The Useless Tree

Korea

  • Korean Confucian Thoughts

    I was traveling last week, to Seoul and Hong Kong.  My primary purpose was to give a couple of talks, though I found some time to meet up with many former students and friends. First, last Monday in Seoul, I… Continue reading

  • Kim Jong-il was not Confucian, Kim Jong-un is not Confucian

    Heard the news today (oh boy…): The Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il, is dead.  Not much of a surprise really.  He had been seriously ill for a long time and had already set up his son, Kim Jong-un as a successor. … Continue reading

  • One More Time: North Korea is not Confucian!

    A story this morning on the NPR radio program, Morning Edition, discussed the political leadership succession now underway in North Korea: "What has happened [in the] past two days is not the end of succession process," says Moon Chung-in, a… Continue reading

  • Confucius and Education Reform in Korea

    I had a very pleasant dinner Saturday night: tasty Korean food with friends.  The main chef of the evening was a young woman who is interested in reforming higher education in South Korea.  We talked a bit and that conversation… Continue reading

  • Is China more Confucian than Korea?

    Caring for parents is the most important duty emphasized by Confucius in The Analects.  And this article in the Chosun Ilbo (via Western Confucian) suggests that, on this score, South Korea and Japan fall far from the Confucian ideal: Young… Continue reading

  • Kim Dae-jung, Confucian Democrat

    Former President of South Korea, and long time advocate for democracy there and throughout Asia, Kim Dae-jung, died today.  His was not the perfect political career but his persistent defense of democratization in Korea certainly stands out in world historical… Continue reading

  • Kim Jong-il, please read Mencius

    The North Korean leader should ponder this passage (as should all journalists tempted to refer to NK as somehow "Confucian"), before he makes any personnel decisions: …Let no one hold office by hereditary privilege, and let no on hold more… Continue reading

  • Han Feizi on North Korea

    North Korea is acting up again.  I think the US response thus far has been generally correct.  Options are obviously limited and the best way forward, as I have suggested before, might be something like: don't feed the troll. With… Continue reading

  • North Korea…Again

    Let me turn away for a moment from my usual focus on ancient Chinese thought, and consider the North Korean nuclear question.  In one of my courses ("The International Politics of East Asia"), we have been discussing North Korea for… Continue reading

  • North Korea is not Confucian

    Props to The Western Confucian for finding and countering this column in the Financial Times: "N Korea is More Confucian Cult than rogue state.", which gives us this wildly unhelpful line: No analogy is perfect but that view of North… Continue reading