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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Bae, Sue Hyon
Description
The 2012 South Korean presidential elections made headlines around the world with the election of the country's first woman president, Park Geun-Hye. While some media outlets glossed over the story with remarks of South Korea's "forward" and "progressive" thinking, many others were quick to point out the extremely unique case of President Park Geun-Hye's election and the continuing gender inequality that exists in South Korea. Among statistics that indicate gender inequality within a country, South Korea's percentage of women's representation in its National Assembly currently sits at 15.6%, one of the lowest among similarly developed countries. South Korea first adopted its gender quota system in 2000. But after the initial jump in women's representation from 3% in 1996 to 13% in 2004 election, there has been no significant rise in women's representation in South Korea. This paper looks into the low transition of Assemblywomen in Proportional Representation seats to Single Member Districts following their first term in the Korean National Assembly as an indicator of the inability for sustainable growth in women's representation in South Korea to occur despite their gender quota legislation. I look at committee assignments, a key reelection tool, in order to measure the electability of Assemblywomen after they are termed out of the PR seat. The results indicate that Assemblywomen are sidelined to women's issues and social issues committee. But results also indicate that it is difficult for their male PR seatmates to transition into SMD seats as well. This leads to the conclusion that it is the PR system as a whole that makes it difficult for PR Assemblymembers to create a political career by transitioning into a SMD seat.
ContributorsRobles, Selianna R (Author) / Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah (Thesis director) / Hinojosa, Magda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The overall objective of my Honors Thesis Project was to examine the dynamics of contemporary South Korean education culture, specifically with regard to determining the amount of pressure placed upon students to succeed academically and the contradictions that may arise depending on the meaning of education at various periods throughout the nations' history. To investigate this research goal, my I begin with an overview of the significance education has held in Korea's history, leading into a discussion of various social phenomena that have arisen out of it and persist today. I then examined contemporary cultural representations of educational culture and school life through an analysis of both films and documentaries depicting varying views and meanings of education in Korea at different periods in its history. Lastly, a qualitative interview study exploring current student's attitudes and experiences with education was conducted on Arizona State University's Tempe campus. A total of thirteen Korean graduate students in Master's and PhD programs and four undergraduate American and other international students in Bachelor's degree programs were interviewed as part of the study. The purpose of this study was to examine 1) the contemporary social phenomenon of "education fever", defined as the national obsession with education, which has emerged due to various historical and social processes in South Korea and 2) the degree of pressure placed on Korean students to succeed academically and get accepted into one of the nations' top three most prestigious universities: Seoul University, Korea University and Yonsei University (acronym of SKY) (Seth 2002). The findings of this research project strongly support the idea that education holds a strong significance in Korean culture based on the development of education throughout its history and the implications it has held in each period. Taking into consideration the findings of both the historical and contemporary research completed, as well as the interview study conducted, the phenomenon of "education fever" does hold true. However, it proved to be determined more so by individual environmental factors, meaning that one is not necessarily predetermined to be faced with a great amount of pressure to succeed academically.
ContributorsMesa, Priscilla (Author) / Cho, Sookja (Thesis director) / No, Won (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Given the prominence of alcohol in the Korean adult's daily life, further investigation into the negative effects of harmful alcohol consumption and the treatment of and culture surrounding alcohol use disorders is needed. An investigation into the status and treatment of alcohol use disorders in South Korea was chosen due to the significant cultural differences from the United States with regards to alcohol consumption, mental health, and healthcare. The investigation used academic and grey literature, news reports, and current healthcare and public health policy to evaluate South Korea's weak areas in addressing alcohol use disorders. Greater investment into mental health research and healthcare delivery, as well as further development of the continuum of care to help patients transition from treatment of the acute symptoms of an alcohol use disorder to lifetime management are needed. Lastly, increased alcohol regulatory policies are recommended.
ContributorsFlowers, Taylor Nicole (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Shin, Hoon Cheol (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This piece highlights the Trump administration's history of diplomatic relations with states in East Asia (specifically North Korea (DPRK), South Korea (ROK), Japan, and China). The research in this essay primarily focuses on Trump's public attitudes towards these states during his presidential campaign, and seeks to establish if any negative statements towards East Asian states have affected social and diplomatic relations after Trump's inauguration. Overall, residents of Japan and South Korea had an overwhelmingly negative view of Trump during his campaign, primarily due to cultural differences and dissatisfaction with Trump's blunt, unpredictable demeanor which clashes with Japanese and Korean social norms. While public opinion of Trump was still low in mainland China, Trump's attitude is reminiscent of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution which serves as the societal and governmental framework of the modern People's Republic of China. Therefore, individuals living in China were more likely to be attracted to Trump's personality \u2014 this evident through the popularity of Trump "fan clubs" which gained popularity on Chinese social media websites during the American presidential campaign period. In terms of the bilateral relations between the U.S. and each East Asian state, Donald Trump's negative statements towards China, Japan, and South Korea during his campaign did not significantly impact diplomatic relations during his presidency. While Trump is vocally opposed to certain initiatives that are supported by these heads of state, he has demonstrated a willingness to discuss issues with these leaders. While this openness is not completely evident in U.S. \u2014 Southeast Asian relations, the leaders of Northeast Asia have set aside Trump's controversial campaign statements and have reciprocated his willingness to discuss important issues.
ContributorsGarvey, Lauren Agnes (Author) / Simon, Sheldon (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Truce Country describes the uneasy states of uncertainty. The speaker exists in displacement, such as the speaker’s ambivalent relationship to America, love of its ideals and individuals as well as constant self-awareness of race, and the role of English as both a first and second language. The poems work on their own logic and take a deadpan tone towards sexuality and the surreal. Through autobiography and persona, they question the validity of memories, and the study of perfection casts utopia as dystopia.
ContributorsBae, Sue Hyon (Author) / Ball, Sara (Thesis advisor) / Dubie, Normal (Committee member) / Hogue, Cynthia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
In 2004, the South Korean geneticist Woo-Suk Hwang published what was widely regarded as the most important research result in biotechnology of the year. In the prestigious American journal Science, he claimed that he had succeeded in cloning a human blastocyst, an embryo in its early stages (Hwang et al. 2004). A year later, in a second Science article, he made the earth-shattering announcement that he had derived eleven embryonic stem cell lines using his cloning technique (Hwang et al. 2005). The international scientific community was stunned. American scientists publicly fretted that President George W. Bush‘s 2001 executive order limiting federal funding for stem-cell research in the United States had put American bioscience behind the Koreans‘ (Paarlberg 2005). These breakthroughs offered potential solutions to immune system rejection of transplanted organs and possible cures for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson‘s, Down‘s syndrome, and paralysis (Svenaeus 2007). However, within a year, Hwang was exposed as a fraud who had faked his results and pressured his female colleagues to donate eggs without informed consent. Despite protests against his methods from Korean religious and nongovernmental organizations, Hwang had used his prestige to ignore his ethical obligations. The Korean government, too, was slow to investigate Hwang and to subject his work to appropriate regulation.
ContributorsClay, Anne (Author) / Hurlbut, James (Thesis director) / Maienschein, Jane (Committee member) / Marchant, Gary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
This memoir is organized into three parts, each based on a geographic location where I have lived that has contributed to my self-growth the most. The first part, South Korea, analyzes the history of South Korea, as well as its relationship of international adoptions with the United States through my personal adoption story. The second part is focused on the sixteen years I spent growing up in Utah. From my early years in school, sports, part-time jobs, graduating from high school and my life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this section will showcase the difficulties of growing up in a town where I never fit in. The third and final part deals with the past three years of living in Arizona and attending college.
Even though writing this memoir is incredibly personal to myself, that does not discourage others from gaining something from reading this. I am not the first Asian American, ex-Mormon, college student or adopted individual who writes about their life and I most certainly will not be the last. If anyone is somewhat interested in any of the topics I am going to be writing about, then they can read this memoir and learn something. If not, then they can at least enjoy the stories and hopefully something I went through will put a smile on their face.
Even though writing this memoir is incredibly personal to myself, that does not discourage others from gaining something from reading this. I am not the first Asian American, ex-Mormon, college student or adopted individual who writes about their life and I most certainly will not be the last. If anyone is somewhat interested in any of the topics I am going to be writing about, then they can read this memoir and learn something. If not, then they can at least enjoy the stories and hopefully something I went through will put a smile on their face.
ContributorsMitchell, Chad B (Author) / Bae, Aaron (Thesis director) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The impact traditional East Asian design has had on modern-day East Asian design has not been extensively researched. This paper examines the relationship traditional East Asian architectural design has with more modern styles of design in order to determine and compare the extent to which Western-style influences have had an impact in Eastern societies. This research specifically focuses on the country of South Korea and explores various case studies and articles dating from the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) till present day. By comparing factors related to South Korean culture, the environment, religious philosophies, etc., to architectural trends within the country, we are able to explore the distinct and changing architectural values the society has prioritised over the centuries. This research aims to provide a clearer and more solidified timeline of Korean architectural history which in the past has lacked to address the question revolving around the impact tradition has had on ongoing design trends. I then compare South Korean culture and architecture to other case studies on both East Asian and Western societies in order to determine similarities between past and present architectural styles. The introduction of Western-style architecture in East Asian societies occurred at different critical periods of time and has pushed architectural modernisation to evolve at various speeds and in different directions. By comparing case studies on Japan, China and Korea/South Korea, we are able to explore the various interpretations and the extent to which Western-style design has had influence in this countries. While certain symbolic elements in traditional East Asian architecture have been lost during the modernisation phase of design, there continues to be a link between past and present styles through the emergence of new and improved modern features that have acted as replacements for previous ones. Currently trending in South Korean society is the want to revive and reincorporate traditional architectural features in the city landscape. Perhaps a new vision will emerge where past will become the new modern, and this will encourage an even greater extent of traditional influences on modern architecture in East Asia.
ContributorsFrancis, Naomi (Author) / Oh, Young (Thesis director) / Cho, Sookja (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor)
Created2022-05