essay
A Rite of modernization and its postmodern discontents: of weddings, bureaucrats, and morality in the Republic of Korea
Asian visions of authority : religion and the modern states of East and Southeast Asia • Honolulu • Published In 1994 • Pages: 165-192
By: Kendall, Laurel.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study examines the changes in wedding ceremonies from traditional ('old style') to western ('new style') and back to a more traditional style that occurred in Korea in the postwar era. Kendall sees religious rituals, including weddings, as vehicles for morality and identity, and argues that changes in wedding ceremonial style reflect postwar changes in Korean moral order and national identity. According to Kendall, the change to new style weddings is primarily associated with changing gender relations in the family and the emergence of a new professional, urban middle class. The subsequent revival and revision of the 'old style' was initiated by the government in an effort to reclaim Korea's heritage and curb excessive consumption surrounding new style weddings, which were considered ostentatious and socially divisive. Kendall comments that in recent years the government has stepped back from trying too closely to regulate social behavior.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Nuptials
- Legal norms
- General character of religion
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Korea
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- East Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1997
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1983-1987
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1960-1990
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Republic of Korea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Laurel Kendall
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 93037979
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Koreans