사라져 가는 전통적 상징이 국가 이미지에 끼치는 긍정적 효과

K-tradition: Advertising a country with the fading symbols.

South Korea is labeled as one of the most dynamically developing countries of the world. However, the traditional culture is a main element of the K-brand - but what do we consider to be traditional? During my last field trip I interviewed people of different professional background, because I wanted to reveal what factors influence the people’s attitude towards the traditional culture and what causes its disappearance. I got an interesting answer: “Tradition is not something disappearing, it is something that constantly changes.” The different generations of the contemporary modern Korean society are well aware that their environment and customs changed a lot in the last decades, but they may evaluate this as a natural process. On the other hand, based on my etic approach, I would like to bring some example how the vernacular culture became forgotten due to the modernization. One of the most interesting points is the community. The older generations criticize the young fellows how they prefer their individual goals over the group’s. Parallel with it, the importance of big family gatherings is weakening, because people see them as a burden, not as a joyful occasion. Making one’s own life more comfortable has the priority now. How can these different endeavors exist side by side in one society? I might not find a proper answer at the end, but the paper may reflect my concerns as a foreigner researcher, and bring up new approaches and questions which could be answered in cooperation with Korean and foreign experts.