1392-1910) adopted it as their state ideology. The most important Korean neo-Confucian philosopher, Yi Hwang, also known as Yi T’oe-gye (1501-70), had a great influence on later generations of Confucianists not only in Korea, nut also in Japan. Throughout traditional Korean society, from the royal palace and central government offices in Seoul to the humblest household in the provinces, the themes of the hierarchy and inequality were pervasive. Persons were expected to nurture “sincere” attitudes, which meant not so much expressing what one “really” felt as “reflecting on” or “clarifying” one’s thoughts and feelings until they conformed to traditional norms. There was no concept of rights of the individual. The ideal man or woman was one who controlled his or her passions or emotions in order to fulfill to the letter a host of exacting social obligations. Family and lineage continuity traditionally was, and to a great extent remains, a supremely important principle. This reflects Mencius’s view that of all possible unfilial acts, to deprive one’s parents of posterity is the worst. Historically, the Korean family has been patrilineal. The most important concern for the family group was producing a male heir to carry on the family line and to perform ancestor rituals in the household and at the family gravesite. The first son customarily assumed leadership of the family after his father’s death and inherited his father’s house and a greater portion of land than his younger brothers. Traditionally, the purpose of marriage was to produce a male heir to carry on the family line and not to provide mutual companionship and support for husband and wife. Marriages were arranged. A go-between or matchmaker, usually a middle-aged woman, carried on the negotiations between the two families involved who, because of a very strict law of exogamy, s...
