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

by Dennis Hart

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

Genres: Nonfiction

222 pages, Hardcover

Published July 20, 2001

Reviews

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great explanation of the Korean Economic development.

[1.1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative take on the modernization of Korea and its modern identity that I would recommend to anyone interested in the subject (or desperately needing something decent and nonfiction to read). It covers a big topic effectively and without too much bias (though defenders of consumerism would prefer we don't look squarely at it, for obvious reasons) and it is not unpleasant to read. I completed the book with a sense of having gained some perspective, and now know considerably more about Korea as well.