ABSTRACT
The determining factors of the success achieved by South Korean governance in responding to COVID-19 are as follow: understanding of the situation as a crisis, the familism that is the unique cultural characteristics of South Korean society, and the advent of information society. Among them, familism is a prime factor for the success, which cannot easily be transplanted to the other countries since it originates from the traditional values of the society. Under the family state frame, the more you face crisis, the stronger you volunteer to supplement government’s weakness since it is not a matter of concern for others but for one’s own self and family. Such an outcome of the research reminds of the importance of the cultural approach in the study of crisis governance and the need to review the literature related to governance studies from a more neutral perspective, overcoming the Western biases. Since the positive evaluation of the control and prevention work by the South Korean government by the global community contributed to the trust surplus of the government, it recalls the importance of researching feedback governance, which has seldom been dealt with so far. The advent of information society upgrades not only the penetration power of government but also the voluntary works of civil society and has a propensity to strengthen vested interests. Ironically, the relatively weak penetration power of the “flat state” provided an environment for the civil society to expand its voluntary capabilities.
