Korea's Transition to Modernity and KDrama

Korea's Transition to Modernity by Carter J. Eckert explain's modern Korea's (both North and South) sense of "national entitlement and destiny" or in layman's terms its search and will (desire) for greatness. In this article, we look at the various world orders Korea has adopted in this search and we see the legacies of these orders in modern Korean society (though I will focus on K-drama) today.

The first world order the article talks about is the Sinitic world order which is based on the two principles of "revering China" and "expelling the barbarians". Though this order originated in China, it doesn't imply the indefinite political dominance of China (though Korea did have to pay tribute). Instead the heirarchy of this world order is defined by how close the nations follow the two principles where "revering China" means following the Chou culture (Confucian teachings) and trying to be as close to this "perfect" society as possible. Like the other world orders, this was a cultural heiarchy (higher = more civilized = greater) where Korea has the potential for and strived for greatness (ie. moving up, eventually reaching the top). In fact for a period of time the Koreans actually believed they were at the top since the Chinese were overtaken by "barbarians" or the Manchus and had "fallen".

Influences of this world order in kdrama is best exemplified by Sweet 18. Sweet 18 has alot of references to the older Korean generation's obsession with Chinese culture. The main girl fell in love with the main guy because he read 出师表 (Chu1 Shi1 Biao3) a work by the Chinese strategist/scholar/minister 诸葛亮 (Zhu1 Ge3 Liang4) from the Three Kingdoms Period. This is also shown when the main guy's grandfather wrote Chinese calligraphy and the focus on family lineage and responsibility (both main guy and girl are descendants of Confucian scholars and possibly yangban class).

The second world order mentioned is the Social Darwinism world order perpetuated by Korean reformers in response to Western and Japanese influences. This world order is based on the Western ideas of rationality, science and sometimes Christianity (cultural manisfestations of west). This order is also hierarchal in order with the rank determined by level of enlightenment (or level of westernization) with the most enlightened countries being "masters" (chuin), semi-enlightened countries being "honered guests" (pin'gaeki) and the unenlightened countries being "slaves" (noya). However, like the Sinitic world order, the Social Darwinism world order isn't static as since countries can become more fit and move up the heirarchy by modernizing. If fact the main architect of this idea Yu Kilchin saw potential for Korea's greatness in the technology advances in the past (celadon ceramics, ironplated ships, metal movable type...though I thought this was Chinese) and stated that if Korea only made the effort, it could go from being a "slave" to a "honered guest" and then eventually a "master".

Direct influences of this are hard to find in the Korean dramas but I think any of the ones with a European setting/influence might fit like Lovers in Paris or Lovers in Prague. Possible implication that European = sophisticated?

The next world order mentioned isn't really directly named and defined like the ones above but is instead implied when the Koreans tried to carve a place for itself under Japanese rule. The name that Japan gave for their rule is the Greater East Asian Prosperity Sphere and is founded on the ideas of Japanese racial superiority and political dominance. Though this order is restrictive in that no matter how hard Koreans try, the racism of the Japanese will prevent them from reaching the top, many Koreans tried to improve themselves on an individual basis by excelling in their field and accumulating personal wealth. On a societal basis there was the Korean Ilchinhoe "Advance in Unity Society" which tried to make Japan assume the role that China assumed in the Sinitic world order and hoped that this cooperation will lead to home rule or at least a special place in the postwar Japanese empire (which didn't happen b/c Japan was defeated).

References to this in Kdrama (that I've watched) is even harder to find but we can see influences of this in the 21st century where the new Korean multinationals battle the older (I think) Japanese multinationals. For example, Samsung directly competes with Japanese electronics companies like Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, etc and Hyundai and Daewoo which directly competes with Japanese auto companies like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi etc.

Unlike the previous world orders the next two world orders are actually simultaneous because they were followed by two simultaneously existing Koreas. They are the post-1945 Pax Americana World Order and the post-1945 socialist world order followed by North Korea and South Korea respectively.

For South Korea, the post-1945 Pax Americana World Order is defined as one where it participates in the democratic industrialist capitalist civilization of west which is centered on the US. Similar to the Social Darwinism world order, modernization (upward mobility) is the goal though it is unclear on what aspect South Korea should focus on modernizing (philosophical/moral, economic or social/political). The politicial changes of South Korea reflects this going from democracy (that emphasized moral/philosophical modernization but economic failure) to military rule (that emphasized economic development but authoritarian) to democracy (that emphasize social/political freedom) again.

Influences of a post-1945 Pax-Americana world order can be best exemplified by the Kdrama Love Story in Harvard. This is a drama that I haven't watched but which's title implies the allure of American institutions, culture, etc to Koreans. Also, things to think about are the American influences in the Korean music scene, namely the rap and hiphop genres (Though I'm not a fan...I remember a Korean rap duo that was popular in Taiwan in the 1990s called Ku4Long2).

For North Korea, the post-1945 socialist world order is one where the member countries pledged allegiance to an international socialist vision and community centered on the Soviet Union. This is one where socialism is offered as an alternative economic development option to capitalism and promising the participants of this order "economic prosperity and justice". Though originally Kim Il Sung tried to follow the Salinist approach, eventually the socialist world order for North Korea came to take on the form of Kimilsunglism. Kimilsunglism is communism - Korean style, based on the philosophy of chuch'e sasang or "self reliance or independance" or a "notion of self-defined autonomy where Koreans were masters of their own destiny and all Korean thought and action should be based on national needs and goals". This order measures greatness by how closely a country follows Kim's ideas with North Korea naturally being at the top since it is the land of Kim Il Sung.

Influences of this in kdrama...I'm not sure but Kim's egotistical personality is parodied in the American movie Team America.

To conclude this very, very, very long entry, the main point that I wanted to make is that I learned alot from reading this article and it put alot of things in perspective for me in terms of Koreans modern historical development and the references in Kdramas or popular culture that I have seen. It makes me wonder if the recent surge in Korean period pieces is in fact trying to assert its greatness by showing how "civilized" they were back X00 years ago. The modern Korea (or South Korea), I feel, is on the pathway of its past, striving to achieve greatness by playing the culture card (ie. I have more/better culture or follow the current world order closer = I am more superior).