Neo-Confucianism and Korea

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Category: One-day Conferences

June 5, 2008

As East Asia claims an ever-greater role in the global economy, it becomes even more important for American students to understand the forces that shaped its history. On June 5, 2008, 48 teachers from the greater New York area gathered for a one-day conference to learn about Neo-Confucianism and its impact on Korean culture and thought. John Goulde, professor of religion at Sweet Briar College, outlined the major tenets of Neo-Confucianism, explaining how it originated with Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty and how it differed from core Confucianism in shifting the weight of moral responsibility from state rulers to individuals and families. Goulde also explained how Neo-Confucianism filled a practical void in Korea left by the otherworldly emphases of the Buddhist and Taoist practices that dominated religious life in the late Koryo kingdom, and how it grew to become a civic religion under the succeeding Choson kingdom. In the conference's second session, Marjorie Bingham, an education author, retired teacher and professor at Hamline University, spoke to the teachers about her newly developed curricula entitled Between Steppes and Seas: China, Japan & Korea 1350-1650. The package of lesson plans describes how the three Neo-Confucian countries of East Asia--China, Japan and Korea--dealt with the challenges from the steppes and the sea. Following lunch, conference participants screened the film Festival, by acclaimed Korean director Im Kwon-taek, which tells the story of a feuding Korean family whose habits are heavily influenced by Neo-Confucian norms. The conference closed with a discussion of all the material that had been covered and how the teachers planned to present it to their students. After the conference, a number of teachers reported that the experience had made them curious to learn more about Korean culture and history. Blake Billings of the Portsmouth Abbey School told The Korea Society that "this [conference] will help with my own research, as well as the classroom and extracurricular work I do at my school."

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