South Korean Education Under Psychocultural Globalization

Abstract

In this special issue, we examine how globalizing forces reshape the self among South Koreans in educational contexts. To address facets of and issues raised by what we call "psychocultural globalization," we take as the central problematic the tension between individuality and relationality in both self-organization and self-other relationships in various educational settings in a globalizing South Korea. A focal concern shared in the five articles is: How are competing educational ideas and values intertwined, contested, and negotiated in the South Korean landscape of psychocultural globalization? The articles jointly and individually address the popularization and institutionalization of Western child-rearing and educational practices, in both formal and informal educational settings, at the same time that they closely attend to conscious efforts to rediscover and cultivate traditional local values.