Context Of South Korea Research Articles

Adaptation in action: the rise and fall of academic publications from Korean high schoolers, 2001–2021

South Korea implemented many-pronged educational reforms, notably to transition from heavy reliance on a high-stakes standardised test to more diversified assessment for university admissions. Nonetheless, this effort created another arena of competition towards meritocratic credentials—such as academic publications. The South Korean government, in 2014, prohibited high schools from documenting students’ extracurricular accomplishments earned outside schools. This paper analyses the impacts of these reforms. We queried large-scale bibliographic databases with prestigious high schools’ names in South Korea and retrieved publications where high school students were granted authorship between 2001 and 2021. We examine associations between school types, research topics, and the status of scholarly venues. We also show the number of papers from Korean high schoolers rose until the mid-2010s but declined after the 2014 intervention. Our findings suggest that diverse adaptive strategies can evolve as long as meritocratic ethos persists. We discuss further implications beyond the context of South Korea.

Toward sustainable recycled methanol production from CO2 and steel by-product gases in South Korea; process design and assessment

Methanol is receiving considerable attention as an alternative fuel because of its potential role as a transitional option in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and enabling the transition towards biofuels. Recycled methanol, produced using captured CO2 or industrial by-product gases, emerges as an attractive alternative in South Korea, especially considering the excessive emissions from its energy and industrial sectors. However, assessing technological superiority amongst a range of alternatives remains challenging. This study aims to assess and compare various methanol production pathways utilizing captured CO2 and by-product gases from steel industry within context of South Korea. The selected technologies are either currently in industrial use or pivotal for future industrial applications. A unified process design and assessment framework was employed to model and simulate eight technological conversion processes. These processes underwent evaluation based on key performance indicators, accompanied by comprehensive techno-economic and environmental life cycle assessments. Additionally, comparisons were made with conventional fossil-based methanol production, considering different hydrogen and electricity production routes. This study provides valuable insights into the viability of recycled methanol pathways in terms of process performance, economic and environmental feasibility and will facilitate the practical implementation of recycled methanol, contributing towards achieving carbon neutrality objectives.

In-between the West and the other: Postcolonial contradictions in Korean students’ understandings of Islam

ABSTRACT This study investigated how Korean students understand Islam, Islamic cultures, and Muslims by conducting open-ended, task-based interviews with 29 participants. Findings indicate the students believed that Islamic customs and cultures stalled in premodern periods and that Islamic ideas could not harmonise with the values of present-day society and might even be dangerous. At the same time, students showed sympathy towards Muslims, recognising them as marginalised throughout the world, including in Korean society. These contradictory ideas are discussed in relation to the postcolonial context in South Korea: students’ perceptions of Islam are situated in a unique context involving colonial experiences of being oppressed intertwined with Westernised perspectives. By revealing the conflicting understandings of Islam among non-Western students, this study adds complexity to the previous literature on Islamophobic understandings of students in Western countries.

“I Am A Feminist, But . . .” Practicing Quiet Feminism in the Era of Everyday Backlash in South Korea

In this study, we investigate the practice of feminism among young South Korean women in the era of backlash. Drawing on interviews with 40 female college students in South Korea, we found that most of the participants self-identify as feminists who engage in feminist activities primarily in private offline settings on their college campuses. To understand this phenomenon of quiet feminism, which contradicts the global trend of postfeminist attitudes and online feminism, we link the students’ offline practice of everyday feminism with what we term everyday backlash. Our findings reveal that these young women have encountered widespread antifeminist sentiments in both online and offline everyday contexts since the rapid popularization of feminism in South Korea in the late 2010s. We argue that this pervasive everyday backlash not only motivates the students to create safe spaces within their college campuses but also discourages them from publicly disclosing their feminist identities. Through this research, we contribute to the literature on contemporary feminist practice and its relationship with backlash by offering a nuanced understanding of the local context in South Korea.

Cultural Dynamics and Psychological Perspectives: Unraveling the Human Psyche in South Korea

This article delves into the intricate interplay between cultural dynamics and psychological perspectives within the context of South Korea. Rooted in a rich tapestry of Confucian values, modernization, and global influences, South Korean society undergoes continuous transformations that shape the perceptions and behaviors of its people. The exploration begins by examining the deep-seated Confucian heritage, collectivism, and social hierarchy that influence individual and group psychology. Traditional values, norms, and practices are unveiled as influential factors in shaping psychological attitudes and behaviors, with a particular focus on family-centered values, collectivism, and the unique concept of "han". Modernization, urbanization, and globalization are then analyzed for their role in reshaping traditional cultural dynamics and their implications for mental health and well-being. The narrative shifts towards the effects of technology, media, and exposure to Western values on different generations, resulting in nuanced psychological perspectives. The emergence of a culture of competition, high expectations, and the "exam hell" phenomenon in South Korean society is explored, highlighting the stress, anxiety, and mental health implications that ensue.

The colonizers, the developmental state, and uneven geography of development: Reclamation of South Korea's tidal flats, 1900s-1980s

South Korea's tidal flats, called getbol, are muddy and grayish coastal wetlands under the tidal influence that constitute the predominant landform of South Korea's west and southwest coasts. Today, getbol is appreciated for its biological and geological diversity, for which it recently earned UNESCO's World Heritage status. Yet, throughout the 20th century, more than 50% of getbol areas were lost due to coastal reclamation, a civil engineering practice of enclosing and filling in getbol. This paper closely examines the history of getbol from the 1900s to the 1980s. While being messy and complex, the history shows a tendency for reclamation to have evolved from small to large in terms of scale and from private-led to state-led initiatives. In popular imaginations, the reclamation of getbol is thought to have been driven top-down by governing authorities, particularly by the “developmental state” that roughly governed from the 1960s through the 1980s. While this explanation aligns with the general trend, this paper highlights that the state did not act solely upon its own will but responded to the desires of those that the state had to satisfy to gain political legitimacy. Ultimately, within the context of South Korea's uneven geography of development, this paper argues that the reclamation of getbol transitioned from a project for the entire nation to a project for the rural populations and the agricultural sector, which lagged behind the country's tantalizing economic growth.

GUIDELINES ON UKRAINIAN HIGHER EDUCATION MODERNISATION THROUGH EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF SOUTH KOREA

Within the article, the author delves into an examination of higher education within the context of South Korea. This examination is grounded in an assessment of its legislative, organizational, and substantial dimensions of operation. The author proceeds to delineate the pivotal elements that have underpinned South Korea’s accomplishments in the realm of higher education, encompassing governmental strategies, educational investment, advances in scientific research, and the interplay of societal and cultural facets within the national framework. Through a comprehensive scrutiny of the South Korean model, the author accentuates pertinent issues that hold relevance for Ukrainian higher education during the backdrop of wartime conditions and the ensuing phase of post-war reconstruction. Furthermore, the article elucidates the potentialities inherent in assimilating the constructive lessons drawn from South Korea’s educational achievements and translating them into practical applications within the Ukrainian context. This endeavour takes into careful consideration the distinctive national attributes and the exigencies that society will encounter during the post-war epoch. The matter of adapting specific methodologies for the administration of higher education, notably pertaining to the collaboration between institutions of higher learning, the governmental apparatus, and industry stakeholders, is also unveiled. These approaches hold promise for Ukraine’s higher education modernisation, fostering a substantial enhancement of its research capabilities. By way of a comparative lens, the author brings to light the potential of harnessing South Korea’s higher education experience as a catalyst for the nation’s resurgence post-conflict and proffers corresponding recommendations.

Correlates of private security officers’ job satisfaction in South Korea

ABSTRACT This exploratory research examines the determinants of private security officer’s job satisfaction. Despite the growing private security industries and their influence on security governance around the world, little is known about private security officers’ attitudes towards their work. In order to fill this gap, 436 in-house and contract security officers are analysed in the cultural context of South Korea. The impacts of job and organisational characteristics on job satisfaction are examined, and a subgroup analysis is performed to assess the differences in the predictors of job satisfaction between in-house and contract officers.

Moral Reasoning about Aggressive Behavior in Relation to Type of Aggression, Age and Gender in South Korean Pupils.

Studies of moral reasoning in relation to aggressive behaviors have paid limited attention to different types of aggression, and have mainly been conducted in Western societies. We describe findings from a study of 157 children, aged 6 or 11 years, from two schools in South Korea. Using a cartoon scenario methodology, we assessed moral reasoning about eight types of aggression: verbal, physical individual, physical group, social exclusion, rumor spreading, breaking one’s belongings, sending a nasty text via mobile phone, and sending a nasty message/email via computer. Four aspects of moral reasoning were assessed: moral judgment, harmfulness, reason for judgment, and causal responsibility. Many significant differences by type of aggression were found, especially for social exclusion (seen as less wrong and harmful, and more the victim’s responsibility), physical group aggression (seen as more wrong or harmful, and a matter of fairness, especially in older children and boys), and cyber aggression (seen more as the aggressor’s responsibility). Older children gave more reasons based on welfare, and fewer “don’t know” responses for reasons and attributions. Gender differences were relatively few, but girls did make more use of welfare in the moral reasoning domain. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research and the cultural context in South Korea.

Catalysts for Rapid Internationalization of SMEs: Born Globals in South Korea

This research article analyses the present explanations of the phenomenon of born globals, in particular within the context of South Korea with the objective of identifying the characteristics that can affect the rapid internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The traditional theories of internationalization have built with the aim of illuminating the internationalization of large multinational enterprises (MNEs). These models explain that doing international business develops progressively over time and firms establish themselves domestically before gradually turning into global markets. However, those traditional theories were unable to clarify the way of acting of companies which include SMEs that leapfrog or rising development of born globals. This has created a requirement for a new interpretation of internationalization. As an export-led country, born globals play an important role in improving South Korea's competitiveness. This review has significant implications which propose that many characteristics can affect the rapid internationalization of SMEs in South Korea even though they are still not precisely clear. Thus the paper highlights that wider empirical research is significant to this country for understanding the specific characteristics that are responsible for the rapid internationalization of their SMEs.

Differing views on forgiveness: how do graduate-level theology students in South Korea perceive divine and human forgiveness?

ABSTRACT How do graduate-level theology students in Korea perceive human and divine forgiveness? Are there certain aspects of forgiveness that they see as more different than other aspects because of their theological and cultural assumptions of human and divine forgiveness? Theology students from two Protestant divinity programs in South Korea showed higher endorsements for abandoning a desire for revenge, developing goodwill toward the offender, and restoring relationships in the context of divine forgiveness than human forgiveness. They did not differ on their level of endorsement for reconciliation as a necessary component of divine and human forgiveness. We discuss our findings within the context of South Korea and provide implications for clinical practice, limitations, and directions for future research.

The expanded halo model of brand image, country image and product image in the context of three Asian countries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine an alternate halo model across the context of South Korea, China and India, and provide expanded interrelationships among their major brands’ brand images, country images, general product images and category-specific images (electronics and fashion handbags). Design/methodology/approach The proposed hypotheses in the alternate halo model were tested through a quantitative (survey) approach. Findings The results of analyzing 305 American consumers’ responses suggest theoretical and marketing implications for Asian countries in utilizing brand image effect and cross-category halo effects in marketing products in the global market. Originality/value The study proposes an alternate country image model that can be applied to the context of Asian countries with relatively immature country image, which is expanded from the traditional models in literature.

Modern management and the demand for technical skill

This paper examines the relationship between modern management practices and the demand for different occupational skills utilizing a unique context in South Korea after the Asian financial crisis. Management practices in South Korea had traditionally emphasized the organizational harmony over individual performance, and firm growth over short-term profits. However, as South Korea opened up to foreign firms after the financial crisis, domestic firms started to adopt western or more ``modern" management practices. Using the industry level variation in management practices generated by the average industry management index of five advanced economies (the US, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy), I find that modern management increases the demand for technical skill. Moreover, modern management practices help achieve various organizational changes that utilize information technology. I also find that performance measured as the return on asset increases with modern management practices, and document the complementarity between modern management practices and technical workers in increasing the return on assets. In short, this paper finds that modern management practices may increase the earnings difference between skilled - in particular, technically skilled - and unskilled workers.

Confucian Democracy and a Pluralistic Li-Ki Metaphysics

This essay explores the possible constructive role of a Confucian metaphysics in the pluralistic Confucian-democratic context of South Korea. In his recent landmark study, Sungmoon Kim has argued that South Korean democracy is sustained by a public culture of civility that is grounded in Confucian habits and mores and yet is pluralistic in ethos. I appreciatively interrogate Kim’s thesis in order to advance a claim that a comprehensive Confucian doctrine such as Confucian metaphysics can contribute significantly to the flourishing of Confucian democratic public culture, provided that it affirm a pluralistic ontology. I contend that the tradition of Korean Neo-Confucian li-ki metaphysics, particularly one found in the works of Nongmun Im Seong-ju, offers rich resources for a pluralistic ontology despite its history of ethical monism. By putting Nongmun’s thought in conversation with some of the contemporary critiques of the Schmittian (mis-)appropriation of the notion of popular sovereignty, I outline a pluralized version of the Rousseauian general will—a kind of critically affectionate solidarity of diverse groups of people—that is Confucian in character. My claim is that such a critically affectionate solidarity finds its grounds in and draws its nourishment from a pluralistic Confucian ontology.

Modern Management and the Demand for Technical Skill

This paper examines the relationship between modern management practices and the demand for different occupational skills utilizing a unique context in South Korea after the Asian financial crisis. Management practices in South Korea had traditionally emphasized the organizational harmony over individual performance, and firm growth over short-term profits. However, as South Korea opened up to foreign firms after the financial crisis, domestic firms started to adopt western or more “modern” management practices. Using the industry level variation in management practices generated by the average industry management index of five advanced economies (the US, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy), I find that modern management increases the demand for technical skill. Moreover, modern management practices help achieve various organizational changes that utilize information technology. I also find that performance measured as the return on asset increases with modern management practices, and document the complementarity between modern management practices and technical workers in increasing the return on assets. In short, this paper finds that modern management practices may increase the earnings difference between skilled - in particular, technically skilled - and unskilled workers.

Performing the Bible in the Korean Context: Korean Ways of Reading, Singing, and Dramatizing the Scriptures

The present study explores the performative nature of the Bible as a sacred text in the Korean context. Drawing on the theory of scriptural performance advocated by James W. Watts, I investigate its character as words and contents. First, I delve into the scriptural performance of thoroughly reading (and listening to) the Bible at the level of words. Second, I scrutinize the scriptural performance of singing and dramatizing the Bible at the level of contents. The specific context of South Korea—whether religious, cultural, or social—alerts us to the performed transformation of the semantic range of the long-standing Christian tradition. Given the cultural differences between Western and Eastern Christianity, I contend that the adaptation of Christianity to Korean soil renders the performative dimension of the scriptures all the more semantic. In other words, the Korean ways of performing the Bible are essentially deeply rooted in those of signifying it. In the long term, Christianity turns out to be such a global religion that it provokes a more complex analysis of its scriptural performance in its widely differing range of semantics.

How do Korean nursing students build knowledge? A constructivist grounded theory study

IntroductionNursing is a knowledge-intensive profession. Therefore, to cope with the demands of the nursing role, nursing students need to become competent in managing information to build nursing knowledge. However, nursing...

Self-coverage for public interest or self-promotion: How media cross-ownership structures affect news content in South Korea

The growing phenomenon of cross-ownership by media conglomerates and the influence of that phenomenon on news content continues to receive considerable attention internationally. Such cross-ownership of media has triggered discussions about whether media firms prioritize their own business interests through self-promotion. In the context of South Korea where the three main newspapers are permitted by the government to cross-own cable TV network subsidiaries, this study looks at whether and to what extent self-coverage is done with the intent of self-promotion. Specifically, this study examined 1362 news articles about issues related to self-coverage published in five of South Korea’s major newspapers – three with cable TV networks and, for purposes of comparison, two without. Content analysis showed that the three newspapers that cross-own cable TV networks were more likely than their competitors to cover more frequently as well as more positively news about their primary shareholders along with news about programs broadcast by their own subsidiary cable TV networks. These results may suggest that self-coverage by newspaper companies in South Korea tend to favor their own private interests at levels higher than news of public interest.

Hidden transcripts of teacher resistance: a case from South Korea

This paper explores teachers’ resistance against pedagogic reform in South Korea, which was instituted in the form of an in-service teacher certification. Ideas for the reform, Teaching English in English (TEE), were borrowed from ‘native-English-speaking countries’ and implemented without systematic localization, therefore, it was not surprising that teachers resisted it, although hidden from the reform managers to avoid disciplinary action. The paper starts with a description of the educational context in South Korea, which has fashioned teachers’ practices of resistance. The conceptualization of resistance follows, drawing on studies from varied disciplines, including Foucault’s work on resistance ‘of conduct’ (counter-conducts) and Scott’s ‘invisible’ resistance. Findings from a case study of the TEE certification are then discussed. Teachers were engaged in various forms of low-profile resistance, which culminated to impact on the fate of the certification. The paper highlights the potential impact of resistance on the course of a reform, which has often been disregarded as non-constituent or unimportant or even misunderstood as compliance by reform managers and researchers. Thus, it contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of teachers’ resistance in the context of educational reforms, which has wider implications, as borrowed educational reforms are becoming all too frequent around the world.

New Forms of Place-Making and Public Space in Contemporary Urban Development in Seoul, South Korea

Place-making and its evolving role in urban design has become a major issue in setting the 21st century urban development agenda. A key aspect of this within South East and East Asia in particular is an apparent tension between global aspirations and local tradition in emerging states such as China, South Korea and Malaysia. The intention of this paper is to provide a better understanding of how new place making can be incorporated in contemporary urban development, particularly within this South East/East Asian context, so that the needs of local cultures can be sustained and developed, whilst acknowledging the desire of emerging states to gain international respect and recognition. The focus of this research is on exploring how these two views of design—the globally aspirational, and the locally situated and informed— might be reconciled, using the particular context of South Korea and the city of Seoul as a case study.