Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

The Cultural Conflicts and Integration

Presented by Hong Seokjun

(Faculty of History and Culture, Mokpo University)

I. Introduction

This is an introductory article to promote an understanding of the general

problems of cultural conflicts and integration in a certain socio-cultural context. This
article will first consider general arguments on culture, investigate the relation between
arguments on culture and cultural conflicts, and discuss the relation between cultural
conflicts and cultural integration. In its conclusion this article will instead propose a
question: how could cultural integration be made possible?
When interpreted in a broad sense, both academic and practical, culture has
been traditionally understood as a sort of life style. According to this view, a culture of
a specific region can be defined as a unique and original life style that reflects the
dynamics and complexity of a community in the region. A specific culture, however, is
formed through the specific historical experiences and the unique cultural context of a
community, whether formed spontaneously or formed by pressure from outside. Is it
then possible to combine the society and the culture of a region into one concept or
category? In order to answer this question, the differences and the similarities of
cultures should be considered first.
Different cultures around the world have characteristics that are both different
from and similar to each other. If one focuses on the life style of a people in a specific
region, many ruptures and differences can be seen to exist in their specific culture. A
culture, here, is an entity that has diverse and complex characteristics, shares certain
common elements with other cultures and changes itself in a flexible manner according
to the time and context.
Under the current rapidly changing political and economic situation, the
cultures around the world are expected to accelerate their globalization and localization.
Accordingly, there will be formed an environment where promoted intellectual efforts
are made to explain how the culture of a region is formed, transformed, and interpreted
based on the actual daily, specific reality. In this context, it can be said that we need to
come to a perspective with which we can understand the cultural peculiarities and
meanings embedded in the daily life of a cultural community, as well as to be equipped
with the theoretical and practical tools.

1
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

II. A Critical Investigation of Cultural Theory and the Issue of the Cultural
Conflict.

Various arguments have been made concerning culture in general. It seems

now quite difficult or almost impossible to deal with culture itself as a general, fixed
entity, as it has been widely recognized that a culture always changes in relation with
complicated events and situations. Furthermore, there are certain qualitative differences
between normative, ethical messages and a strategic utterance at the practical level. If
one views culture as a fixed entity, or simplifies the cultural dynamics as “culture moves
from the center to the marginal,” through a dichotomy that puts one’s own culture at the
center and the other’s in the marginal, the clashes and tensions between cultures and the
dynamic interactions between cultures, such as cultural conflicts, can be easily
overlooked.
Examples can be seen in social situations of the moment in China, Japan, and
Korea. In the case of China, the Sinocentrism and the Han-Barbarians structure has
been set forth for the cultural integration in the process of its modernization, mainly
through economic development. Many Chinese films have been produced and
distributed with the subtle intention of strengthening the pride in the Chinese people of
their Chinese identity and culture. “Eat, Drink, Man and Woman 2” is a good example
of this kind of movie, where can be observed a symbolizing process of the nationalist
message, advocating that Hong Kong and Taiwan should be unified with China, despite
their geographical and cultural differences, through Chinese food. In this film is
implied the strong feeling of pride of Sinocentrism and that Chinese people, wherever
they live around the world, should not forget their cultural identity and that China
should be the center of the world.
Japan has been showing a consistent, passive attitude in that it has built
mutually cooperative relations with other countries following its strategy and goal of
modernization, “out of Asia, into Europe (脫亞入歐).” Japan’s tepidness toward the
establishment of an economic cooperative system among East Asian countries also
demonstrates that Japan holds a very one-directional and exclusive view on the matter,
concerned only with its own interest, but not with equal, cooperative relations with
other Asian countries.
Korea is also suspicious of its own nationalist inclination and a tendency that
emphasizes an exclusive competitive spirit for its national development, not a spirit of

2
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

cultural hybridity. Korea, indeed, is well-known as a country that puts its own interest
before everything in establishing cooperative relations with other countries. In this
context, serious consideration should be paid to a remark that says, “Korea is so
concerned and obsessed with its own problems, it does not show any interest in the
problems of the neighboring countries and cannot play a role in solving them” (Kim
Sangwoo, May 9, 2002).
We are now required to reflect on our own conduct, whether we have been
rather passive in understanding and respecting others’ cultures, and, at the same time,
have put forth an effort to apply directly-imported experiences to solve cultural
conflicts. We should also ask ourselves whether we are confronting a cultural reality
that stipulates that everyone is devoted to building and maintaining a strong wall to
protect each culture.
The existing perceptions and arguments on culture, in most cases, tended to be
based on ethnocentric linguistic dogmatism without a deep introspection into the
internal view of the specific historical experience and cultural environment of a specific
culture (Kim Gwangeok 1998; Han Kyeonggu 1997). These arguments divided the
world, according to a dichotomy, into the center and the marginal, the dominant and the
subordinate, the high and the low, or the superior and the inferior; categorized all
cultural elements through a binary equivalence; and, consequently, fossilized culture
itself, ignoring the internal diversity of a culture and its flexibility and variableness.
Moreover, many arguments were based on rather subjective interpretations and
assumptions without enough empirical verification, and thus led to unscientific and
illogical arguments on cultural values and worldviews, wanting the concrete contents of
a culture (refer to Kim Gwangeok 1998).
It is very dangerous to follow the simplified logic that divides the world
according to a binary structure. In numerous societies around the world, various
cultures are being practiced in either similar or different forms. Some of the similar
features that can be found in common in different nations and societies across the world
are the notions and practices of the following matters: courtesy to human beings, the
importance of family, respect for honor, the mixture of the normal and abnormal, the
definition and standard for being human, the world order, the movement of the universe,
and the destiny of human beings. What is required now is to identify the concrete
patterns and meanings of those notions and practices, or how those matters are
perceived and practiced in a specific social and cultural context.
In one word, the existing theories on culture can be evaluated as lacking
concreteness, as the substance of culture is ambiguous. A culture of a specific region is

3
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

a cultural entity that holds concrete notions on and practices of life, rather than a spatial
or geographical entity. We cannot define a culture simply by drawing lines on a map. It
is very important to recognize that a cultural substance is not grasped through the
combination of the spatial concept and some cultural terms, without a deep
introspection concerning the people and their cultural practices.
There has been an assumption that cultural integration in a region could be
achieved after long-term geographical unification. For a cultural integration, however,
the internal conflicts and tensions in a culture should be examined first. To argue that
there have been consistent positive contacts between two cultures in a geographically
unified region is likely to result in an over- simplified approach to characteristics and
meanings of culture. Through our historical experiences, we should be able to observe
that there have been many cases where the internal conflicts caused by cultural clashes
became obstacles to understanding each other’s culture and establishing cultural
integration. Empirical research on the causes and effects of cultural conflict should be
undertaken also in order to test this observation.
Cultural integration between heterogeneous cultures should be based on cultural
exchanges between them over a long period of time. It should also be noted that the
processes of cultural exchange varies according to each country or ethnic group’s
historical experience, both in cultural and social aspects. The differences in the
historical experiences and cultural environments of different nations or societies
indicate differences not only in their systems and institutions, but also in their customs
and their views on the world and the nation. We should be cautious of those attitudes
and arguments that hang on the “appellation” of a specific culture based on subjective
ideas and emotions without any concrete proof to explain the cultural differences.
We should be also careful not to fall into the error of cultural determinism. In
order to avoid unrefined cultural determinism, we need to focus on cultural
heterogeneity not cultural homogeneity, on the aspect of the cultural conflict not of the
cultural harmony and stability. Cultural integration can be made possible when the
cultural heterogeneity and conflicts are explained through our understanding of the
specific peculiarities and meanings of a culture in the social and cultural context. To
stick to the belief that the politics and economic development of a community is
determined by culture only implies a certain possibility of fallacy.
We should ask ourselves whether we have indulged in a sort of “culture-
making” as we discuss culture. We should raise the question of whether our diverse
cultural discourses are ignoring an aspect of the cultural conflict and hiding our
worldviews based on our strong faith in cultural homogeneity and different strategies.

4
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

Furthermore, the differences between the state and the nation should be addressed. In
some cultures, the state and the nation are considered as an identical category, while in
others the two are perceived as two strictly different categories. The state is perceived
as a political entity that was formed in modern times while, on the other hand, the
nation is understood as an “imagined community,” a collection of the common
fundamental elements such as language, custom, and religion (Anderson, 1991).
We sometimes tend to confuse culture as a matter of images or ideas through
which we perceive a specific culture and culture as a whole way of life. Those theories
and methodologies that regard the perceptual dimension in the same light with the
actual cultural dimension are given great importance in the field of cultural studies. It
seems, however, not appropriate to simply identify the perceptions or ideas themselves
as culture itself. The system of perceptions or thoughts is an important constituent
element of culture, though it is not the sole determinative element of culture. On that
account, cultural homogeneity and the community spirit are exposed as false discourses
due to their insistence on the original emotion or loyalty for the cultural community.
Thus, we should be concerned as to whether the inclination for the tradition or the
mutual intimacy amongst the members of a community would guarantee the
universality and the infinite expansion of the civil society.
When we discuss cultural conflicts or integration, the fundamental question to
be raised first is: what is “culture”? Culture has been defined in many ways: some
define culture as the field of art; others define it as religion, language and the system of
thought; it is also defined as customary institutions and the system of rules. Could each
of these concepts of culture be applied separately in explaining a cultural community?
Culture has its meanings only to those who practice it. Therefore, it is very dangerous
to assume a cultural homogeneity or a cultural community from the fact that some
elements or forms are found in common between different cultures (Hong Seokjun,
1998).
This is why it is very important to expose the subjects of and the force behind
the production of theories on culture. For whom and by whom are all the diverse
discourses on culture produced? The arguments and discourses on cultural conflict and
cultural integration usually imply a double consciousness of the subject’s fear of
alienation and the subject’s pride in the culture. The explanation of, the excuse for, or
the resistance against, democracy, political activities, human rights, democracy,
economic activities and social ethics mystify the concept of culture so that the others
can avoid evaluation through the Western concept, category, or norms of culture. To
achieve this aim, the specific historical processes and experiences of each ethnic or

5
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

cultural community should be accounted for.

To further a concrete discussion on the entity of a culture, we need to pay
attention to the various voices of the social movements such as grass-root movements
and other NGO movements that have been spreading widely around the world in recent
days (Appadurai 2000). It is necessary to examine what roles those voices from social
movements and practices take in specific societies, in which context, and what socio-
cultural implications they have. In other words, we should first acknowledge the
coexistence of different cultures in a society, and approach those problems involved in
the cultural conflicts and integration of other cultures as a part of a new social
movement that purports to restore the cultural rights of different groups of people. This
movement, that has aroused a new type of tribalism through establishing a network
between different tribes or ethnic groups around the world, can be recognized as a
revival of nationalism. What is remarkable here is that this sort of small-scaled social
movement can be taken as an alternative to confront the logic and the strategy of
globalization and as an attempt to change the center by the marginal.
With the recognition of cultural diversity, we should reflect upon whether we
have been obsessed with the “search for a cultural prototype” (Hong Seokjun 1998). A
culture can be defined differently according to the unique historical experience and the
cultural environment of a cultural community. The obsession with a cultural prototype
leads us to consider culture as an isolated static entity, to ignore the aspect of cultural
conflicts, and to overlook the aspect of the agency of the cultural subject. The agency
of the subjects that assume and perform certain identities according to their aims can be
explained only through cultural dynamics and practices, not through a certain, putative
prototype or innate nature of the subjects.
To deal with the issues of cultural conflict and integration, we should leave
behind the binary paradigm that divides the world into the center and the marginal. For
a more productive understanding of the dialogic relation between cultural conflict and
cultural integration, we need to overcome the binary system and train ourselves to view
the world in a more objective way. Intellectual reflections upon the internal conflicts of
a culture should be made which do not emphasize some “essential” or “truthful” culture
that can be found in common between different cultures, reflections that should
acknowledge that each culture has its unique peculiarities.
Theories of culture should be based on concrete and empirical observations of
culture, as well as homogeneity and heterogeneity in each culture. To suggest the belief
in a universal culture or cultural integration without considering the dimensions of
cultural conflict can raise the essentialist emotions of the subjects who enjoy a specific

6
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

culture and can obstruct the establishment of the sense of community or the cultural
integration (Geertz, 1998: refer to Chapter 10). A true cultural integration can only be
achieved by the group of “people” who are willing to share their diverse and
complicated cultures beyond the boundaries of the nation or ethnic groups.

III. In Conclusion: Is Cultural Integration Possible?

When dealing with the issue of cultural conflict and cultural integration in the
current situation where globalization is proceeding rapidly, we need to consider one
more thing. When we consider the cultural dimension of the globalization (Appadurai
1996; Beynon and Dunkeley 2000; Short 2001), we should acknowledge the
globalization of culture is not a process of assimilation as in the globalization of the
capital. The economic globalization makes use of a variety of means that can be
absorbed into different societies and assimilate the patterns of economic activities and
products. These means can be now substituted with different discourses on the
sovereignty of the nation, free enterprises, and fundamentalism that reduce the role of
the state (refer to Appadurai 1990, 1996). This argument can be applied in the same
way when dealing with the problems of cultural conflict and integration around the
world.
Thus, those elements that have influenced the formation of the cultural
environment and historical experience of each country, including the tension and
conflict between the state and the civil society, the expansion of markets, the
competition between countries, the state’s policy on companies, and the relation
between the traditional and the contemporary, can be examined further through concrete
and empirical research that also accounts for the socio-cultural context. The citizens of
each nation should share the recognition of the necessity of empirical research from a
comparative perspective as a part of the specific efforts to search for a paradigm with
which we can overcome simplistic optimism and the belief in ‘omnipotent’ culture.
Without inspection of the causes of cultural conflict and of the specific measures to
cope with conflict, the discussions concerning cultural integration and a cultural
community will find themselves unfounded.
Culture has come to occupy a core position in our contemporary “knowledge
society” or knowledge-based society. Without a good use of culture, a society will be
left behind in the sphere of knowledge and information. A thorough and careful
understanding of the causes and the contexts of each cultural conflict, along with
culture, should precede any discussion of the possibility of cultural integration,

7
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

especially when the world is experiencing a rapid globalization and, at the same time,
the localization of each society to obtain its cultural originality.
Culture does not exist as a united entity. It is the absence of a proper approach
to culture, as well as our superficial and ideative tendency in conceptualizing culture,
that has led us to understand culture as a united, universal entity.
If culture is understood, not as an integrated whole, but as a scene of
confrontations, clashes, and conflicts among very heterogeneous elements, studies of
culture are naturally led to focus on the theories and practices of the issue of cultural
conflict and integration. The cause and the context of the cultural conflict can be
grasped better when inspected not only from the internal cultural angle, but also from
the external political, economic and social perspectives. In other words, when the
unique and peculiar historical experience of a specific region are understood enough,
the cause and context of a cultural conflict can be better grasped. For example, a
comparative investigation of different experiences, such as the democratization of South
Korea, the democratization movement against the military authority in Myanmar, the
June Revolution against the dictatorship in the Philippines, and the People’s Power
movement that expelled the dictator in Indonesia, can open the possibility of a solidarity
between these societies based on their common experiences, and ultimately the
possibility of cultural integration.
To understand culture is not to understand the harmony and stability between
different cultures, but to understand the conflicts and confrontations between them as a
whole. In a word, understanding culture means understanding cultural conflict. A
culture can be grasped only through the conflicts, confrontations, and tensions among
the constituent elements in the culture. The possibility for cultural integration can be
expected only when cultural conflict is thoroughly understood, and when systematic and
concrete discussions are held on cultural integration. Without these, discussions on
cultural integration could well remain as an unfounded discourse.

Nepalese Laws Discriminating Women

Nepal is a country situated between two big countries India and China. The culture of
Nepal is highly dominated by males and male are given much priority in the social life.
The laws of Nepal also reflect the same tradition and culture. Nepal was never ruled by
any foreign invaders, but there was a family rule of Ranas for 104 years. After the
collapse of Rana regime, Nepali people could see democracy for 10 years form 1951 to
1961, then the king declared the multiparty system unsuitable to the country and banned

8
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

political parties and took all the powers in his own hand. Two years after, he introduced
party-less Panchayat System. This was a kind of direct rule by the king; however there
were council of Ministers to advise him. These systems never tried to reform the
situation of women in the country, neither they ever thought of empowering women and
give them equal status. Many of the laws still reflect the discriminatory provisions, after
the re-introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990.
The constitution of Nepal, 1990, which is considered to be the outshoot of the popular
movement of 1990, has guaranteed equal rights of men and women in Article 11. In 22
Apr 1991, Nepal ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of
Discrimination Against Women. The Supreme Court of Nepal has also ruled out many
of the discriminatory provisions of the laws. For example, women were not allowed to
ask for the partition of patriarchal property unless they reached the age of 35 and
remained unmarried. But the Supreme Court had ordered to change such discriminatory
laws to the government. The law was changed and the women are now provided with
the partition in patriarchal property if she is not properly cared of in the house at any
age. But, because of the deep rooted male dominated mentality, the change is not worth
welcoming. According to this, such women have to return the remaining property if she
gets married.1 But men should not return if they are married. . According to the
provision of the Chapter "of Partition" of the Country Code, a married daughter should
not be given the patriarchal property.2
Similarly, the law of inheritance (as mentioned in the Chapter "of Inheritance", in
Muluki the Country Code) has also put women in least priority. It has further
discriminated married and unmarried women. According to the inheritance law of
Nepal, the priority to receive the inherited property is as follows i) husband or wife ii)
son or widow of the son and unmarried daughter iv) son's son v) unmarried daughter of
son's son vi) married daughter of the deceased vii) married daughter's son or unmarried
daughter vii) other relatives.3 Not only that, if a women gets inherited property while
she was unmarried and if she gets married, she has to return the remaining property to
other legal heir, such as the deceased person's son's son etc.
Likewise, the provision regarding women's properties has not given full right to
property to a woman. According to section 2 of the Chapter "Women's Property", a
woma is not permitted to sell out or dispose of her whole property without the consent
of her parents if she is unmarried and of her matured son or unmarried daughter.
Similarly, this section of the Country Code hinders a woman to marry a person whom
1
Section 16 of Chapter "of Partition" of the Country Code (Muluki Ain).
2
Ibid, Section 1(a).
3
Section 2 of the Chapter "of Inheritance" of the Country Code

9
Gwanju Human Rights Folk School 2004

she has already given some fixed assets. If she marries such a person, she has to return
such property to her parents or other heir.
According to the law of Nepal, a female cannot accept a foreign employment unless she
gets permission of her parents and such parents should be attested by the local authority
such as Village Development Committee or Municipality.4
Thus we see that women are not provided with the proper property right by the laws of
Nepal resulting into making them dependent to the male counterparts. This has been the
great impediment to the development of the society.
The situation of discrimination against women does not exhaust here. The treatment in
everyday life in the villages is far discriminatory. A daughter in law is more likely to be
treated badly if she can not give birth to a son. In many cases people prefer son rather
than the daughter. Sons are given better education, clothing, food etc while daughter are
not taken much care to be provided with these fundamental rights.

4
Section 12 of Foreign Employment Act.

10