Emergence and Interpretation of Han in Korean Society: A Sociohistorical Perspective

Abstract

Han is a complex cultural concept that insinuates the feelings of sadness, anger, resentment, grief, sorrow, hopelessness and hope. While plenty of historical literature examining the origins of han exists in Western scholarship, there is a lack of sociological exanimation on han.. This study examines han from a socio-historical perspective, analyzing an under explored period of the Joseon Dynasty within han research, while also exploring contemporary interpretation of han in Korean society through qualitative methods. It will show the particular salience of the Neo-Confucian order of the Joseon Dynasty in sowing the emotional nuances of han into Korean society through systematically hierarchical and dogmatic domination. This study will also show the role that the public imagination of their collective or personal “past” has in contemporary Korean interpretation of han, and explain how it could be framed as a precondition for social movements. While han was often represented as a bygone means of the past, this study shows a new understanding of han as a lingering force of past tragedy in Korean people and society, ready to manifest into movements, emotional responses and personal development.