[Scholar’s Corner: Confucianism in and for the Modern World] The Impact of Confucianism on the Korean Kinship System — A Reconsideration

• Published in: Yugyo munhwa yŏnʼgu. Vol. 36; pp. 5 - 23
• Main Author: Deuchler, Martina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 유교문화연구소 01.08.2021
• Subjects: 유교학
• ISSN: 1598-267X; 2734-1356
• DOI: 10.22916/jcpc.2021..36.5

After providing a brief description of a few distinct features of Goryeo society (918-1392), this essay outlines the major stages of Korea’s Confucianization during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910): the restructuring of the bilateral Goryeo descent groups, the introduction of Confucian institutions such as ancestor worship, inheritance practices, the changing status of women, and the ensuing development of patrilineal descent groups. It emphasizes that in spite of the fact that a strict Confucian socio-political order eventually emerged, remnants of Goryeo bilaterality survived sufficiently clearly to make it problematic to speak of a full Confucianization of Korean society. It concludes with briefly considering developments in the presentday Republic of Korea. KCI Citation Count: 0