Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributing Authors
- Acknowledgments
- Editors' Note
- Introduction: The Contemporary Relevance of Confucianism
- PART I CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON DEMOCRACY
- PART II CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON CAPITALISM
- PART III CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON LAW
- 11 Mediation, Litigation, and Justice: Confucian Reflections in a Modern Liberal Society
- 12 Traditional Confucian Values and Western Legal Frameworks: The Law of Succession
- 13 The Confucian Conception of Gender in the Twenty-First Century
- 14 Family Versus the Individual: The Politics of Marriage Laws in Korea
- Epilogue: Why Confucius Now?
- Index
14 - Family Versus the Individual: The Politics of Marriage Laws in Korea
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributing Authors
- Acknowledgments
- Editors' Note
- Introduction: The Contemporary Relevance of Confucianism
- PART I CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON DEMOCRACY
- PART II CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON CAPITALISM
- PART III CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON LAW
- 11 Mediation, Litigation, and Justice: Confucian Reflections in a Modern Liberal Society
- 12 Traditional Confucian Values and Western Legal Frameworks: The Law of Succession
- 13 The Confucian Conception of Gender in the Twenty-First Century
- 14 Family Versus the Individual: The Politics of Marriage Laws in Korea
- Epilogue: Why Confucius Now?
- Index
Summary
On July 16, 1997, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled article 809 of the Civil Code unconstitutional. The article contained the centuries old prohibition of marriages between men and women who have the same surnames and “ancestral seats” (dongsung-dongbon Conservatives and “fundamentalists” were immediately in an uproar. Progressives and liberals rejoiced in the decision. For defenders of Confucian tradition, the marriage prohibition is the backbone of their conception of a well-ordered society. They claim that the court's decision violated the cardinal human principles, that it threatened to destroy the moral and ethical foundation of society. For its detractors, the marriage prohibition was an outdated, anachronistic practice that enforced patriarchalism and male-domination in society, while causing unnecessary pain and suffering for those who dared to flout it. The National Assembly, which has to amend the Civil Code in accordance with the court's decision, has yet to act, suspecting and fearing that public opinion is still deeply divided over the issue. Why did this decision over a seemingly obscure marriage law cause such a furor? What exactly was the prohibition all about?
The issues and debates surrounding this case offer a fascinating example of the ways in which traditional Confucian institutions are being challenged by modern liberal ones. It shows a traditional society in the process of adopting new institutions and adapting to more recently introduced norms and values.
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- Confucianism for the Modern World , pp. 334 - 360Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
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