Chapter 07
Koreans in Korean Society
Trust, achievement, values, generations
01 What Is Cultural Psychology?02 The Korean Heart03 “I” and “We”04 Side by Side05 Happiness and Sinmyeong06 Meeting the Unfamiliar07 Koreans in Korean Society08 Fate and Ritual
In preparation · The essay for this chapter is in preparation. Meanwhile, start with the key papers below — each has a plain summary and an in-depth explainer.
Key papers in this chapter
The studies that became reference points — each opens a plain summary and an in-depth explainer.
Asking Korean adolescents and their parents why they trust each other, the study found trust rests less on ability than on the relationship itself, sacrifice, emotional support, and sincerity and honesty.
The Basis of Trust in Relationships: Indigenous Psychological Analysis of Adolescents and Their Parents
김의철, 박영신2004CH 07Key paper
Pulling together many empirical studies, the authors show that Koreans trust people on the basis of “we” relationships, emotional bonds, and moral character (sincerity, honesty) rather than ability.
Indigenous Psychological Analysis of Trust in Korean Culture
박영신, 김의철2005CH 07Key paper
Using available data, the paper shows how nepotism based on blood, school, and regional ties (yeongo-juui, 연고주의) monopolizes and divides Korean society, and proposes its roots and alternatives.
Negative Effect of Nepotism on the Development of Korean Society and an Exploration of an Alternative
이종한1994CH 07Key paper
By asking the same questions in 1979 and 1998, the study compared how Koreans' values and the generation gap changed over 20 years.
Changes of Values and Generational Gaps Between 1970's and 1990's in Korea
나은영, 차재호1999CH 07Key paper
A review of prior studies showing that Koreans see self-regulation — effort and will — as the key to achievement, while they perceive ability as closer to luck and fate.
An Indigenous Psychological Analysis of Koreans' Achievement Consciousness and Attributional Style
박영신2000CH 07Key paper
What came after
Asking the same questions in 1979, 1998, and 2010, the study tracked 30 years of Korean values: individualism and gender equality kept rising, and lately people in their 50s have been catching up, narrowing the generation gap a little.
Trends of Value Changes in Korea: Based on 1979, 1998, and 2010 Survey Data
나은영, 차유리2010CH 07Since 2010
Part of why Koreans distrust politicians and the courts is that they expect as much as they expect of their own parents, or more — and the tendency to see society as a family (family expansionism) raises that bar.
Can High Trust Expectation Cause Low Trust? The Roles of Trust Criteria and Family Expansionism
허용회 et al.2017CH 07Since 2010