Two Lenses on the Korean Ethos

A war-torn country only 60 years ago, South Korea has since achieved prodigious growth and global integration, experiencing rapid industrialization and seeing its cultural exports gain international popularity. Because of this rapid transformation, an investigation of the Korean ethos - the shared self-concept woven through the divergent social contexts of both South and North Korea - is challenging. This book provides a roadmap of the Korean ethos, detailing its representation in key cultural words and in film. Part I explores defining concepts like han (regret),jeong (feeling), deok (cultivated virtue), and Korean cinema. Part II analyzes film narratives based on these concepts via close readings of thirteen films, including three from North Korea.