East, West, or Both?

I remember an earlier article in the Scribe where a reporter, Justin Fong, conducted an interview with Professor Kim Setton of the International College, which featured primarily his life in Korea and the very culture, or “way of life”, with a dominant presence in their society. The United States, my home country, is a nation, which prides itself in upholding such values as freedom, individualism, as well as equality. So, it was very interesting and at times stressful to comprehend a society, which emphasizes on values foreign to what I’ve been familiar with in the States.
According to Professor Setton in his interview, Confucianism is a lifestyle that stresses self-cultivation and social harmony; from my observations, to this day this historic East Asian tradition has framed the very structure of the society, bringing an unseen order amongst its citizens. There is an natural respect and authority given towards those older, even by a year, not to mention a sense of responsibility felt towards those younger. I’ve had many experiences where those who were older than me, though only an acquaintance, would offer to buy me a meal or a drink. There is also a form of the Korean language, known as jeondaemal, which is always used towards those of a higher status or of an older age. Under a majority of the settings here in Korea, much like how it is in Japan, there are terms, suhnbae (senior) and hubae (junior), which unapparently categorizes or organizes the people of that setting, creating order in their relationships. Under these settings, which include the campus, the workplace, organizations, school clubs, and so on, the suhnbae takes the authoritative role as guide towards the hubae, who learns from and treats the suhnbaes with respect in return until they take on the role of suhnbae. This is especially true in the Korean military, a requirement for Korean men to serve for around two years. Those who’ve served longer, the suhnbaes, would act in a role of leadership or guide of showing the one’s who’ve just served recently, the hubae’s, how they should behave in the military. Yet, the given authority to the suhnbaes allows them to abuse it, turning the hubaes into servants, who act according to their bid, though the military can always be seen as a special case in society due to its extreme circumstances. This dynamic relationship of dualism found here in the East also pertains to position, framing it so that those of at the top may stay at the top and vice versa. To add, with the position are the opportunities that come with it.
With such a system already in place, one can argue that it limits the individual, since it’s a tradition where one must, in a way, follow in the footsteps of those that preceded him or her, not providing that individual room for his or her own creativity. It also prevents or makes it more difficult for those of hidden merit to make full use of it. Therefore, the greater emphasis of the society over the individual does have its limits, like the ones mentioned and much more. However, what resulted from this age-old lifestyle is an orderly as well as safe society, where crime and violence are low. In a nation that prohibits the use of guns, I can’t remember the last time there was a murder case or a crime of such magnitude here. There’s a natural trust amongst the people in this country, maybe also because it’s a homogeneous state, but what I’ve also noticed is a sense of humanity one has towards another, rather than the indifference you can find sometimes in people in the states. Under such circumstances, in some sense, one can find a nurturing environment in which one can grow, one of security and harmony.
Whether one may or may not agree with this Eastern tradition, which has weakened recently due to what I believe to be modernism and globalization, one cannot ignore that this is a lifestyle, which structures the lives of those in a different part of the globe and has done so for centuries upon centuries. It does have limiting factors to it, a tradition that can be seen to oppress the individual for the whole, but one cannot question the benefits that come with this tradition that stresses an importance of the whole for the sake of the individual. Many points were brought up and many others untouched, but one cannot discount that there is a necessity in learning from this foreign Eastern lifestyle.