The Influence of Neo-Confucian Theory on Southern Korean Economic Development: An In-depth Analysis of the Relationship between Neo-Confucian Culture and Southern Korean Economy

Abstract

This article assesses the influence of neo-Confucian theory in fuelling the South Korean economic development. Through an emphasis on the East Asian capitalist model of development encapsulating the interweaving of Confucian ethics and the (universally) revered Western capitalist tenets, this study directs attention to the role of cultural values in economic development. When juxtaposed with the Western model of development, the distinctiveness of the East Asian model of development resides in the fact that it interweaves the central tenets of Confucian ethics to the Western capitalist model of development, forming the basis of the Neo-Confucian theory. This study positions the interconnection between cultural values and economic growth within the divergence of academic scholarship, namely the ‘Confucian as an impediment’ and ‘Confucian as a stimulus’ strands of scholarship to equip with a comprehensive understanding of whether culture can function as an explanatory variable for South Korean economic development. The example of Korean chaebols enables readers to equip the knowledge that while culture performs a constitutive role in the South Korean economic model of development cannot serve as the sole factor for propelling the nation’s economic expansion. This study envisions bridging the widening gap in the dominant scholarship on the role of Confucianism in South Korean economic development by contending that Confucian ethics as the hegemonic ideology creates a favourable climate for the South Korean economic model to flourish.