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About the lecture
It is often said that Confucian values still define many aspects of Korean society. The influence of centuries of tradition is undeniable, but it is also worth asking how far the values of the modern Republic of Korea derive from this ideology, and how far they reflect a ‘nostalgic Confucianisation’ of the past century's hierarchy of values.
Among other topics, this lecture examines:
– the roots of Confucianism in Korean culture and its development from the early medieval period to the final years of the Joseon dynasty, when it became the leading state ideology;
– why Koreans regard their country, not entirely without justification, as the ‘last truly Confucian culture’;
– the defining values of the Confucian human ideal, compared with leadership in modern Korea;
– why the lecturer considers ‘Confucian’ a problematic description of the Republic of Korea's social hierarchy.
Mgr. Alexander Gubo studied Religious Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University. In the Republic of Korea, he completed a master's degree in Korean Studies at Hanyang University. At the time of the lecture, he was pursuing doctoral studies in Cultural Anthropology at the Academy of Korean Studies.The lecture series was supported using public funds by the Slovak Arts Council.
