The U.S. Educated Among the Korean Politico-Bureaucratic Elite: An Aspect of American Socio-Cultural Influence

Abstract

Acculturation, or cultural change through the contact of two or more cultures, in principle, may be bilateral and symmetrical. τhe historical reality, however, tells us that the actual process of acculturation usually Ís asymmetrical and tilted" to the disadvantage of one culture vis-a-vis another. In pre-modern eras, the military might alone could not subjugate the conquered culturally; rather tilted acculturation often took place in favor of the physically weaker. In modern times, it has become almost inevitable that stronger nations in terms of economic, technological, military, and political power also can and do exert one-sided, influence in the cultural sphere, as well. As a matter of fact, cultural influence may be the most crucial aspect of the cross-national effect of culture contact. Yet, it is the most difficult one to identify empirically, too (Chirot, 1977; Ember and Ember, 1977; Kim, 1977; 1980; Moore, 1974).Since our chief interest does not lie in explication of the theoretical background and framework of the notion of tilted acculturation, it should suffice to assume that the process of acculturation between Korea and the United States, historically and currently, has been tilted in nature, various cu1ture contents flowing "down," 80 to say, from the latter to the former, and America exerting rather one-sided. influence in the process. In order to examine this very general assumption, we have set out to analyze some basically limited quantitative data.