Week 5: Korea (Julian Merino)

Korea has been undergoing a stage of cultural policy attempting to establish their cultural identity. They have used culture and arts and fostering of cultural industries as a vehicle for their national image. There is a relationship between cultural identity and cultural policy which can shift at different stages with government deals. The cultural discontinuity between Korea’s traditional culture and contemporary culture stems from the Japanese colonialism, Korean War, and influx of western culture. Han minjok, or the Korean nation as a whole is a term used to explain the existence of their unified country. The spread of Confucianism was also a factor, but have since eroded and was seen as a different faction than the contemporary culture. What I have a question for today is whether countries like the Philippines have so much influences outside of their country, can do the same as Korea and define what it’s not and utilize that model.

Works Cited:

Yim, Haksoon. "Cultural Identity and Cultural Policy in South Korea." International Journal of Cultural Policy 8.1 (2002): 37-48. International Journal of Cultural Policy. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.