Continuity and Change

Question 1

What is continuity?

Answer 1

Continuity is the persistence or consistent existence of cultural elements in a society across time. Continuity can also be referred to as the maintenance of the traditions and social structures that bring stability to a society.

Question 2

What are some examples of the macro scale?

Answer 2

Government
Legal System
Persistence of certain beliefs or belief systems

Question 3

What are some examples of meso scale institutions?

Answer 3

Sporting Teams
Community Groups
Education System - Schools

Question 4

What are some examples of the micro level

Answer 4

Family unit
Gender Roles - expectations of the gender
Specific lifestyles - Needs and wants of the individual

Question 5

What is Change?

Answer 5

Change is the alteration or modification of certain cultural aspects of a society. This can occur on micro, meso and macro levels.

Question 6

What is Evolutionary change?

Answer 6

Evolutionary change describes the process of structural changes that creates a slow alteration in the institutions or social roles of a society.

Put simply, it is the small adaptations in a society over time which creates change.

Question 7

Why does evolutionary change occur?

Answer 7

Evolutionary change can occur as a result of internal sources (ideologies, cultural shifts), or external sources (environmental conditions, acculturation)

Question 8

What is Transformative change?

Answer 8

Transformative change describes the process where personal and social structures and systems work to create broad based social change that alters existing structures within society. Change has to occur at multiple levels for transformative change to occur.

Put simply, it is a more drastic form of change and the impacts and changes are more visible and tangible, and it is normally permanent.

Question 9

How is change a complex process?

Answer 9

It is both multi-directional(different groups are affected in different ways), and occurs at different rates and levels (i.e. affects the micro, meso, macro levels at different rates) (multi faceted).

Question 10

What are the reasons behind resistance to change in a society? (4)

Answer 10

Tradition and Conservatism
Vested Interests (possessing vested interests in the way society currently operates and wishing to continue to benefit from those interests)
Fear of future
Cultural Lag theory by William Ogburn(describes the idea that changes in material culture (i.e. development of technology) is occurring at a faster rate than non-material culture can keep up with)

Question 11

What is an example of a resistance to change? (3)

Answer 11

A resistance to change at a macro level would be the Australian conservative politicians who resisted the idea of same sex marriage for several years. Their socialisation in conservative and majorly Christian societies has influenced their decision making and therefore makes them less likely to accept social change. Thus it is seen that tradition here leads to a resistance to change

Another example could be seen in the Thai Buddhist’s temples which refuse to accept women into the Thai sangha (which is a form of change) because of the tradition and conservatism of their culture as well as the fear of the future of the sangha if women are allowed in it.

An example using Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag is seen in the medical advancement of abortion in America, where the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v Wade decision (established the right to an abortion) due to ethical and biblical concerns, raising the argument that unborn babies are human beings as soon as they are contracepted, and that abortion is technically killing someone, which is against God’s ten commandments.

Question 12

What is an example of vested interests?

Answer 12

A key example is that of colonialism, where those from the groups in power wanted to continue to rule above the colonised and continue to exploit the wealth of those groups, and resisted the calls for a more democratic or liberal approach that gave them greater freedoms

Question 13

What is the Conflict Theory?

Answer 13

The theory focusses on how social change and development are derived from conflict as a result of inequalities and differences in power in any given society, it is also derived from competition over scarce resources.

In other words, change occurs because of a conflict between two or more groups in society fighting over power, status, class, etc.

This theory is focussed on the macro

An example of this could be Thailand because they are conflict torn as to how to run the country and thus revolution occurs.

This is a macro level theory

Question 14

What is the Evolutionary theory?

Answer 14

This theory is derived from Darwin’s theory of Evolution. It basically states that societies evolve over time.

However, it presupposes hierarchies of civilisations and societies.

There is a linear progression: simple to complex

This is a macro level theory

Question 15

What is the Functionalist theory?

Answer 15

This theory assumes that society is inherently symbiotic/harmonious to be able to function effectively

When an institution fails to function, change occurs to ‘fix it’ and restore harmony to society

An example of this is where Indonesia is changing its capital city from Jakarta to another island. In this sense, Jakarta has become inherently useless and is draining resources so much so that the capital city is simply being replaced

This is a macro level theory

Question 16

What is the Interactionism theory?

Answer 16

This theory states that change occurs due to the individual interactions slowly changing habits, rituals, etc. over time

An example of this is the BLM protests or individuals using #BLM or spreading awareness online to slowly change the norm regarding how ‘black’ people are treated

However, one of the flaws is that it might not be that powerful and might not actually create change.

This is a micro level theory

Question 17

What is an example of a continuity on the micro scale in the development of a society?

Answer 17

There still remains an adherence to tradition in South Korea, and can be seen in the interactions and duties within modern households, it is encapsulated by the underlying reality that though there is increased belief in equally shared housework it is not often seen done this way.

Another example could be depicted in the following of the tradition of filial piety in South Korean society.

Question 18

What is an example of change on the micro scale in the development of a society?

Answer 18

There is an increased number of people in young adulthood who reject the expectation placed on them to marry and raise children, with many of the young adults refusing to marry or date due to loss of familial values as well as increasing costs of raising a family

Question 19

What is an example of continuity on the meso scale in the development of a society? (4)

Answer 19

One such institution that has undergone the test of time is education which from its Neo-Confucian origins maintained its importance even in a contemporary age. (Education still remains an important factor in Korean lives), there is also the continuity of Hagwons and Korean cram schools due to this belief of the importance of education in improving the lifestyle of an individual

Also, sex education in schools for Koreans are segregated and often teach boys that if sexual assault is committed against women, it won’t be their fault and instead the woman’s fault for dressing inappropriately. Furthermore, the sexual assault reports in schools aren’t treated properly, which encourages a culture of sexual assault because you can’t speak out against the sexual assault.

Gender pay gap in institutions depict that businesses still regard women to be more inferior, and thus a continuity

Institutions continuing to judge and accept people into jobs based off looks and personal circumstance

Question 20

What is an example of change on the meso scale in the development of a society

Answer 20

Change can either remove or birth new industries and institutions, this is usually made possible through the spreading of beliefs and values through globalisation or the development of modern technologies which reveal newer perspectives. Examples of this include both the growth of the Korean cosmetic surgery industry and the banning of dog-meat which resulted in the industrial collapse of the dog-farming industry.

(Just for further clarification, there has been a growth in the Korean cosmetic surgery industry as globalisation has exposed Koreans to Western ‘beauty ideals’, and in an attempt to be more like Westerns (get more opportunities), they do plastic surgery such as widening eyes to look more like Westerners to perhaps get those advantages that Westerners do, also a growing trend is that the more beautiful you are, the more likely you are to be accepted into a job)

Question 21

What is an example of a continuity on the macro scale in the development of a society? (3)

Answer 21

There continues to be a bias in the legal system towards males, as Korea remains a Patriarchal society. This can be seen in the legal case of a governor of a Korean province being accused of sexual assault, however the legal system attempted to prevent his prosecution through invalidating the witnesses accounts ( who were mainly women)

There is also a continuity on the macro scale in terms of legislation, as those who aren’t married remain to be taxed the same as families. (I.e. Families get taxed a lot, and those who aren’t married get taxed the same)

Economics

Question 22

What is an example of a change on the macro scale in the development of a society?

Answer 22

Change is often brought about by public uprising and other macroscopic social events resulting in some sort of revolution which subsequently results in a change of government. This is depicted through the President Park impeachment due to pubic uprisings against her corruption

Question 23

What is modernisation?

Answer 23

Is defined as the diffusion and adoption of the characteristics of apparently ‘more advanced’ societies, by ‘less advanced’ societies in an attempt to become more modernised.

Question 24

What is westernisation?

Answer 24

Is defined as the process in which the values, customs, practices of the ‘Western Industrial world’ are adopted to form the basis of cultural change

Question 25

How has modernisation impacted social and cultural continuity ?

Answer 25

Modernisation has allowed for the continuity AND the spread of Korean culture throughout the whole world. Through Korean society adopting and using Western technologies to transport their own culture across the globe (globalisation has really helped this as well), this has allowed for an increased awareness and maintenance of certain aspects of Korean culture. This is seen through the rise in popularity of kpop, kdramas.

In other words due to modernisation increasing the amount of technology in Korean society, younger Koreans have more access to these kdramas and kpop, and if traditional norms are shown in this media, the Korean children can be more socialised by this and thus adhere to these traditional norms which are represented through kpop and kdrama.`

Question 26

How has modernisation impacted social and cultural change in Korea?

Answer 26

Modernisation has contributed to change in Korean society through adopting technologies of Western countries. Through this, Korean society is able to be exposed to a variety of modern and Western ideas of individualism.

This may lead to a higher chance of the loss of Korean culture, as modern ideas are adopted and replaced current beliefs and values of Korean society. An example of this is the idea of gender equality and feminism. Modernisation has allowed for Koreans to see that other countries such as Australia are treating women and men equally, and this leads to Koreans questioning whether they should start treating women and men equally, and thus can create change in Korea, in regards to gender equality

Question 27

How has westernisation impacted social and cultural continuity in Korea?

Answer 27

Democratic ideas help support the continuation of the ideal of having a democratic government

Question 28

How has westernisation impacted social and cultural change?

Answer 28

Westernisation (as a result of increased modernisation of Korea, globalisation, development of technology) has contributed to change in Korean society through introducing different Western ideas, values and customs which go against many traditional Confucian beliefs of Korea. An example of this is the introduction of the Western idea of Individualism, this means that the Korean population are more likely to be focussed on the ‘self’ rather than others.

This has resulted in Koreans increasingly unlikely to want to raise a family, and the idea of gender equality has also infiltrated the society as it is a Western idea

Question 29

Determine the nature of traditional society and culture in Korea

Answer 29

Traditional society and culture in South Korea is mainly driven by the prior occupation of China and Japan.

The occupation of Japan had a massive impact on the society and culture of Korea, as it developed a strong sense of nationalism due to the oppression that Korea faced, which ultimately united Koreans.

The occupation of China also had a massive impact on Korean culture, as it introduced ideas of Confucianism into society. Confucianism is a common value that drives many Koreans in both the past and the present. However, over the years the idea of Confucianism developed into Neo-Confucianism

Question 30

What is the impact of Confucianism on Korean society (5)

(linking to the SDP ‘Determine the nature of traditional society and Culture in Korea’)

Answer 30

Strong belief in importance of education

Idea of filial piety, with a lot of respect held by the youth of Korea towards elderly

Rituals for dead family

Strong influence on idea of raising a family

Strong idea of women being the ‘submissive’ one in the relationship, with them expected to become a housewife and not make any money, they were also not granted an education (however this has been slowly changing)

Question 31

Analyse the nature of power in Korea on a micro, meso, macro scale.

Answer 31

Macro: The power belongs to the people when it comes to political situations. This is seen in 2016, hen evidence came out regarding President Park’s corruption and abuse of power. This resulted in an uprising by the Korean peoples, and many started to protest for impeachment of Park, and was finally impeached due to constant protests. These protests are called Candlelight rallies.

Meso: Power is granted to institutions who are looking for employees, as they have the power to decide who gets hired or not. This is seen in the improper use of power by institutions to enforce gender stereotypes to favour male candidates over female candidates

Micro: Power is granted to the eldest male figure in the family. This idea is seen through the fact that the eldest male must be respected and have their wishes followed no matter what. Fathers also have power over who their children can marry.
Also, there is a lack of power held by women in the family who don’t have much power over what they want to do. (However, this is slowly changing)

Question 32

Analyse the nature of authority in Korean on a micro, meso, macro scale

Answer 32

Macro: On the macro scale, the idea of authority is held by the government and the elected leader, in which they can apply their rightful powers to implement certain laws. (Maybe) Legal system is also another form of authority. Most of these form of authorities typically enforce gender stereotypes

Meso: Authority is given to local provinces. They can however abuse their authority, as seen when there was a case of a governor raping his subordinate

Micro: Authority is placed on the eldest in the family to make all the decisions. This is seen in Korea where there are fathers choosing others for their children to marry

Question 33

Explore the continuity of gender roles and the status of men and women in Korea. (4)

Answer 33

Segregation in the workplace because of gender is still evident. This is seen through women being paid less than males, women being rejected by companies despite having qualifications This is mainly due to long rooted Confucian tradition that women are inferior to men and that they should become housewives. Furthermore, it has been shown that a gov. business/company ( Seoul Metro) has revised female applicants scores to be lower so that they do not get accepted into the job position.

Furthermore, there is an aspect of continuity where men are still expected to be the ‘head’ of the family, despite there being an increase in women trying to defy social norms.

Korea still remains to be a largely patriarchal society due to their Confucian tradition.

Still remains the expectation from the family that women need to go get married

Question 34

Explore the change of gender roles and the status of men and women in Korea (4)

Answer 34

There is a strong expectation for women to marry men to raise a family and become a housewife. However, women have begun to refuse to follow this gender roles out of fear that it will ruin their own careers.

Women have been able to start new careers due to the increased education because of the Government’s attempt to include women into the education system, as seen in the Korean Constitution in 1948. This increase in education for women has increased the opportunities for career options

Men are also beginning to help out their wives with household duties.

Women are becoming the main breadwinners of the families

Question 35

Give three examples that supports the idea that ‘Change is NOT necessarily progress’. Which groups in society benefit from change? Which do not? (4)

Answer 35

metoo movement

The animal rights activists in Korea supporting the ending of the dog meat industry. After a lot of protests, the industry has slowly been closing down. This is a win for many animal rights activists, however it is a loss for many of the dog businesses which have lost their main source of income. It is also a loss of tradition.

The rising trend in rejecting traditional values of Confucianism has led many to reject the expectation of having to have a family. Although this has a positive impact on many young Koreans as they are free to pursue their own careers, this has a negative effect on the overall economy of Korea, as there is an increasingly ageing population, thus leading to a lot being out of the workforce, and a heavier burden on the workforce

Another form of change is a change in beauty standards (refusal to take part in unrealistic beauty standards). This has been a beneficial movement for women, as they are allowed to break free of social norms which made them have to undergo several arduous hours of doing makeup each day just to meet social expectations. However, this is not good for makeup industries as they lose a lot of their sales (find stats)

Question 36

Why is change not necessarily progress?

Answer 36

It is not necessarily progress as it can go backwards, forwards and be multifaceted (only changing for certain groups in certain parts of society)

Question 37

What has caused the massive amounts of change in gender roles in Korea?

Answer 37

The process of globalisation has led to the increased interconnectedness of the international community with Korea, thus increasing Korea’s exposure to different cultures. The use of technology has assisted the process of globalisation, which has ultimately led to the westernisation of South Korea, with many Western ideas infiltrating the gender roles of Korea.

This has resulted in the idea of individualism running rampant in Korean society, thus resulting many women to refuse to create a family and pursue their own jobs and education instead.

Question 38

What is the impact of continuity on the lives of individuals and groups on the micro level of a society? (4)

Answer 38

The continuity of traditional values of Confucianism in Korea have affected the lives of individuals through the maintenance of many values such as filial piety. Because of this, Korean society has continued to maintain their respect for their elders in society

Another continuity is Korea’s strong sense of nationalism, uniting individuals against anything that they perceive as threats. This has allowed for many Koreans to develop racist views towards different immigrant groups because of their nationalism. With many not wanting someone of a different race to be their neighbour

Another continuity despite many protests by activists is the strong gender expectations of women to get married and raise a family. And the idea that the eldest male is the head in the family remains to be a popular ideology.

Beauty standards remains to be an important part of Korean individual society, as there is an inherent belief that beauty will lead to more opportunities

Question 39

What is the impact of continuity on individuals and groups on a meso level?

Answer 39

The education system continues to be highly valued by Koreans, and thus the persistence and success of the education system in Korea

There still remains the idea of institutional discrimination amongst institutions hiring others, with many only deciding to hire men over women.

Question 40

What is the impact of continuity on individuals and groups on a macro level?

Answer 40

The legal system in Korea continues to maintain a gender bias. This is depicted when the witnesses to a case about a Korean man who was accused of rape were dismissed under no reasonable grounds other than that they were women. Another case is seen when the court sentenced a man to less days at prison for taking a video of a woman without her consent, as opposed to the woman getting more hours when she got accused of taking a video

(Need to double check gov. laws on taxation of women in Korea)

Question 41

What is the impact of change upon the lives of individuals and groups on the micro level of society? (2)

Answer 41

There has been a change in the attitudes, values and beliefs regarding gender roles. This has resulted in many women refusing to carry out their ‘assigned’ gender role such as having to have children and marry. This has resulted in both marriage and birth rates falling

Another change that was seen was in 1948 when the Korean Constitution was established, which allowed for women to have the right to an education and employment. This empowered many women to break free from social expectations and receive a good education and work. These cumulatively have allowed for women to also begin to refuse their assigned gender roles

These are largely driven by the impacts of westernisation in introducing concepts such as individualism into society

Question 42

What is the impact of change upon the lives of individuals and groups on the meso level of society?(4)

Answer 42

Because of the changes in the acceptance of women into educational centres, there has been an increase in the overall education participation rate. Thus resulting in more schools needing to open, and also led to the increased growth of cram schools (hagwons)

There has been great change caused by Korean animal rights activists, who aim to abolish the dog meat industry in Korea. This change in awareness has caused many dog meat businesses to go out of business

Most businesses hiring workers have undergone change due to laws being implemented by the government which prevent discrimination based on gender to occur. This has changed the long tradition of choosing employees based on gender.

Businesses also have the tradition of hiring employees based on physical appearance, background, martial status, family background and other things which aren’t related to skills. However, this has slowly been changing with the government introducing new ‘blind hiring laws’ which will prevent companies asking employees for personal information which is not related to the work.

Question 43

What is the impact of change upon the lives of individuals and groups on the macro level of society? (3)

Answer 43

There has been a massive change in the South Korean government leadership styles. This turned from a dictatorship to a democratic government. This had a massive impact on the way the country was run as well as the perception of Korea by the international community.

(If legal system is considered macro) There has been massive changes due to the #metoo movement in Korea, with many women speaking out against sexual abuse by those in higher powers. This has exposed the legal system as being a form of discrimination as they dismissed the witnesses of many women when it came to sexual abuse allegations. The legal system has been under fire for allowing for institutional gender discrimination.

Also, the reputation of the government has been affected by sexual abuse allegations towards past governors and the corruption of President Park. This has also affected the trust in the government as an institution

Question 44

How has access to technologies impacted the rate and direction of change in South Korea? 93)

Answer 44

Technology has largely allowed for a platform for the processes of westernisation and modernisation to occur in Korea. And ultimately the process of modernisation has increased the popularity of modern ideas such as feminism and gender equality and has thus changed how Korean society perceives women. This has resulted in changing gender roles and expectations in Korean society. Furthermore, the process of westernisation has introduced Western ideas of individualism which has resulted in many women thinking about their own careers over the social expectation of raising a family. Because of this, there has also been a breakdown of parental authority.

Technology also allows for a platform for organising social movements such as the #metoo movement. This is seen in the protest in downtown Seoul organised via technology, where 200 women took the microphone to tell their stories about sexual harassment

This has allowed for the empowerment of women when it comes to issues regarding sexual abuse. This is able to raise massive awareness on the topic, and thus create change in society. This is seen when several women spoke up against several prominent members of Korean society such as president hopefuls, prominent movie directors and governors

However, despite all these benefitting women’s rights, this has had a negative impact on those who were accused of sexual misconduct, ruining their reputation. This emphasises the multidirectional nature of change.

Question 45

What is William Ogburn’s theory of Cultural lag? What is an example

Answer 45

The idea that it takes a long time for people to catch up with technology as people’s values, attitudes + norms resist change, despite the progression of technology. And not only technology but also material culture in general.

An example could include genetic engineering, where technologies have allowed for this to be possible such as the use of CRISPR to genetically modify DNA to suit certain needs. This has been met with arguments of genetic engineering such as this being considered unethical and unnatural.

Question 46

How much is the kpop industry worth in Korea?

Answer 46

Around $12 billion USD

Question 47

What is the Korean Wave/ Hallyu

Answer 47

Korean Wave refers to the increase in global popularity of South Korean culture since the 1990s, and was first driven by the spread of K-dramas and k-pop. This process has allowed for the exportation of popular culture and tourism, all of which is important to their economy, it has allowed for the global popularity of songs and dramas such as Gangnam style, Dynamite, Butter, Descendants of the Sun and Squid Game

Contributed 12 billion to the economy in 2019

Question 48

What is the spy cam scandal in South korea? Why is it significant?

Answer 48

The male perpetrators of spy cam scandals normally take videos of women without their consent, as seen with the situation with GooHara; a Korean k-pop idol who was illegally filmed. However, because of institutional bias and discrimination, there is too lenient of punishments directed towards perpetrators, with many receiving only fines and the maximum penalty only being 5 years despite the long lasting traumatic experience it can give to the people who were victims, as depicted through Hara’s suicide and many others who were illegally filmed, this depicts that gendered discrimination towards women is rampant, and the justice system is corrupt with traditional values

Question 49

What is the significance of video games in South Korea?

Answer 49

They are considered to be a major social activity, with many games being cooperative or competitive, and there has been professional competition surrounding video games, and have a substantial following in South Korea, in which large prizes are available. Furthermore, a lot of game developments have occurred in Korea such as the development of King Kong and Pong. They also play a massive part in the Korean economy, contributing of billions of US dollars worth. There is also a strong e sports teams from Korea

Question 50

What are some complications from the video game epidemic in South Korea?

Answer 50

There is massive video game addiction, as many aspire to be like profssional esports playersm howevere they beecome addicted and thus have psychological coditions such as depression and anxiety, and thus affected the family structure as well. Several players were known to go violent after they had to go cold turkey on games

Question 51

How has the Korean government tried to reduce thee impacts of addiction in South Korean children?

Answer 51

Introduction of the Shutdown law which prevents anyone aged under 16 from playing online games between 10pm and 6 am

Another program created by Korean government is thee Jump Up Internet Reescue School wwhich is designed to help cure children who are addicted to games/internet

Question 52

What are the names of some South Korean female entrepreneurs who created important businesses in the national and global scale? (due to empowerment from education)

Answer 52

Hyemin Lee - Finda; offering paperless loans
YJ Min - Konolabs; AI startup for enterprises to manage their time smartly

Christine Chang and Sarah Lee are cofounders of Glow Recipe and are considered pioneers when it comes to Korean skincare

All of these have been able to be achieved becaause women had access to education