Heikkila, Eric J

Abstract
This essay examines the larger forces that have a bearing on the future development of Korea. In doing so, I draw upon a framework that describes four fundamental influences — culture, markets, history, and geography — in terms of an essential underlying tension between modernity and tradition. I examine the interplay between these somewhat abstract or generic forces in the specific context of contemporary Korean society which, although evolving quickly, I argue is still largely rooted in a tradition that emphasizes cultural values over market values and spatial identity over temporal identity. The developmental trajectory I see for Korea in the coming decades is one that retains many of these same cultural values, but articulates them in a more dynamic, less static manner. This is ultimately a question of “reinventing Korea” as a more integral and integrative component of Northeast Asia.
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