A Heuristic Attempt at Understanding Economic Action in South Korea

Abstract

This article presents a heuristic attempt at understanding economic action in South Korea. The heuristic is based on the idea of experience-near concepts — as introduced by Clifford Geertz — and constructed by the terms 'affiliation', 'indebtedness' and 'mediation'. In order to enrich the understanding of economic action in Korea I chose the interplay between the functionalist and the interpretivist paradigm. Qualitative interviews with native and foreign executives were conducted on site and interpreted against the background of (Neo-)Confucianism in South Korea. For the purpose of the study I developed 'the (Neo-)Confucian way of life' as an ideal type, following Max Weber's 'ideal typical construction of meaning'.