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In Confucianism, the king originally acted as master of rites
for all national rituals. Religious rituals and government administration were
thus part of the same social institution. Within this system, regional
administrators were likewise in charge of the rites of their region, and the
father, as head of the household, acted as master of the rites of the family.
However, following the demise of the Choson Dynasty
at the hands of imperial Japan at the turn of the 20th century, the king and
regional administrators could no longer perform their respective roles as
leaders of national and regional rituals. As a result, Confucian rites were only
performed by families.
This led to the impression that Confucianism was solely
associated with family rituals. At the same time, Confucianism's old tradition
of education was suddenly no longer recognized. The Japanese imperialists thus
paralyzed Confucianism's traditional social functions of ritual and education.
Thus, Confucianism, which in Korea had been used to oppose the Japanese, lost
its visible function as an institutional religion and became an invisible set of
social norms and ethical rules. The Japanese thus effectively disabled Confucian
opposition to the occupation by eliminating the perception of Confucianism as a
social entity.
In spite of this historical setback, the basic norms and values
governing interpersonal relationships continue to be based on a Confucian
world-view in modern Korean society. Although Confucianism, as a social
institution, was unable to participate in Korea's modernization, it clearly
formed a value system and invisible bond that prevented Korean society from
falling into disarray during the traumatic and chaotic process of modernization.
In this sense, Confucianism formed the basis for the value system that made
modernization possible, and it is one of the ancient cultural forms that is
relevant in Korea.
After Korea's opening to the West, the problems that Buddhism
encountered were more complex than those of Confucianism. With the opening of
ports, Buddhism gained its freedom, only to encounter numerous problems.
Internally, it had to deal with five centuries of decline, while externally it
had to adjust to the ruthless pace of modernization. In addition, Japan brought
married monks into Korea's celibate monastic order, which in effect, gave rise
to internal discord within Korean Buddhism. It further aggravated the situation
by promulgating an edict that the Japanese colonial government was responsible
for the management of each temple along with its extensive assets.
Even today, a
half-century after liberation, the Korean Buddhist order has not been able to
completely overcome the after-effects of this policy. In this sense, Korean
Buddhism's preoccupation with internal problems affecting the order has left it
no time to deal directly with the rapid process of modernization. Even so,
Korean Buddhism has undergone rapid growth in terms of organization following
Korea's rapid economic expansion during the mid-1980s. As a result, it is
beginning to have an active influence on society. Korean Buddhism has become
aware of its role as a social entity representing classical East Asian culture
and tradition in opposition to Western culture, and has thus begun to function
in this capacity.
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