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Korean Sovereignty: Eastern and Western Philosophy in The lutm1atio11af Suuli,s Review Vol. I I No. 2 (Deambtr 2010): 33-54 33 Received May 3 1, 2010 Revised October 13, 2010 Arcepccd November 29, 2010 Korean Sovereignty: Eastern and Wes tern Philosophy in the Kaleidoscope of History K ENNETH M . BuRKE• Thcoughouc history, from obstacles involving foreign invasion and inrervenrion coupled with domesric rivalry. the Korean peninsula struggled co legitimize and prqrecr its sovereignry. This research involves an investigation and analysis of paccerns in chat history. The article provides a broad examination of Korean political development wirh inrerdisciplinary insights inro sovcreigncy while underscoring rhe need for new ap­ proaches and cpiscemological uniry in political philosophy. The Korean peninsula serves as an c-xample of rhe challenges. Keyword1: Sovereignty, IR Theory. Political (conomy, Cultural Dynamics, Korean Hisrnry Grnduate Student, Univt'rs fry College in At't$ and Sciences ac Wa.shingcon Univtrsit)' in Sc. Louis, Mi,souri, United Smc,; E-mail: [email protected] Downloaded from Brill.com10/09/2021 08:20:24AM via free access 34 Korran So,-tm: 111y J. INTRODUCTION ich the sweeping currents o( change m the m1ern:111onal system, questions W in intl'rnationnl politics center on the shifting nature or sovereignty, particularly givc:n the ccchnological ndvances nnd economic.: paradigms represented by neoliberalism as 11 dominates the politic.ii economy. Theoriscs in inrcm:itional rel::tions recogruzc chat noum .,,., d1anging rapidly with globa­ liza11on. Globalizarion nnd de-globalization refc:r rn che increase or decrease of g lobalism: "a state of che world involving networks of interdependence," increasing t0 the extenc that sovereignty will be "up for g rabs in a way that has not been the case since the seventeenth century," (Keohane. 2002, 193, 2 I 3) when the internacionaJ system witnessed increased g lobalism not unlike today. In ac­ tuality. from a holistic perspecrive, transformations in norms are nothing new; morc~>vcr. dynamic chani::c remains a constant m hlSlury. The: hiscuncal evolution ,,( J umesuc govcrnant c: .ind political and economic rclac,ons from :inuem tunes to ch e modern c:ra, prove thnt this is crut or Ko rean social organ1z:u ion. Of lace. the: factionalism between n:m onalisi discourse .ind ncolibcrnl, policical c:trnmm1t str,1tcg1<:S unJcn.11.:c:n m Kun.',I c:xcmpllly t hc: toncro,·c:rs1cs .ind dc:batc~ U\' C: r suven:1g 11C)'· In 1994. K,m Young Sam .1nn<>unt<:d pl:i ns to globalize Korea "as chc counrry's new v1s1on and development mmegy," (Kim nnd Hung. 2001. 78 ) following neoliberal trends central co quemons over the' impan of global 11w.:gr.1riun on n.monal ~uvcrc·ignr)' \X11ch 1h<: w n*qucm p.1r.1doxes lo r naoonal secunry and econo m1l dcvclopmcnc cyd 1cal in history. Korea's snc1c:t)' knows well the: cu111:crns related co the complexi ties of domestic, regional, and g lobal econum K rd,1tions The underl)•in.g debates re fl c..: 1 upo n ,tnll<:nt ones .groundc,I m d w dKhowm r between Buddhism. wh,c h m.11m ,11nc:d .111 informal u>ntept of sovc:re1gncy lhat advocated a collemve civil societ y. and d1C'n rhe inmcutionafo.a­ tion of the Confucian rrad1tion that associated governing authority with the political elite. Correlated in light o( historical struggles and interpretations o( W/cstc:rn pol111rnl concepts by K ore.in St.hol.u~. cump.ir,111 ve insights illustrate tht: past and present-day obscacles to governnncc· accordingly. Recognizi ng that Eastern and \X/C'srern histori es face the human co ndition from different co mexts, the point is nor co provide for a Statistical correlat ion and covariance of the commonalities, cspecialJy as, for example, Buddhism trans• formed from complex cultural dynamics, evolving customs throughout Asia, and "historical vicissitudes over centuries" (Carter, l997, 360). Much the same proves true o( \1(/estern policical science, panicularl y ac the mtersecuons bcrween economic and political theory, the domestic st:ite and the intcrnation:il system. Moreover. chc srudy of Buddhism :i nd Confuc1:1nism often rem ains shrouded in legends, cspcci:tl.ly given the dominnnt Confuc:inn erudition chat became prevalent from the time of che Choson Dynasty in Korea Onc-ryong, 1999). Acknowledging che downfalls 111 the generalization of the comparative analysis, a nested case-with- Downloaded from Brill.com10/09/2021 08:20:24AM via free access K ENNETH M . BURKE 35 in-case design paradigm and holiscic method aim co srrengchen the validity of the parallels drawn. The rheory-based and interpretive medium-n approach provides a synchronic and diachronic hisrnrical dialcccic that investigates panoptic cycles in the developmenr of Korean sovereignry as influenced by Easce.rn and Western thought from antiquity co the present. For fonher research and theory development, the unique methodology of chis articie offers a basis for cross-case anaiyses wirh countries chat compar-arivcly confront challenges co sovereig nty with globalizarion. le likewise provides a con­ cepcua,li w rion or re-conceptualizarion of currenr theory fo r quancicarivc srudies and auxiliary qualitative research chat employs a stronger use of primary sources. With insight from the epistemological foundations and psychology of their base assumptions, rhe current analysis simply identifies char ideas and beliefs in Western traditions of territorial sovereignty are noc at all unlike rhei r counterparts in Eastern philosophy. Respecting rhe sameness and difference between Ease and \Xlest while airrnng t0 culnvate an awareness of the historical cycles, Korea illustrates aspccrs of the complex economic. political, social. ;1nd cultural trans­ formations in relario ns. Fnr an inward-looking society rhat hist0ricall y remains passive:- am,J JJ1vas,on. ch<.- t'p1sremnlogteal relationships enlighten rhc nature of rhe problems th,H one: m s<.- confronrs with change. To hanno111zc sovereignty w it h today's quixotk trends, new appro:tches prove necessary. 11. THE HISTORICAL SEARCH FOR SOVEREIGNTY The foundanuns of C)•des in Korean h,scory. as well as th" similarirics between Easr<:rn and Western <:xpt:ru::nces. rt'veal themselves with the carl,cst peninsular kingdoms. The developmental process of early Korean society from Neolithic times chroughour the Bronze Culrnral Era resulted in rhe emergence of three kingdoms on che peninsula. Before che:se three kingdoms, the ancient C hoson ruled. Korean myths tell lhe folklore of Choson, based on the tale of a m ythical ciger and bear, ancJ the legend of Prince Tan · gun born from the heavens. from Choson, the rhree distinct kingdoms evolved. Undisturbed by conflict, che cuJmral Packche Kingdom of the southwesc developed a well-organized government but lacked means co defend itself; since ic needed t0 protect itself from China, che northern Koguryo Kingdom became more warlike (Joe and Choe, 1997). The third Silla Kingdom proved most influential in the early peninsular developmenc of a social and political identity. lncreasc--d Chinese aggression co intervene in the affairs of each kingdom morivated unity (Simmons, 1995). The southeastern Silla Kingdom (57 BCE-93S AD) initiated unification. The sophisticated Kingdom, when threatened by rhe Chinese, "endeavored wirh equal dynamism to attain the internal growth that was co bring about a new level of cultural synthesis · · · one of che most strenuous Downloaded from Brill.com10/09/2021 08:20:24AM via free access 36 Korra11 Sot•trtiglll)' periods in rhe Korean hisrory" (Joe and Choe, 1997, 42). Silla incorporaced Buddhisc and Confucian rhoughr. Early Korean philosophy and episremology ground themselves in the inrerprerarion of 1he 1wo cra<lirions. Throughouc irs early hisrory of ideas, the facc ionalism berween chem evinces to be nor at all dissimilar ro clebaces between rarionalisr and empiricist philosophers of Western political science. B11ddhisr episcemology, rel ated to Aristotle whi!e, in p:micubr. sharing much in common with empiricisrs from the Western Age of Reason and Enlighcenmenr, advocares the primacy of rhe sensory perceptions. \'v'irh knowledge acquisition and knowing grounded in an empiricisr view of experiencing and perceiving (Bosrow, 1997). it is pragmatic and cognitive wirh a moral philosophy reflecting Kanrian thought unbound to classical, Western assumptions of :science. Thus, Buddhism is equally Socracic and Gestalt oriented in ics psychology.I Wirh a more Carresian view. Confucian philosophy emphasizes reason and racionality of the mind over rhe sense perceptions. It also incorpornces a historical dialectic like that of the Western philosophers Marx anct · Hegel. Confucianism in ­ srirurionalized itself while centered on rhc belied' rhat bureaucracy, "by focusing on the concrete sirnations of inst itutional dvvelopm,nc ,rnd by delineating the narurc of the changes, woulJ tnhancc: the uodtrscand1ng of praetical scarce-raft and perpetuare rhe Confucian principles or governmenr" (Franke, 1982); the same as the organizational bureaucratization of Wesrcrn behaviorism.2 L1ter:uure on rhc policy implications of each philosophy ill uscrnrc that the subject undoubceclly proves comjplex (e.g ., Hsu, 197 5; Cheah, 2006). but che Eastern philosophies mainrained divergent economic worldviews, involving com­ plex interpretations equivalent t-O t he way in which t he W estern economises .adhere ro assumptions held by poliri..:al philosophrrs. \Xlhi le neither Eastern philosophy explicitly developed conceprs of political or economic rig hrs, the .Buddhist frame of reference does emphasize the importance of social equity and equality. Government officials interpreted it with rhe belief that ,commercialism and free trade provide a means for ac:hieving ics va lues, advocaring a torm of social and economic righrs without negative political rights. The underlying assumptions are thus comparable co the much later influence of empiricist philoso­ phy on Wesrern economic thought and the belief char liberal economies promote human rights, liberty, and freedom. When exclusivity and economic inequality disenchanted the intellectual leaders of Silla, its governance disincegrared as the Kingdom laid the foundations for its replacement by the Koryo Dynasty Ooe and Choe, 1997).
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