianism discriminated against secondary sons.
“The main argument was that because second sons inherit father’s blood, he should inherit father’s estate too, but that is not what happened,” Kye said.
Distinction between sons and the consciousness of ?status was apparent in literary works during the 18th and 19th centuries. ?
“Status conflicts frequently appear in conjunction with love affairs and marriage,” said Soo Chang Oh, from Hallym University in Korea.
“The Tale of Yangban,” “Ch’onggu Yadam,” “The Tale of the Toad” and “The Judgment of the Stork” are all stories that address the rising social issues of the late Choson period, Oh said.
Oh also discussed how the Hong Kyongnae Rebellion was the starting point of revolutionary movements during the Choson era, in which commoners formed the main body of the rebellion.
Leaders of the rebellion were from different social classes.
“Hong Kyongnae (chief commander of the ?rebellion) was a commoner, his social status classified as the lower class of P’yong’an Province residents,” Oh said.
On the other hand, the deputy commander Kim Sayong came from a powerful family. The rebellion was ?not truly revolutionary, but it led to other revolutionary efforts.
Greg Lowe, graduate student in Asian studies, said he learned a great deal from Kye’s presentation on Confucianism.
“It made me ?think about some different viewpoints,” he said.
