ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines South Korea's managerial leadership and leadership development in transition through meaningful contextualization. Despite generally being seen as a Confucian society, Korea's traditional values and norms include a wide range of cultural and religious beliefs that have co-shaped the implicit mind-sets of society and the business community, the dominant philosophies being Buddhism and Confucianism. The leadership style embedded in Confucianism manifests itself in Korean organizations in many ways, including the consciousness of hierarchy, the emphasis on seniority and the expectation of personal virtue. Leadership is determined by positional power, which in turn is defined by age, gender and social status. Korea's management practices have been strongly influenced by the West, particularly the US, which has close economic, political and military engagement in the country. The history of fighting Japanese colonization and Western invasion contributes to a pride in Koreans' own national identity.
