The Changing Morals of Korean Student
The Changing Morals of Korean Student
The Changing Morals of Korean Student
Excerpts
It is well known that Koreas traditional morality has been strongly
influenced by Confucianism centered around the family. On the other hand,
todays Korean Student has the preconceived notion that Confucian moral
the custom that prescribed circumspection in penance for sin (the death
of parents was traditionally attributed to the sins of sons and daughters).
This is interpreted as meaning that students reflect common sense that
ritual should always befit the social, and particularly the economic realities
of society.
Another characteristic peculiar to Koreas traditional moral values
spiritual values over material or physical values, the Korean students seem
is. The Korean student agrees in principle that he should uphold filial
become a man of character replete with knowledge and the virtues than to
duties and he does not dare deny parental merits of his duty to support his
be-come a technician skilled in one particular field only. They also believe
that even if they live on the verge of starvation, they will become just and
more care of his parents than he does of his wife and children, Thirty years
ago the young Korean man not only thought he did but actually he did care
for his parents more than his wife and his children. But the actual behavior
of todays young man shows he is not so strictly bound by his moral
obligations even though he continues to think he is.
The Korean college student agrees in principle with filial duty on the one
hand but, on the other, he is not blindly devoted to his parents as
Confucian morals would dictate. Instead, he believes that impractical
elements should be eliminated from the traditional notion of filial duty.
For instance, the average Korean does not think it is right to sacrifice the
freedom of his children for the sake of filial duty or to abandon an
opportunity to study abroad in order to care for his parents, and he does
not agree with the unscientific notion that failure to produce male children
honest men and that at the same time they treasure such spiritual values
as the arts and friendship more than mere material values. Their ideal is
the person who lives in poverty but who has knowledge and integrity and
not the man who enjoys wealth and power but lacks knowledge and
character
It is probably in sex that Korean students have managed to free
themselves completely from the traditional moral code: As the old saying
Boys and girls cannot sit in the same place after they turn seven
indicates. Confucianists were most strict concerning sexual morals. Such a
conservative opinion has been maintained according to the letter but it has
undergone such drastic changes that in actual practice few take feudalistic
sexual morals without question. Some thirty years ago it was commonly
considered bad for a student to befriend a girl, but few retain such an
attitude nowadays
Although the opinions on sexual morals are said to be quite free
trespass the original notion of Confucian filial duty in that they believe
that the final decision concerning marriage should be made by the couple
involved.
Funeral and memorial services for ones parents and grandparents
students call for the total abrogation of such ritual but many favor
.It may be common to all people of all ages that there is a gap
between what one thinks and what he actually does, but such gap appears
reasons why students still pay respect to the political ideas of Confucius
important tasks people in a new age face to endeavor-or to narrow the gap
and Mencius is, more often than not, that they believe mans inherent
between ideas and actions; in some cases the idea must be changed and in
others the action must be geared in another direction; Herein lies the
urgent need to establish a new morality with which our actions can be
accord.
Source: Reading and Writing the Essay
by Ramos and Valeros, pages 87-89