CULTURES - KOREAN

Background
Korean society was divided into three clans, Goguryo, Baekche and Silla until the latter kingdom unified the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria in 668. Two other kingdoms, the Goryo and Joseon dominated Korea until 1910, thwarting foreign invaders until Japan annexed Korea and implemented colonial rule. For the next thirty five years, Korea was occupied until the end of World War II and the defeat of the Japanese brought about the liberation of the peninsula. But with liberation came internal strife followed by a war which cemented the territorial divisions between the north and the south. Still today, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north is under Communist rule, while the The Republic of Korea to the south maintains a democratic form of government.

Immigration
Korean immigration to the United States began in the early 1900s when a small number of laborers came to Hawaii to work on the sugar plantations there. Over the next two decades, Korean immigrants began to populate the mainland, with the largest concentration settling in the Los Angeles area. With the passage of the Immigration Act in 1924 though, Asian immigration stopped and did not resume until 1952. Even when immigration began again in 1952, a quota system was put into effect for over decade which allowed only 100 Koreans annually to immigrate. Ever since the quota system was finally stopped in the early 1970s, an average of 25,000 Koreans a year have immigrated to the United States. A prominent factor explaining the steady stream of Korean immigrants is the enormous amount of emphasis that Korean culture places on education. The reputation of the United States is one of educational excellence and thus many families have chosen to relocate in order to get the best education possible for their children. However, while they may have been professionals in their home country, many U.S. employers are reluctant to recognize their skills as transferable. Thus many Koreans have had to give up their previous occupations to insure that their children receive the best educational possibilities available.

Education
While the Korean education system is modeled after the American system, there are a few basic differences between the two. In Korea, children start school at the age of seven because there is no kindergarten. This difference is especially important to note because the tendency in American schools is to group Korean students with American children according to their age, but it has already been noted that Korean education begins a year later than the American system does, which leaves these students a full year behind their American peers.

Between the ages of 7-12, public education is free and mandatory for Korean children. However, once students reach the middle and high school levels in Korea, they are responsible for paying tuition and even buying their books. Another notable difference between the two systems is that while standards, textbooks, and funding vary from state to state in the U.S., Korean education is centralized.

Language
The Korean language is a member of the Altaic language family along with Japanese, Turkish, Manchu, and Mongolian. All of these languages have similar features: vowels are divided into two groups (either bright/positive aspects or large/dark negative aspects), and agglutination or combining several elements to make one meaning (i.e. to walk is said walk go). To learn more information about the differences between Korean and English follow the link.

Religion
Religion in Korea has always reflected a convergence of beliefs rather than being dominated by one specific religion. However, while the Korean constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the communist government in the North has tried to suppress religion because it is considered to stand in contrast with Marxist beliefs. While Buddhism ranks as the foremost religion in Korea, Christianity, though only introduced by missionaries a little over a hundred years ago, has grown tremendously in that time. Again though, the influences of Shamanism, Taoism, and Confucianism are still critical to Korean culture creating an ethical guidance system that is an amalgamation of all of these forces.

Ethnic Groups
Korea remains a largely homogeneous society though a small number of Japanese and Chinese people still live in both the North and the South.

Resources
Park, C. C., & Chi, M. M. (1999). Asian-American Education: Prospects and Challenges. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.