Suchergebnisse

Although the current globalization eliminates and blurs the differences between cultures in different regions of the world, different inclinations and preferences in thinking between East and West, historically grounded cultural specificities and different hierarchy of values play an important role in the approach to solving current problems of our time. Differences in perception of the world in relation to its surroundings, organization of human relations, emphasis on socio-economic aspects and models of management of public affairs between East and West are so great that we can talk about different geography of thought. This is particularly the comparison of Western culture and Confucian East Asian societies. It is reflected not only at the individual positions, but at system approaches that are a kind of form of identification of the collective consciousness of these cultures. In some cases these approaches and perception are contradictory and can be compared in terms of «versus» oppositions. It includes topics such as individuality vs. community, holistic vs. reductionist solutions, social order vs. revolt, responsibilities vs. rights, pragmatism vs. ontological beliefs, conflicting vs. complementary perception of the world and other concepts. The work seeks to contribute to the understanding of these divergent concepts and help bridging model approaches between the two spheres of civilization.

South Korea is one of economic wonders of the late twentieth century. War-torn desolated and poverty-stricken country in the 1950s with a per capita income less then Haiti, Ethiopia, India or Yemen, achieved unprecedented economic development and legendary growth that brought her from one the most backward countries into an economic giant by the 1980s and later on one of the most advanced countries in the world in the 21st century. The process was characterized by rapid industrialization, phenomenal growth rates and incremental social transformation. The paradigm of Korean path was under scrutiny from politicians and academicians and many studies were devoted to this issue. The paper is briefly highlighting major schools of thoughts analyzing Korea´s model from different angles – developmental concept, new institutionalism, cultural school of values, historical trajectory theory and of international relations concept. The study does not have an ambition to go deeply into historical perspectives and developmental cycles of Korean economic success that are very well covered in a number of economic expertizes. Instead, the paper focuses on some selected aspects that, though sometimes forgotten to get a due attention, but substantially subscribed on the Korea´s industrialization successful story. The study includes considerations of the applicability of Korean model on other countries and brings also a brief insight into the modernization period that followed the path of democratization of the country after 1987.