ABSTRACT
Collectivism, a main theme in cross-cultural psychology, has been a broad umbrella-term characterising East Asian psychology for decades. However, its characteristics are not uniform – some aspects are (often large) group-oriented whereas others are tight – relationships-oriented. From an emic perspective, Korean collectivism takes a particular form for its culture-specific factors of the region. This chapter suggests that taking Korean collectivism into account is a suitable approach in promoting the study of intercultural psychology. First, this chapter outlines the early development of the psychology of culture in Korea, and reviews cultural theories in Korean cultural and indigenous psychology. By comparing the indigenous views with general findings in cross-cultural literature, the authors suggest that it is necessary to integrate our understandings in both poles systematically in order to advance the study of intercultural psychology. Two aspects of Korean collectivism are illuminated: in interpersonal contexts and in group behaviours as a collective entity. Koreans tend to be highly relational and base familism in interpersonal contexts. Affection is a common theme in interpersonal relationships. As a national group, Koreans tend to show strong group dynamics, accepting social/cultural change in coherent forms. These are often associated with the two important cultural characteristics, familial group attachment and group dynamism respectively. The authors speculate a few geographical, historical, and political conditions as important emic factors that can explain the Korean mentality. Consideration of those factors can not only shed light on understandings of intercultural psychology in this region, but also contribute to enlightening multiple dimensions of collectivism across cultures in general.
