Korea is all about connections

Life is often all about having the right relationship with the right people from the right groups, some say, and this may be all the more true in Korea.

"Of course, people always have certain ties to the group to which they belong, but such an attachment or sense of belonging was, I felt, unbelievably strong in Korean culture," said Stephanie Coupe, a French student studying here.

"It is not just about the emotional ties, but also a certain order of rank based on the age of the person or the point in time at which the person has joined the corresponding group."
Even the relationship with her schoolmates is not just about friendship, she said.
"Some of the most frequently heard words in school are the title words such as "seonbae" (senior), "hoobae" (junior), or "donggi" (classmate)," the French student said.
"All the relationships seem to be defined by order of entrance to the group."

Another powerful emotional attachment which is inherent in Korean culture is the regional tie to one`s hometown.

"I had no friends, relatives, or ties of any sort in Seoul when I first came to the city to work in this company," said Lee Gyu-jin, a 30-year-old from Busan.
"However, I very soon joined the so-called `Busan homeboys` group, an unofficial social gathering of Busan-born people in the company."

These relationships continue to affect people`s lives way after they leave school or their hometown.

In a survey conducted last year on 3,003 workers, 41.7 percent of the respondents answered that, in order to succeed, personal connections such as school or regional ties were more important than working abilities.

Also in a separate job portal survey on 1,171 workers, 52.8 percent of the respondents said that their boss was overly concerned about extending his or her personal ties during the company personnel management seasons.

Such connections, when it comes to public servants` social or political circles, are feared to have a negative influence.

Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu, last August, ordered that the school and regional background information of the prosecutors be deleted from the official database, to prevent it from influencing fair work processes.

"The excessive school and regional ties should be abolished from Korean culture, especially from the prosecution," he said, requesting people to refrain from excessive alumni or hometown gatherings.

The group culture and the sense of rank of order may, nevertheless, be seen as a traditional Confucianist heritage which could be developed in a more positive direction, some say.
"Though the excessive attachment to the senior-junior ranks or to the regions may be one of the things that need to be changed, it also brings a sense of belonging and togetherness which otherwise would not exist," said Kim Yoo-jung, a Korean university student.
"It has its roots in the traditional Korean culture of valuing one`s family and neighbors and of respecting the elders."

(tellme@heraldm.com)
By Bae Hyun-jung

2010.02.03