Think No Evil: Korean Values in the Age of Globalization

by C. Fred Alford

Overview

In this investigation of the contemporary notion of evil, C. Fred Alford asks what we can learn about this concept, and about ourselves, by examining a society where it is unknown—where language contains no word that equates to the English term "evil." Does such a society look upon human nature more benignly? Do its members view the world through rose-colored glasses? Korea offers a fascinating starting point, and Alford begins his search for answers there.

In conversations with hundreds of Koreans from diverse religions and walks of life—students, politicians, teachers, Buddhist monks, Confucian scholars, Catholic priests, housewives, psychiatrists, and farmers—Alford found remarkable agreement about the nonexistence of evil. Koreans regard evil not as a moral category but as an intellectual one, the result of erroneous Western thinking. For them, evil results from the creation of dualisms, oppositions between people and ideas.

Alford's interviews often led to discussions about imported ways of thinking and the impact of globalization upon society at large. In particular, he was struck by how Koreans' responses to globalization matched Westerners' views about evil. In much of the world, he argues, globalization is the ultimate dualism—attractive for the enlightenment and freedom it brings, terrifying for the great social and personal upheaval it can cause.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801436666
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	08/11/1999
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.94(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

C. Fred Alford is Pro-fessor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of nine books, most recently What Evil Means to Us, also from Cornell.

What People are Saying About This

Brother Anthony of Taizé

"Think No Evil is the starting point in a challenging journey through today's Korea in search of answers to questions about life's deeper perspectives which few think to ask. Korea, deeply unfamiliar even to itself, serves as a place of 'otherness' where seemingly obvious notions find no resonance, where apparently fundamental concepts like 'evil' turn out to be almost meaningless. This stimulating book allows the reader to overhear the voices of many very different Koreans as they express their thoughts about life and death, good and evil, their family and country, religion, money, the past and the future, themselves and globalization. The author relates the Korean experience to the American in subtle ways and has obviously met Korea at a deep, essential level. He brings to his book echoes of amazing encounters, and with great sensitivity traces out their significance for many readers who will never make his journey."

Chaibong Hahm

"C. Fred Alford's insight into the Korean 'mind' as well as the conceptual and theoretical challenges facing Korea today is exceptional. His book is one of the best examples of how a 'non-specialist' can bring penetrating insights and fresh perspectives to the understanding of a particular culture when armed with a good theory, experience, and compassion for the subject."

Fred R. Dallmayr

"Here is a discussion of 'evil' not on an abstract metaethical plane but on the level of everyday experience. An exercise in philosophical anthropology and cross-cultural empathy, C. Fred Alford's book explores the meaning, or lack of meaning, of evil as perceived by a cross-section of contemporary Korean society. Despite the absence of a conceptual parallel, Alford detects an existential analogue to evil in the experience of radical dislocation and world-alienation associated with modernizing globalization. An instructive parable for the vast majority of the world's population."

Chung-in Moon

"Alford's volume represents one of the most daring, penetrative, and enlightening accounts of the inner structure of the Korean psyche.... This is must reading for Koreans and Korean specialists."

Brother Anthony of Taizé

Think No Evil is the starting point in a challenging journey through today's Korea in search of answers to questions about life's deeper perspectives which few think to ask. Korea, deeply unfamiliar even to itself, serves as a place of 'otherness' where seemingly obvious notions find no resonance, where apparently fundamental concepts like 'evil' turn out to be almost meaningless. This stimulating book allows the reader to overhear the voices of many very different Koreans as they express their thoughts about life and death, good and evil, their family and country, religion, money, the past and the future, themselves and globalization. The author relates the Korean experience to the American in subtle ways and has obviously met Korea at a deep, essential level. He brings to his book echoes of amazing encounters, and with great sensitivity traces out their significance for many readers who will never make his journey.

Editorial Reviews

I highly recommend Think No Evil for anyone with a taste for the study of culture, religion, philosophy, or an interest in the state of mind of post-IMF Korea today. Dr. Alford's expertise in Western and Eastern philosophy is obvious... but the real surprise is the depth and sympathy through which he approaches his subject matter.... He expounds his views with the confidence that comes from intimate knowledge, not ideological dogma. Think No Evil is a helpful mirror to the face of changing Korea.

Korean Quarterly - Jin S. Kim

C. Fred Alford skillfully examines one of the oldest human dilemmas, evil, in relation to one of the newest world phenomena, globalization, as a way of understanding Korean values. This book is highly recommended not only for those who are interested in Korea, experts and non-experts alike, but also for anyone interested in issues dealing with evil and the significance of globalization in East Asia.

Acta Koreana - Young-Chan Ro

This is an excellent and intriguing book for those who 'share hopes and fears' in everyday life. What is fascinating is Alford's treatment of the meaning of the absence of evil in Korean thought.... Think No Evil will be of fascinating theoretical and intellectual interest to Koreans and scholars in Korean studies.

Korean Studies - Byung-ok Kil

Think No Evil is an ambitious, inventive, highly nuanced, yet circumspect exploration of both the hazards and the opportunities currently facing Korean culture. It will be of interest to those who seek to think critically about globalization in general, as well as, to those with an interest in exploring how such changes are altering—just as they further embed—the Korean concepts of the self.

Korean Studies Review - Michael Goodwin

"I highly recommend Think No Evil for anyone with a taste for the study of culture, religion, philosophy, or an interest in the state of mind of post-IMF Korea today. Dr. Alford's expertise in Western and Eastern philosophy is obvious. . . but the real surprise is the depth and sympathy through which he approaches his subject matter. . . He expounds his views with the confidence that comes from intimate knowledge, not ideological dogma. Think No Evil is a helpful mirror to the face of changing Korea."—Jin S. Kim, Korean Quarterly. Winter 1999.

"Think No Evil is an ambitious, inventive, highly nuanced, yet circumspect exploration of both the hazards and the opportunities currently facing Korean culture. It will be of interest to those who seek to think critically about globalization in general, as well as, to those with an interest in exploring how such changes are altering—just as they further embed—the Korean concepts of the self."—Michael Goodwin. Korean Studies Review. 2000

"C. Fred Alford skillfully examines one of the oldest human dilemmas, "evil," in relation to one of the newest world phenomena, "globalization," as a way of understanding Korean values. This book is highly recommended not only for those who are interested in Korea, experts and non-experts alike, but also for anyone interested in issues dealing with evil and the significance of globalization in East Asia."—Young-Chan Ro, George Mason University, Acta Koreana, Vol. 3, 2000.

"This is an excellent and intriguing book for those who 'share hopes and fears' in everyday life. What is fascinating is Alford's treatment of the meaning of the absence of evil in Korean thought. . . Think No Evil will be of fascinating theoretical and intellectual interest to Koreans and scholars in Korean studies."—Byung-ok Kil, Center for Asia-Pacific Studies. Korean Studies, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2001

"Alford's volume represents one of the most daring, penetrative, and enlightening accounts of the inner structure of the Korean psyche. . . . This is must reading for Koreans and Korean specialists." —Chung-in Moon, Director, Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University

"C. Fred Alford's insight into the Korean 'mind' as well as the conceptual and theoretical challenges facing Korea today is exceptional. His book is one of the best examples of how a 'non-specialist' can bring penetrating insights and fresh perspectives to the understanding of a particular culture when armed with a good theory, experience, and compassion for the subject."—Chaibong Hahm, Yonsei University

"Here is a discussion of 'evil' not on an abstract metaethical plane but on the level of everyday experience. An exercise in philosophical anthropology and cross-cultural empathy, C. Fred Alford's book explores the meaning, or lack of meaning, of evil as perceived by a cross-section of contemporary Korean society. Despite the absence of a conceptual parallel, Alford detects an existential analogue to evil in the experience of radical dislocation and world-alienation associated with modernizing globalization. An instructive parable for the vast majority of the world's population."—Fred R. Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame

"Think No Evil is the starting point in a challenging journey through today's Korea in search of answers to questions about life's deeper perspectives which few think to ask. Korea, deeply unfamiliar even to itself, serves as a place of 'otherness' where seemingly obvious notions find no resonance, where apparently fundamental concepts like 'evil' turn out to be almost meaningless. This stimulating book allows the reader to overhear the voices of many very different Koreans as they express their thoughts about life and death, good and evil, their family and country, religion, money, the past and the future, themselves and globalization. The author relates the Korean experience to the American in subtle ways and has obviously met Korea at a deep, essential level. He brings to his book echoes of amazing encounters, and with great sensitivity traces out their significance for many readers who will never make his journey."—Brother Anthony of Taizé, Professor at Sogang University

From the Publisher

"Here is a discussion of 'evil' not on an abstract metaethical plane but on the level of everyday experience. An exercise in philosophical anthropology and cross-cultural empathy, C. Fred Alford's book explores the meaning, or lack of meaning, of evil as perceived by a cross-section of contemporary Korean society. Despite the absence of a conceptual parallel, Alford detects an existential analogue to evil in the experience of radical dislocation and world-alienation associated with modernizing globalization. An instructive parable for the vast majority of the world's population."

Fred R. Dallmayr

"C. Fred Alford's insight into the Korean 'mind' as well as the conceptual and theoretical challenges facing Korea today is exceptional. His book is one of the best examples of how a 'non-specialist' can bring penetrating insights and fresh perspectives to the understanding of a particular culture when armed with a good theory, experience, and compassion for the subject."

Chaibong Hahm

"Alford's volume represents one of the most daring, penetrative, and enlightening accounts of the inner structure of the Korean psyche.... This is must reading for Koreans and Korean specialists."

Chung-in Moon