Paul+Choi

My Video Diary media type="youtube" key="peDHGhH0rYM" width="425" height="350"

__**Filial Piety Response**__ Although I cannot ignore the Western culture’s influence in my life, I was exposed to Korean mentality and culture for most of my life. The Korean culture had shaped myself very conservatively, and I take many of the principles into my lifestyle. As I was reading the Chinese culture of filial piety, I could feel a similarity that wasn’t just a mere ‘somewhat same’ culture. The applied culture in the writing was basically what I applied in my life – life as a member of a conservative Korean family. Therefore, I carefully concluded that the Chinese principle of filial piety has crossed the boarder to Korea along with Confucianism. Koreans have the tendency of preferring boys as well as the Chinese, and the burden of filial conduct on the sons and daughters is heavy. Most of all, just as how the ‘first son’ holds a big importance in the family in China, Koreans also have the principle of ‘sang-joo’, which means the ‘first son’. In public schools in Korea, there is a compulsory subject called ‘filial conducts’ that students take. Among many cultures that Korea took in from China in the past, the principle of filial piety I think is one of the few which hasn’t changed a lot.

__**Western Intrusion Number 8 Reflection**__ Having the reflection and the information in mind, I think Korea might have had the potential to develop faster if it had opened up to the west. In case of Japan, who opened up to the west way faster than Korea, was able to extract benefits from the west and used them to develop their own technology. If Korea had also done so, Korea might have been on the same level as Japan back then. Also, I thought the reason behind persecuting the western influence was way too minute compared to the potential benefits Korea could have achieved through the west. Keeping tradition could have been moved to the next priority (not meaning that it should be abandoned), and absorb the western culture into benefit. Therefore, I thought Korea could have been better off in the past only if it had opened up to the west just like how Japan did.