Korean Social Culture: Jeong, Han, Heung and Nunchi

Social culture is the crux of a society and is essential in the development of the people in that society. Every social rule stems from various historical events which pushed a culture to form such. Social culture defines who we are and differentiates us. Studying and interacting with different social cultures allows for a deepened understanding of others and ourselves. Through one of the most interesting courses I have participated in so far this semester—Understanding Korean Culture—I have been introduced to four of Korea’s most important social concepts: jeong, han, heung and nunchi.

Jeong (정): Jeong “is a bond that exists between people, and gives them a sense of mutual destiny,” writes Daniel Tudor in “A Geek in Korea: Discovering Asia’s New Kingdom of Cool.” In other words, jeong is a deep feeling of debt felt to be owed to another person either because of friendship or personal relation or even due to being from the same group or background. Jeong is said to have become an especially essential social standard particularly because of Korea’s harsh history; many Korean people had to work together and support one another under difficult landlords, unfavorable times and colonial pressures and rule from China and Japan. Especially with Koreans, and as expanded upon through personal experience by author Tudor, there is a sense of “national jeong” where simply being Korean gains you support or favor from other Koreans, even more so when abroad outside of Korea. Additionally, this reveals an interesting side of jeong where even if you dislike the person or have no considerable care for them, a sense of connectedness is all that is needed for engagement in jeong. Jeong exists within the most intimate of spheres like with friends and family and reaches to lesser where simply a similar nationality produces that link of connection.

Han (한): Han is described by Tudor as “a kind of deep melancholic feeling that comes from an unresolvable burden.” Therefore, it is a deep, blended feeling of sadness and trouble that cannot be escaped, lingering within a person for the entirety of their life. Due to the difficult past of Korea historically and the invasion, colonialization and seemingly constant battle with neighbors, Korean culture and art sees itself tragically. Han is deeply embedded in the very identity of Korea and Koreans. While known to be very exuberantly proud, there is no doubt of the presence of a constant shadow which is described all too well as the ever-looming company of han.

Heung (흥): Heung, noticeably, is familiar in appearance (possibly more so in romanization) to han, and that is because of its relation to the navigation of han. Heung is described by Tudor as “pure joy,” or the engagement in exciting, loud and rowdy experiences to combat the wallowing action participated in because of han. The drinking culture of Korea that involves the gathering of individuals to eat, drink and excitingly enjoy one another’s company is a highly popular and well-known act of heung. Similarly, and becoming more and more popular and known, especially to tourists, is Korea's night life, particularly the clubbing and bar scene in districts like Hongdae (홍대) and Itaewon (이태원). Seoul, the capital city of Korea, is known as the city that never sleeps. While night life and clubbing aren’t the only factors that play into this title, one step outside after the sun sets will expose you to the populated nighttime activities present, demonstrating the common participation in heung, and the likely truth of a city that never sleeps.

Nunchi (눈치): Nunchi is one of the more intriguing social concepts of Korean culture, personally speaking. It is not particularly easy to define as it is not one thing, but a collection of things. In its simplest form, nunchi was described by my professor, Mr. McKee, as one’s ability to read a room and distinguish the “vibe” so that a proper response can be made or action can be taken. However, David Tizzard, in his article “My ‘Nunchi’ is better than yours,” works to delve deeper into the complexity of the concept through inquiring Koreans about their explanation. From this, Tizzard gathered that nunchi is both positive and negative. Abiding by the “invisible rule” of nunchi in Korean society can produce success and happiness, but not necessarily for everyone. Nunchi has different roles in the many varying spheres of a person’s life. While nunchi can be exceptionally important and valuable in interpersonal relationships, helping to gauge situations for the appropriate action and learn the expectations that are meant to remain unspoken, it has its downsides in more professional or social spheres. Because of the hierarchical nature of Korean society, nunchi reinforces the idea of respect to those of higher status than you. Therefore, it also has the potential to reinforce and uphold abusive or discriminatory standards in workplaces or everyday societal instances where status is involved. Ultimately, nunchi is very nuanced, but this exactly inspires the fascination with which I regard it.

The social culture of jeong, han, heung and nunchi prove essential to the daily lives of Koreans as substantial in the formation of the social spheres of Korean life. These four concepts already provide evidence to the colorful feeling present within Korean culture: from connectedness to melancholy to joy. This exposes deeply emotional expression and an outwardness to the Korean way of social life and its navigation.