Table Of Content
Transformations in Twentieth
Century Korea
This edited collection traces the social, economic, political, and cultural
dimensions of Korea’s dramatic transformation since the late nineteenth
century. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the chapters examine the
internal and external forces which facilitated the transition towards indus-
trial capitalism in Korea, the consequences and impact of social change,
and the ways in which Korean tradition continues to inform and influence
contemporary South Korean society.
Transformations in Twentieth Century Korea employs a thematic structure
to discuss the interrelated elements of Korea’s modernization within agri-
culture, business and the economy, the state, ideology and culture, and
gender and the family. Unlike other literature in the field which focuses
on a particular era of Korea’s twentieth century history, the essays in this
volume encompass the Choso˘n dynasty, the colonial period, and postcolo-
nial Korea. Collectively, they provide us with an original and innovative
approach to the study of modern Korea, and show how knowledge of the
country’s past is critical to understanding contemporary Korean society.
With contributions from a number of prominent international scholars
working in the disciplines of sociology, economics, history, and political
science, Transformations in Twentieth Century Korea incorporates a global
framework of historical narrative, ideology and culture, and statistical and
economic analysis to further our understanding of Korea’s evolution
towards modernity.
Steven Hugh Lee is Associate Professor in the Department of History at
the University of British Columbia. His previous publications include Out-
posts of Empire: Korea, Vietnam and the Origins of the Cold War, 1949–1954
(1995), and The Korean War(2001).Chang Yun-Shikis Professor Emeritus
in the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. He
was director of the Centre for Korean Research at UBC from 1994 to
2001, and has authored several edited books and numerous articles,
including “Mutual Help and Democracy in Korea” in Daniel Bell and
Ham Chaibong, eds, Confucianism for the Modern World (2003).
Routledge advances in Korean studies
1 The Politics of Economic Reform in South Korea
A fragile miracle
Tat Yan Kong
2 Market and Society in Korea
Interest, institution and the textile industry
Dennis McNamara
3 Social and Economic Policies in Korea
Ideas, networks and linkages
Dong-Myeon Shin
4 North Korea in the World Economy
Edited by E. Kwan Choi, Yesook Merrill and E. Han Kim
5 Legal Reform in Korea
Edited by Tom Ginsburg
6 Women, Television and Everyday Life
Journeys of hope
Youna Kim
7 Transformations in Twentieth Century Korea
Edited by Chang Yun-Shik and Steven Hugh Lee
Transformations in Twentieth
Century Korea
Edited by Chang Yun-Shik and
Steven Hugh Lee
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2006 Selection and editorial matter, Chang Yun-Shik and Steven
Hugh Lee; individual chapters, the contributors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN10: 0-415-38065-0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-38065-2 (hbk)
Contents
List of illustrations viii
Notes on contributors xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Korea’s twentieth century transformation 1
STEVEN HUGH LEE
PART I
The agrarian transformation 31
1 Neither “sprouts” nor “offspring”: the agrarian roots
ofKoreancapitalism 33
GI-WOOK SHIN
2 Agricultural cooperative development and change:
a window on South Korea’s agrarian transformation 64
LARRY L. BURMEISTER
PART II
Business and industrial transformations 87
3 Causes, consequences, relevance: Korea’s industrialization 89
PAUL W. KUZNETS
4 Transformations in Korean capitalism: a case study of the
HyundaiBusiness Group 106
SEUNG-HO KWON AND CHUNG-SOK SUH
vi Contents
5 What makes us great: Chaebo˘ldevelopment, labor
practices, and managerial ideology 138
JOHN LIE
PART III
Transformations in the state 153
6 Development without democracy: the political economy of
US–South Korea relations, 1958–1961 155
STEVEN HUGH LEE
7 Cut from the same cloth: bureaucracies and rulers in
SouthKorea, 1948–1979 186
DAVID KANG
PART IV
Transforming culture and ideology 219
8 Confucianism, democracy, and the individual in Korean
modernization 221
UCHANG KIM
9 Monumental histories: manliness, the military, and the War
Memorial 245
SHEILA MIYOSHI JAGER
10 Modernization theory, ideology, and economic success:
puttingKorea’s development in comparative perspective 267
DANIEL CHIROT
PART V
Social transformations: labor, women, and the family 289
11 Modernization, gender roles, and marriage behavior in
South Korea 291
MINJA KIM CHOE
Contents vii
12 Women’s incorporation into the urban economy of
South Korea 310
MARY C. BRINTON AND MOONKYUNG CHOI
Conclusion:South Korea: in pursuit of modernity 345
CHANG YUN-SHIK
Index 374
Illustrations
Figures
4.1 Formal managerial structure of Hyundai since 1979 117
4.2 Growth structure of Hyundai in 1994 by type of business
withfoundation year 124
4.3 Developmental patterns of Hyundai since its inception in
1946 126
7.1 A highly selected sample of family relations in Korea 203
9.1 The War Memorial, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 246
9.2 Relief of the Righteous Army 249
9.3 The Hall of Heroes 251
9.4 Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s Turtle Ship 253
9.5 The outdoor exhibition area 260
9.6 The Central Plaza area 261
9.7 The Statue of Brothers 262
9.8 Reproduction of Memorial to King Kwanggaet’o the
Great 264
9.9 The symbolic structure of the War Memorial complex 264
11.1 Distribution of educational attainment by year of birth 292
11.2 Proportions of women employees in continuous service
for five years or longer 294
11.3 Percentages of married women who would divorce
between the ages of thirty and forty-nine 298
11.4 Distribution of marital status by sex, education, and age,
1995 299
11.5 Proportion divorced among ever-married men and
women by age and education, 1995 300
11.6 Percentages employed among married women aged
twenty-five to fifty-nine by education 304
11.7 Distribution of occupation by marital status and
education of women aged twenty-five to thirty-four, 1995 305
Illustrations ix
Tables
1.1 Summary of tenancy disputes, 1920 to 1939 43
1.2 Investment in non-agricultural sectors by province 47
1.3 Indices of land and industry related items, 1939 to 1940 49
3.1 Gross domestic product, 1953 to 2000 90
3.2 Structure: output, employment, expenditure, 1953 to
2000 91
4.1 Changes in managerial structure of HECC by number of
position holders, 1950s to 1960s 112
4.2 Total annual sales of Hyundai, HECC, HMC, and HHI,
selectiveyears from 1968 to 1980 115
4.3 Changes in the internal sourcing of HECC industrial
projects,1961 to 1981 116
4.4 Changes in total sales of Hyundai and contribution of
HECC,HMC, and HHI, 1977 to 1993 123
4.5 Annual changes in the total number of executives 123
7.1 Cabinet turnover under Rhee and Park 192
7.2 Higher Civil Service exam, 1949 to 1979 193
7.3 Pattern of recruitment and promotion of higher civil
servantsunder Rhee and Park 194
7.4 Patterns of recruitment and promotion of higher civil
servants 195
7.5 Mutual hostages, Part I: Chaeb˘olvalue-added, 1973 to
1975 199
7.6 Mutual hostages, Part II: Debt/equity ratio of firms in
selectedcountries, 1972 to 1984 199
7.7 Previous careers of officers of FKI member companies,
1989 202
7.8 Overestimation of Korean exports, 1970 to 1985 205
7.9(a) Production and capacity of Hyundai Motor Company,
1969 to 1972 206
7.9(b) Passenger car production and capacity, 1979 206
7.10 Year of incorporation or establishment of the subsidiary
companies of the ten largest chaeb˘olin 1984 208
7.11 Debt/equity of the ten largest chaeb˘ol,1970 to 1983 209
7.12 Career backgrounds of vice-ministers and higher 211
11.1 Men and women’s reactions to the statement “A woman
canhave a full and satisfying life without marrying” 295
11.2 Men and women’s reactions to the statement “A man can
have a full and satisfying life without marrying” 296
11.3 Men and women’s reactions to the statement “A couple
should not divorce for the sake of children” 297
11.4 Trends in singulate mean age of marriage in South Korea,
1960 to 1995 297
