International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The history of Korean rhetoric is the history of translation of and communication with its neighboring foreign cultures. From its early period of the Three Kingdoms to the later Yi dynasty, Korea sought its own ways of expression under the influence of Chinese culture. More recently, from the beginning of the twentieth century to its independence from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, the influence of Japanese culture was predominant (→  Rhetoric in East Asia: China and Japan ). Since then, Korea has been strongly affected culturally by America (→  Rhetoric in North America: United States ). Before its annexation to Japan in 1910, Korea had maintained a mimetic rivalry with China, especially in terms of Confucianism . In traditional Confucian culture, words and expressions are undervalued as mere vehicles for conveying Tao and thoughts. This tendency was enhanced by the introduction of Buddhism and the natural philosophy of Laotzu and Chungtzu, both of which placed emphasis on spiritual identification apart from verbal and literary communication. However, this spiritual and occult tradition was challenged by new ideas: a modern educational system from Japan and democracy from America. While Confucianism is conservative in expression of private emotions and loyal to the established social hierarchy, development of democratic government in Korea went in tandem with the spread of public ... log in or subscribe to read full text