Conflict and culture: Changing the Face of South Korea

Christian Caven

Julie Thomas

The Korean War, which began in 1950 and ended in July 1953, created a situation where the peninsula was permanently divided along the 38th parallel, resulting in a split in cultural evolution between north and South Korea.

Had the Korean War not occurred the influence of American centred pop culture, social outlook, and economics would never have perforated into the sub consciousness of the Korean way of life in the dominating manner it did.

With the dying of the Imperial Japanese State in the aftermath of the Second World War, Korea began a transformation that has fundamentally changed the cultural DNA of its society. Previous to the defeat of Japan, Korea, although essentially a colony of Imperial Japan, had remained basically unchanged for centuries.

With the occupations of Western and Soviet Forces in 1945, both powers immediately began attempting to influence the respective regions of occupation to fall into line with their concepts of an ideal economic and governmental system, with a capitalistic Republic of Korea and a Stalinist based Democratic People’s Republic of Korea being formed in 1948.

Fashion and the Loss of Identity

During the Japanese Colonial Era, 1910-1945, wearing of traditional dress called Hanbok was outlawed. To protest Korean people would wear white to symbolise the destruction of their culture.

With the introduction of fashion with a western influence people began to wear different types of clothing from dresses to suits. Many of these clothes came in as relief efforts from the Americans.

The Aftermath

In the aftermath of the conflict that destroyed almost every populated settlement on the peninsula the American missionaries went to work assisting the United States government in their conversion of the Korean population towards the Western order and lifestyle, and away from the traditional practices and beliefs, pushing a protestant culture of work ethic that uniquely paired itself well with the Korean sense of dedication and honourable labour.

Much of the modern day South Korea cultural renaissance is due to its relatively strong economic dominance and stability in the post war era. The technology giant Samsung has grown to be a giant within the South Korean sphere, now accounting for nearly 20% of the South Korean GDP alone, also craving a large slice in foreign technology markets for themselves.

From the popular K-Pop genre of music to Korean dramas flooding our media space, Korean art and media appears to be unstoppable. Today, South Korea is trying to regain some of its cultural heritage which can be seen in its fashion shows which feature hobok and television programming highlighting Korean stories.

To see how medical treatment of soldiers changed during the Korean conflict click here.

Conflict and culture: Changing the Face of South Korea

Had the Korean War not occurred the influence of American centred pop culture, social outlook, and economics would never have perforated into the sub consciousness of the Korean way of life in the dominating manner it did.

Fashion and the Loss of Identity

The Aftermath

Further Reading