Re-defining South Korean Scholarship and Education within the Context of Globalization

Abstract

In his article Re-defining South Korean Scholarship and Education within the Context of Globalization Simon C. Estok discusses effects of globalization on the educational and scholarly goals and realities of Korea. Estok argues that although the transformational impacts of globalization in terms of sports, entertainment, politics, and business in Korea are visible, efforts to produce more globally visible Korean scholarship have been ineffective and counter-productive. Estok shows that the imagined dangers to Korean nationhood are rooted in fears of invasion which have strong historical and contemporary justification. Colonized for a third of the twentieth century, Korea in the twenty-first century is a recipient, not a contributor, of global scholarly capital. True transformations of Korean education and scholarship, Estok argues, will only happen once Korea addresses the key issues: that solutions are often superficial, that there are fundamental differences between educational philosophies of Korea and the West, that policy makers are out-of-touch with the schools and universities, and that racism and xenophobia within Korea are hindrances. Simon C. Estok, Re-defining South Korean Scholarship and Education within the Context of Globalization page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.2 (2013): Thematic Issue Asian Culture(s) and Globalization. Ed. I-Chun Wang and Li Guo