Korean Cultural Context Research Articles

Extreme males – balanced females: sharing behavior in Korea

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine sharing behavior among male and female subjects in Korea who had been exposed to sensitive variables derived from the Korean cultural context.Design/methodology/approach– Experimental research methodology was applied based on the ultimatum game and a modified variant. The subject pool consisted of participants (N= 300) from five universities based in Seoul and its vicinity as well as Busan in South Korea.Findings– Significant differences in sharing behavior between men and women were observed. Men significantly altered behavior from egoistic to overly altruistic when exposed to the cultural variables, whereas women did not alter their behavior and maintained a fair and balanced behavior independent of the game condition.Practical implications– Results positively contribute to the current debate on gender-diversified top management teams and have implications for firms that could benefit from a greater variety of problem-solving approaches to increase the overall quality of decision-making.Originality/value– Analyzing sharing behavior using sensitive contextual variables in an experimental framework is a new approach in gender studies. Based on this approach, novel and significant context-dependent traits of divergent decision-making behavior among men and women were found.

자녀들의 온라인 게임 이용에 대한 부모 중재 전략

This study explored parental mediation strategies of children`s online gaming and their relevant variables which could influence on them. A survey to 379 parents with elementary, middle, highschool, and college aged children revealed 7 distinctive parental mediation strategies of children`s online gaming, that is, `instructive`, `co-playing`, `rule-based`, `restrictive`, `technological`, `government regulation-dependent`, and `active guidance` mediation. Also, the results showed that there was significant relation between the parental mediation strategies, characteristics of parents, and characteristics of children. This study holds its significance in identifying the parental mediation types reflecting media characteristics of online games and Korean social and cultural context.

The modifying role of caregiver burden on predictors of quality of life of caregivers of hospitalized chronic stroke patients

BackgroundCaregiver burden is an important predictor of quality of life (QoL) among caregivers of stroke patients. While caregiver burden and QoL might be closely related, caregiver burden seems also to be a potential modifier of the associations between patients' and caregivers' characteristics and caregivers' QoL. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of caregiver burden in caregivers of hospitalized chronic stroke patients and the predictors of caregivers' QoL by level of caregiver burden. MethodsA total of 238 patients and their caregivers were interviewed using questionnaires consisting of the Zarit Burden Interview and the Korean-version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed to determine the predictors of caregivers' QoL among caregivers stratified by median caregiver burden score (high/low). ResultsCaregiver burden had a modifying effect on caregivers' QoL. In caregivers with high burden, the patient characteristics of being unemployed and the caregiver characteristics of poor health status, lower income, and being a spouse were negative predictors of caregivers' QoL. In caregivers with low burden, the patient characteristics of being hospitalized for a longer duration and the caregiver characteristics of poor health status were negative predictors of caregivers' QoL (all ps < 0.05). ConclusionsThis study found that in South Korea, more attention should be paid to spouses who are caring for hospitalized chronic stroke patients, particularly with regard to their health status and financial problems. Further studies are needed to examine the impact of factors not examined in the Korean cultural context.

Extending a structural model of somatization to South Koreans: Cultural values, somatization tendency, and the presentation of depressive symptoms

BackgroundSomatization refers to the tendency to emphasize somatic symptoms when experiencing a psychiatric disturbance. This tendency has been widely reported in patients from East Asian cultural contexts suffering from depression. Recent research in two Chinese samples have demonstrated that the local cultural script for depression, involving two aspects—the experience and expression of distress (EED) and conceptualization and communication of distress (CCD)—can be evoked to help explain somatization. Given the beliefs and practices broadly shared across Chinese and South Korean cultural contexts, the current study seeks to replicate this explanatory model in South Koreans. MethodsOur sample included 209 psychiatric outpatients from Seoul and Wonju, South Korea. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess somatization tendency, adherence to traditional values, and psychological and somatic symptoms of depression. ResultsResults from SEM showed that the EED and CCD factors of somatization tendency were differently associated with cultural values and somatic symptoms, replicating our previous findings in Chinese outpatients. LimitationsThe reliance on a brief self-report measure of somatization tendency, not originally designed to assess separate EED and CCD factors, highlights the need for measurement tools for the assessment of cultural scripts in cross-cultural depression research. ConclusionsThe replication of the Chinese structural model of somatization in South Korea lends empirical support to the view that somatization can be understood as the consequence of specific cultural scripts. These scripts involve the experience and expression of distress as well as culturally meaningful ways in which this distress is conceptualized and communicated to others.

Culture or anonymity? Differences in proposer behaviour in Korea and Germany.

This study explores the proposer behaviour in an ultimatum game (UG) frame under anonymous and non-anonymous conditions among a Korean and German subject pool (n = 590) in comparison. Whereas the anonymous condition is represented by the standard UG, the non-anonymous condition integrates an aggregate of the Korean cultural context variables university affiliation, regional origin and seniority. The latter, a classic Confucian context variable, is measured by age differentials. The former two are impactful components of so-called Yongo networks, a unique Korean informal institution identical to Chinese Guanxi ties. Yongo networks, yet underrepresented in research, are said to be a central context variable to explain Korean social ties and decision-making behaviour. We observe significant differences between the offer behaviours of Korean and German subjects when exposing selected cultural variables. We argue that the behavioural differences observed are in fact due to culture not anonymity.

Ethnographic Research on Adjustment of Mothers Caring for their Cancer Children in Korea.

The purpose of this study is to provide the basic data to develop the effective nursing intervention for the parent who have children with cancer by acquiring the deeper understanding of the mothers' adjustment of caring for their children with cancer. The ethnographic research method was used to find out the pattern of caring adjustment in Korean cultural context. Informants consisted of 12 mothers who were caring for their children with cancer. The data were collected using in-depth interviews, participant observation, and telephone interviews by maximum variation purposive sampling. The data were analyzed following Spradley's methodology. The mothers' caring adjustment were organized into one cultural theme, four categories, and twelve properties. The cultural theme was 'standing alone as a mother with sin'. The four categories were 'blaming for falling illness', 'overcoming with motherhood', 'desperate struggling with side effects', and 'establishing new network as a dependent'. For the mothers who are caring children with cancer, the supportive nursing intervention based on the deeper understanding of mothers' pattern of caring adjustment for their children and centered on facilitating effective adjustment in each cultural context especially from the very early stage of caring in the hospital ward is extremely required.

Alternatives to international adoption: Emotional issues in the Korean cultural context

International adoption has been a significant part of South Korea's response to displaced or unwanted children since the 1960s. This paper discusses the growing concern prompted by Korea's continuing reliance on international adoption, and highlights the emerging range of alternative options for children's care. The paper explores the impact of traditional Korean cultural values on public attitudes toward adoption and adopted children, and contrasts Korea's current government policies and placement programs with those in Australia, where adoption occurs only rarely.Among the alternative forms of care currently being promoted in Korea are domestic adoption, foster care, congregate care and youth-headed households. The discussion includes an overview of their advantages and limitations, and their prospects for future expansion.The paper concludes by highlighting a number of key measures that need to be addressed in Korea if the current alternatives to international adoption are to be successful. The authors argue that it is well within Korea's capability to initiate change and implement programs inside its own national boundaries to provide effective care and services to its vulnerable children.

Adaptation of the three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS) for the Korean cultural context.

ABSTRACT Background: Previous research on wisdom has suggested that wisdom is comprised of cognitive, reflective, and affective components and has developed and validated wisdom measures based on samples from Western countries. To apply the measurement to Eastern cultures, the present study revised an existing wisdom scale, the three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS, Ardelt, 2003) for the Korean cultural context. Methods: Participants included 189 Korean heritage adults (age range 19-96) living in Los Angeles. We added a culturally specific factor of wisdom to the 3D-WS: Modesty and Unobtrusiveness (Yang, 2001), which captures an Eastern aspect of wisdom. The structure and psychometrics of the scale were tested. By latent cluster analysis, we determined acculturation subgroups and examined group differences in the means of factors in the revised wisdom scale (3D-WS-K). Results: Three factors, Cognitive Flexibility, Viewpoint Relativism, and Empathic Modesty were found using confirmatory factor analysis. Respondents with high biculturalism were higher on Viewpoint Relativism and lower on Empathic Modesty. Conclusion: This study discovered that a revised wisdom scale had a distinct factor structure and item content in a Korean heritage sample. We also found acculturation influences on the meaning of wisdom.

‘Miss mum’: mind and affective experience of Korean learners identified with autism spectrum and cognitive difficulties

Responding to the call for culturally informed research on autism spectrum (AS) to allow for the provision of appropriate services, this paper qualitatively explores the affective experience of five Korean learners identified with AS and cognitive difficulties by listening to their voices. The learners, supported by the use of visual aids and a choice of their preferred mode of communication, expressed the complexity of their inner experience that encompassed abilities as well as difficulties. The findings highlight the commonalities of experience between Korean and non-Korean individuals with AS, along with some aspects specific to the Korean cultural context.

Music as a Headword in Dictionaries

Explanations about the word ‘music’ as an entry vary from dictionary to dictionary while it is used as an effective means of communication in daily life without confusing its meaning. This paper proposes a comprehensive overview that analyzes and compares descriptive styles and contents of explications of music in some representative dictionaries. Accordingly, this article discusses differences between verbal definitions which the dictionaries provide under the entry of music. Authoritative music encyclopedias avoid any explicit definition of music in principle. On the contrary, language dictionaries give a clear perspective that music is a kind of art based on the values of Western culture even though there is a delicate shade of difference between verbal definitions in terms of what is the purpose of music and what are constitutive elements of music. Ultimately, an adequate explanation about music in a Korean dictionary should give consideration to the own historical context of Korean culture.

Affordable housing에 거주하는 한인 노인 이민자의 주거적응행태

This study explores the daily life patterns and housing adjustment behaviors of low-income Korean elderly immigrants residing in affordable housing in the Chicago metropolitan area. Utilizing an intercultural perspective, the study focuses on identifying the immigrants' their cultural attributes of daily living and coping responses to residential misfits. These housing adjustment behaviors are classified into five modes consisting of residential mobility, structural adaptation, residential alteration, normative adaptation, and behavioral adaptation. Two-hour in-depth interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 138 participants from 15 affordable housing complexes. Collected information includes demographic data, immigration experiences and cultural identity, daily life patterns, as well as housing evaluation and housing adjustment behaviors. The study results indicate that many research participants maintained their cultural attributes of daily living accumulated from past experiences (i.e. mostly based upon Korean cultural contexts), but also made adjustments as they complied with their aging body and new living conditions. This also reflects that immigrants' cultural needs are not limited to the use of language and ethnic goods, but are also embedded deeply in their daily life patterns to influence one's uses of the dwellings in a broader sense. All five modes of housing adjustment behaviors were observed with research participants within their residential settings. More importantly, normative and behavioral adaptations along with residential alterations occurred more simultaneously rather than sequentially when the respondents perceived discrepancy between oneself (i.e. including one's attributes, needs, and preferences) and his/her dwelling.

Employee creativity: the effects of perceived learning culture, leader–member exchange quality, job autonomy, and proactivity

This study investigates the impact of perceived learning culture, leader–member exchange (LMX) quality, job autonomy, and proactivity on employee creativity for knowledge workers in five Korean firms. Overall, the four predictors and control variables explained 57% of the variance in self-rated creativity and 14% of the variance in manager-rated employee creativity. Whereas proactivity was a stronger antecedent for self-rated employee creativity than the contextual factors, the contextual factors (i.e., learning culture, LMX quality, and job autonomy) explained manager-rated creativity better than proactivity did. The relationship between self-rated and manager-rated employee creativity was positive and significant, but modest (r = .24). Owing to the so-called initiative paradox, proactive employees who believe themselves to be more creative may not always be welcome by their managers in the Korean cultural context that is characterized as collectivistic, high in power distance, and high in uncertainty avoidance.

Gendered Pathways to Delinquency

This study examines whether gendered pathways to delinquency posited by general strain theory (GST) operate equivalently for contemporary Korean youth as compared to past studies focused on American youth. The study analyzed longitudinal data from 3,125 South Korean teenagers and revealed some support for GST. The findings suggest that gender equalization transition affected reports of alcohol use but not for aggressive behaviors. The findings also indicate that GST is gender-specific for Korean youth and depends on the type of delinquency, strains, negative emotionality, and conditioning factors. Unlike males, female strains tend to be more psychological and subtle, leading toward deviance through mediation effects of anger and various conditioning factors such as peer delinquency and gender role socialization. The findings also support GST as being applicable to Korean social and cultural contexts, thereby strengthening the theory’s generalizability. However, gendered pathways to delinquency in the GST framework may be conditioned by the contemporary Korean cultural context of asymmetric gender equalization transition.

Transforming Fatherhood: Reconstructing Fatherhood through Faith-Based Father School in South Korea

Despite the fast growing literature on religion and fatherhood, the majority of research on the topic was conducted in western societies, and the linkage between culture, religion, and fatherhood was understudied. Using in-depth interviews with 20 Korean fathers who completed an evangelical Duranno Father School (DFS) program, this study examines the processes through which they reconstruct fatherhood and become involved fathers in contemporary South Korean society. Results show the DFS program is instrumental in the reconstruction of new fatherhood through the provision of a strong moral foundation. The transformational processes of fatherhood are initiated and sustained within men's relationships and interactions with families and religious communities in South Korean cultural context. However, reconstructing a new form of fatherhood is a daunting task and the processes of change are marked with constant tensions between old practices and new ways of doing fatherhood. Men must consciously make efforts to sustain new fatherhood through various means and strategies until new fatherhood becomes familiar. This Korean case suggests the significance of looking into the distinctive roles of religion in the processes of reconstruction of fatherhood, particularly in “unsettled times” characterized by social transformation. Implications of the findings for future research are discussed.

P2-34: Similar Dimensions Underlie Emotional and Conversational Expressions in Korean and German Cultural Contexts

Although facial expressions are one of the most important ways of communication in human society, most studies in the field focus only on the emotional aspect of facial expressions. The communicative/conversational aspects of expressions remain largely neglected. In addition, whereas it is known that there are culturally universal emotional expressions, less is known about how conversational expressions are perceived across cultures. Here, we investigate the underlying dimensions of the complex space of emotional and conversational expressions in a cross-cultural context. For the experiments, we used 620 video sequences of the KU facial expression database (62 expressions of 10 Korean actors), and 540 video sequences of the MPI facial expression database (54 expressions of 10 German actors). Four groups of native German and Korean participants were asked to group the sequences of the German or Korean databases into clusters based on similarity, yielding a fully crossed design across cultural contexts and ...

Career satisfaction

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of personal characteristics (proactive personality and performance goal orientation) and contextual characteristics (organizational learning culture and leader‐member exchange quality) on employees' career satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachData were drawn from 232 employees in aFortuneGlobal 500 company in Korea. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for measurement model assessment. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to explain the variance in career satisfaction.FindingsAs a result of correlation analysis, all the constructs were found to be significant predictors of career satisfaction. Accounting for 22 percent of the variance in career satisfaction, employees exhibited the highest career satisfaction, when they had higher performance goal orientation, and when they perceived higher learning culture and better relationship with supervisor. LMX turned out to moderate the relationship between performance goal orientation and career satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsThe contributions of this study to theory lie in the fact that it: took an integrative approach encompassing both personal and contextual factors; examined little researched constructs in career development, organizational learning culture and goal orientation; and was an international study, based on the Korean cultural context.Practical implicationsTo support employees' career satisfaction in the Korean cultural context, the contextual factors (i.e. organizational learning culture and LMX quality) are more important than the personality factors. HR/OD practitioners can play a pivotal role in improving career satisfaction by adopting such practices as cultural change and leadership development using coaching/mentoring.Originality/valueThis paper is original in that it takes an integrative approach encompassing both personal and contextual factors, examines organizational learning culture and goal orientation, which have previously been the subject of little research, and has an international dimension, being based on the Korean cultural context.

Work–family interface: Effect of enrichment and conflict on job performance of Korean workers

AbstractMany studies conducted in Western societies indicated that work–family enrichment (WFE) and conflict influence employees' work performance positively and/or negatively. However, few studies have been conducted in collectivist, rapidly growing societies like Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which those work–family interface variables influence the work performance of employees within the Korean organizational context. We performed forward and backward translation procedure to develop the Korean language versions of the WFE scale, work–family conflict (WFC) scale, and other scales assessing life satisfaction and job performance. Data were collected from a sample of 425 workers from various for-profit firms and universities in Korea. For data analysis, basic descriptive analyses, item reliability and construct validity tests, and a two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) approach were employed to identify influential relationships among WFE/WFC, life satisfaction, and job performance. Results indicated that WFE was a significant factor influencing Korean workers' life satisfaction (WLS) and job performance, whereas WFC was not. Implications of the study findings, including the strategies for improving employee well-being within the Korean cultural context, were presented.

Work–family interface: Effect of enrichment and conflict on job performance of Korean workers

AbstractMany studies conducted in Western societies indicated that work–family enrichment (WFE) and conflict influence employees' work performance positively and/or negatively. However, few studies have been conducted in collectivist, rapidly growing societies like Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which those work–family interface variables influence the work performance of employees within the Korean organizational context. We performed forward and backward translation procedure to develop the Korean language versions of the WFE scale, work–family conflict (WFC) scale, and other scales assessing life satisfaction and job performance. Data were collected from a sample of 425 workers from various for-profit firms and universities in Korea. For data analysis, basic descriptive analyses, item reliability and construct validity tests, and a two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) approach were employed to identify influential relationships among WFE/WFC, life satisfaction, and job performance. Results indicated that WFE was a significant factor influencing Korean workers' life satisfaction (WLS) and job performance, whereas WFC was not. Implications of the study findings, including the strategies for improving employee well-being within the Korean cultural context, were presented.

The Far Side: Contrasting American and South Korean Cultural Contexts

The cultural contexts of South Korea and the United States are vastly different in many ways. The purpose of this study is to examine the origins of these differences, the implications on the present-day societies, and to try to determine any trends for the future. The differing philosophies upon which each society was founded have caused Korea to become an exceptionally high-context society, while the United States represents a significantly lower-context society. While the GLOBE Study results for these countries confirm much of what we would expect of low- and high-context societies, this study concludes that the results indicate that South Koreans seem to be ready to cast off some of their traditional ways and embrace a more egalitarian society, and that the two cultures' acceptance of similar idealized cultural values will lead to a gradual convergence of even such drastically divergent cultures.

Identity and Otherness in the Films of Kim Kiduk

In a central scene in 3-Iron, the female protagonist dissects her own photo and reconstitutes it in a cubistic fashion. While in this film the act of reframing seems to symbolize the establishment of a new identity, in other films by Kim Kiduk, various subject positions can be defined neither as re-compositions of disparate identities nor as splits of two polar opposites. Often we are confronted with situations in which the notion of the authentic subject has possibly been overcome. In the present article, I attempt to understand these patterns evolving in Kim Kiduk’s films, within the Korean cultural context determined by the country’s division, as well as occupations by foreign powers.