1st Edition

Eurocentrism and Development in Korea

By Jongtae Kim Copyright 2018
240 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

246 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

240 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Under the global hegemony of the West, societies have interpreted the world and defined their identities through the frameworks of Eurocentric discourses. Since the mid-twentieth century, Eurocentrism has tended to be associated with economic developmentalism. The discourse of seonjinguk (developed country) has been a dominant Eurocentric developmental discourse in Korea. However, in what... Read more

CHAPTER 1

Introduction: What Is the Discourse of Seonjinguk?

 

PART I (Chs. 2-4)

From "Munmyeong" (Civilization) to "Baljeon" (Development): The 1880s – The 1950s

CHAPTER 2

The Origins of Korea’s Eurocentrism: Gaehwa and Munmyeong Discourses from the 1880s to the 1930s

CHAPTER 3

The Politics of Modern Discourse of Civilization in Colonized Korea: The 1910s and the 1920s

CHAPTER 4

Competition between Civilization and Development Discourses: The 1950s

 

PART II (Chs. 5-7)

The Rise of Developmentalism and Its Current State: The 1960s – The Present

CHAPTER 5

The Rise of Developmentalism and Seonjinguk Discourse: The 1960s and the 1970s

CHAPTER 6

Change in the Discourse of Seonjinguk: The 1980s and the 1990s

CHAPTER 7

The Discursive Structure of Korea’s Developmentalism and the Mobilization of Nation: Geundaehwa (Modernization), Segyehwa (Globalization), and Seonjinhwa (Becoming Advanced)

 

PART III (Chs. 8-9)

National and Regional Identities and Mutual Perceptions in the Development Era

CHAPTER 8

A Comparison of Development Discourses in Korea, China, and Japan: National Identities and Mutual Perceptions

CHAPTER 9

A Comparison of Regional Identities between Northeast Asia and Europe: The Constructions of "Self" and "Others"

 

CHAPTER 10

Conclusion: Beyond the Discourse of Seonjinguk

Biography

Jongtae Kim is Humanities Korea (HK) Research Professor in the Asiatic Research Institute at Korea University, Seoul, Korea.

This is an important critique of west-centric progress worship in South Korea and a profound analysis of different modernization and development paths in East Asia, with comparisons of South Korea, Japan and China. A significant contribution to the East Asia literature and a good read.

Jan Nederveen Pieterse, University of California, Santa Barbara

 

This book keenly unravels very significant and under-represented aspects of Korean identity and world view in the modern era. One may barely grasp the Korean society and its development without reading this elaborate work.

Gil-Sung Park, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Sociology, Korea University