From Tradition to Consumption: Construction of a Capitalist Culture in South Korea [Hardcover]

Dennis Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2001

From Tradition to Consumption is a ground breaking work that provides a wonderfully innovative and insightful explanation of the eclipse of traditional society and the rise of a new consumer culture during South Korea's recent march to economic development. The book convincingly portrays this shift to cultural modernity as the reasoned response of people to rapidly shifting forms of labor, everyday life, and state narratives. Key to this transformation from agriculture to a modern life has been the drastic alteration of the family from a unit of production to a unit of consumption.

This state-led industrialization also has redefined gender roles in Korea. The pressing needs for production and consumption to bolster economic development have resulted in the creation of a middle-class family marked by the white collar male and urban housewife. These new social roles serve to make the process of consumption central to the family, and to promote the act of consumption as the basis for modern identity for many Koreans

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book was recognized by Korea's National Academy of Sciences as a "Distinguished Academic Book" in 2002. The National Academy of Sciences is South Korea's leading and most prestigious scholarly organization and provides advices and recommendations to the government on matters pertaining to science and education policies. A selection committee of Korea's top scholars reviewed books in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences that were published in Korea in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The National Academy of Sciences will support these books by providing publishers with grants of between $10,000 and $16,000 per book. These grants will be used to help distribute the books to libraries.

About the Author

Dennis Hart is a professor in the Political Science Department of Kent State University in Ohio and serves as the coordinator for their Asian Studies Minor. He teaches courses on East Asia, Comparative Politics and International Relations. Professor Hart travels to South Korea frequently and has lived there for about seven years. Currently, he is working on a book that examines gender identity and the culture of middle class women in South Korea. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1991.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Jimoondang International (July 20, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 8988095448
• ISBN-13: 978-8988095447
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,273,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on Korean modernity, December 8, 2001

By 

Sunmi Kim (Kwangjoo University, Kwangjoo & Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Tradition to Consumption: Construction of a Capitalist Culture in South Korea (Hardcover)

"From Tradition to Consumption" deals with the process of cultural changes required by capitalist development. This book addresses many inter-related questions: How do Korean men and women respond to the new physical environments, new social roles, new daily routines, and new disciplining of the bodies? How does the state "prepare" its citizens for the new capitalist order? What is the role of mass media? And, how is the popular culture constructed according to the market needs? Dennis Hart wove in a dazzling array of perspectives including feminist theories and discourse analysis in this work. Hart maintains that what is seemingly a result of "natural" development flows from a set of policies meticulously calculated and orchestrated by the state and capitalist interests. The past is "museumized" and the modern consumerism is touted as necessary and desirable new culture. Yet, it is not an entirely harmonious and flawless process. There are contentions and maladies rising from this.
The wide range of literature and data Hart employed is also impressive-- government statistics, theses and dissertations from Korean universities, TV and magazine advertisement, and insightful personal interviews. Recently, several different ethnographic studies about Korean middle-class and consumption were published in the US, but this book stands out among them because of the theoretical depth and fluency, as well as the extensive use of Korean literature.

At once erudite and witty and compassionate, this book is a rare pleasure to read. There are many parts that compel the readers stop and think, and reflect on something familiar and ordinary, and there are some parts that are funny and deeply moving. This book could be used as a textbook for advanced undergraduate students, but it would be also approachable for non-academics who are interested in modern Korea. I recommend this book very highly.