What I want to tell Confucian leadership of Korea

By Mark Peterson

Confucianism in Korea is in sharp decline.

I would like to speak to the Confucian Association leaders at some point, and when I do, I would like to point out several ways to save Confucianism from an ultimate demise ― which it seems to be racing toward.

I have been surprised to see the number of negative comments about Confucianism that show up in the comments to my YouTube videos. I had not realized how negatively many people in Korea view Confucianism. But there is hope on the horizon, the way I see it.

First of all, Confucianism is one of the five great "religions" in the world. Now, as soon as I say that, there are those who shout out that Confucianism is not a religion. Okay, that's an oft-heard argument, but I think Confucianists make a mistake to insist it is not a religion. Let's play a word game: let's not say "religion", but let's say "belief system" ― we'll change the label on the box. What goes in the box labeled "belief system"? In Communist states, they say only Communism fits in the box ― and "religion" is superstition and is not allowed. For others, the "belief system" box can include more than one kind of belief, some contradictory, and some accommodating.

If we speak of "belief systems" certainly we can include Confucianism, and it certainly is one of the great "belief systems" of the world, along with Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, and there are others, too, of course. But Korea has long been the shining example to the world of Confucianism. For Korea to abandon this great "religion" would be a terrible mistake.

And yet, we are on a course for abolishing Confucianism in Korea. But it should not be so. To understand Confucianism in Korea, one needs to look at Korean history. When Korea first became interested in Confucianism in the Three Kingdoms Period, Korea began to adopt a kind of Confucianism that fit into the Korean culture of the time. That culture was not the patrilineal culture that came to dominate Korea after the late 17th century. To understand Confucianism correctly one must understand that Confucianism only adopted a male-dominant family and social order in the late Joseon period, basically the 18th and 19th centuries.

All of the evils associated with Confucianism, that is to say, all the things that modern men and women criticize about Confucianism, came only in the last three hundred years ― a time when Korea admired China (sadae-juui). The male-dominant, women-oppressing form of Confucianism is really a kind of Chinese-style Confucianism. Prior to the late 17th century, Korean Confucianism was not male-dominant, inheritances were divided between sons and daughters equally, marriage was practiced in an egalitarian fashion ― "sijip-kada" and "jangga-kada" ― marriage at the husband's house/village or, equally, marriage at the wife's house/village ― whichever arrangement had the better house or situation, there were no single-surname villages, nor lineage organizations with a "jongson" (primary heir) at its head.

For Korea to save Confucianism, it only needs to return to the original Korean Confucianism that had been practiced for one thousand years and abandon the male-dominant, Chinese-style practice of the last three hundred years. The villain in most people's minds, as they criticize Confucianism, is the mistaken criticism that Confucianism means the "bugye" (patrilineal) family system. Korea rightly needs to reject that system of inequality for women. Women were oppressed in the "bugye" system. But we don't need to blame Confucianism for that. Yes, we should see Korean society of the future as a fair and egalitarian society, but we can do that and still hold onto Confucianism as a worthy belief system.

For Korean Confucianism to succeed, it needs to turn away from any support for the corrupted "bugye" patrilineal system and all its trappings ― the patrilineal "jokbo," the overly elaborate "jesa" ceremonies, the concept of the "jongson" and even the "jongchinhoe" (the patrilineal family association).

In the place of the social trappings of late Joseon Confucianism, the Seonggyungwan Confucian Association should only preach "hyo" (respect for parents and family), "jeong" (loyalty to the country and to each other), "in" (benevolence to all), "eui" (justice for all), "ye" (respect and courtesy) and ji (pursuit of education). These are what Confucius taught. These are the core values that have made Confucianism a "world religion". These ideals are what make Korea great. These must not be abandoned. They should be included in the ethics classes in school ― and they are. That is the value of Confucianism ― not the corrupted, Chinese-influenced social practices of male dominance and female oppression that have been associated with Confucianism. As soon as Korea sees that Confucianism is wrongly accused of bad behavior, Korea can start to accept Confucianism as the exalting "belief system" ― oh, call it a "religion" ― that it is at its heart.

Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is a professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.