Shame in Korean Families

Although shame may be a pan-human feeling and concept, it may be different in important ways from culture to culture. This paper offers a view of shame in Korean families. It is based on intensive qualitative interviews with a single informant who is also the first author of the paper. The paper outlines the cultural roots of shame in Korea, the central place of shame in the functioning of Korean families, the ways that shame in Korea is not only individual but familial, the centrality and value given to shame in Korea culture, the ways parenting in Korea promotes shame, family benefits of shame, the entanglement of shame and gender with marriage and sexuality, and the etiquette and social dynamics of shame in Korean culture. The paper argues that understanding the ways that shame is uniquely defined, experienced, contextualized, and dealt with in a society is of great value.