Preface 4

Understanding Behavioral Patterns of Koreans from
the Perspective of Confucianism 11
Introduction 12
1. The Rise of Confucianism during the Joseon Dynasty 14
2. Confucian Imprints in the Socio-Cultural Patterns of Koreans 18
3. Korea as a Patriarchal Collectivistic Society 22
Conclusion 44

Understanding Korean Culture Through Some Principles 49
Introduction 50
1. The Korean Emphasis of the Literary: the ‘Spirit of Literature’ 52
Hunminjeongeum 52
The World’s First Book Printed by Metal Type, Jikji 58
The World’s Oldest Chinese Buddhist Scriptures, the Tripitaka Koreana 60
Strong Determination to Record Historic Events, the Sillok and Ilgi 62
2. The Dynamism of Modern Day Koreans: The ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ 70
The Unexpected Korean Wave 72
Korean’s Success in Popular Music and Movies 79
Successful Korean’s On-line 85
The Heart of Korea’s Dynamism: Dongdaemun Fashion Market 88
Crazed Red Devils 91
Epilogue 97

Understanding Korean Traditional Arts Through
the Spirit of Spontaneity 99
Introduction 100
1. The Formation of the concept of ‘Korean traditional beauty’ 104
2. The Ethos of Spontaneity in Art Works of the Late Joseon Period 108
3. Various Types of Representation of Spontaneity in Korean Arts 113
Spontaneity in Performing Arts 113
Spontaneity in Fine Arts 123
Spontaneity in Formative Arts 144
Conclusion 163

Understanding the Religions of Contemporary Korea 165
Introduction 166
1. Why is the Korean Religious Field so Unique? 176
2. Christianity: New Conqueror of the Korean Religious World 180
3. Confucianism: The Most Influential Religion in Korean Daily Life 192
4. Buddhism: The Center of Korean Religious Culture 204
5. Shamanism: Root of Korean Culture 217
Conclusion 230