Thinking Confucianism, Fast and Slow: The Story World of Confucianism in Korean Studies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22439/cjas.v43i1.7732Keywords:
Confucian patriarchy, East Asia as exoticised other, theologocentrism, Neo-Confucianism, Zhu Xi, filial piety, The Analects, Confucian ClassicsAbstract
In Korean Studies, Confucianism often serves as a proxy for other sets of values perceived negatively, for example, through its association with patriarchy rather than feminism or with authoritarianism rather than freedom. Such binary stereotypes, repeated by many scholars, distort understandings of Confucianism and, by extension, produce a skewed image of Korea as a whole. This research aims to: (1) raise awareness of these binary stereotypes, (2) elucidate the underlying factors contributing to the stereotypical perception of Confucianism in Korean Studies, and (3) propose strategies for dismantling these stereotypes. To effectively deconstruct them, the first step provides an overview of how Confucianism has been portrayed in Korean Studies. To this end, we employ the online platform Voyant to analyse ten introductory texts on Confucianism in a Korean context. The findings from this analysis indicate that the essence of Confucianism is dynamic and that definitions of Confucianism are multivocal and often ambiguous. We argue that it is precisely this dynamic essence, multivocality and ambiguity that make Confucianism vulnerable to appropriation by stereotypes. At the same time, we contend that this very variability allows Korean Confucianism to adapt to new circumstances and thrive in an ever-changing world.
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