The Importance of Family or Confucianism

In order to do business with Korean people you have to understand and get to know them better. This will also help you to be a better leader, a better employee and a better business partner.

So, of the things you need to learn about Koreans is that they puts family first, they really respect and value their parents, grandparents and all their ancestors. However, they even in family they follow strict hierarchy structure.


Since, the ancient times Koreans adhered to Confucianism, and in Confucian tradition, the father is the head of the family and it is his responsibility to provide food, clothing and shelter, and to approve the marriages of family members, and it remained unchanged till our days. Moreover, the eldest son of the family has special duties: first to his parents, then to his brothers from older to younger, then to his sons, then to his wife, and lastly to his daughters, women have a lower position in comparison to men. Furthermore, Koreans believe that members of the family are tied to each other because the actions of one family member reflect on the rest of the family, that's why one of the taboo things for individual is to put a shame on a family.

Back to Confucianism, which has its roots from ancient China and spread throughout Asia. The founder of Confucianism was Kong Qiu (K'ung Ch'iu), who was born around 552 B.C.E. in the small state of Lu and died in 479 B.C.E. The Latinized name Confucius, based on the honorific title Kong Fuzi (K'ung Fu-tzu), was created by 16th-century Jesuit missionaries in China. Confucius was a teacher to sons of the nobility at a time when formal education was just beginning in China. He traveled from region to region with a small group of disciples, a number of whom would become important government officials.

Another important aspect of Koreans' life is the heritage of their ancestors, in other words ancestors are very important in South Korea. Every Korean must know and respect his/her family's ancestors.
Here are some facts you might consider knowing:

• Ancestors are based on the male family line.
• Children are raised to believe they can never repay their debt to their parents, hence the popularity of ancestor worship.
• They hold ancestral ceremonies for the previous three generations (parents, grandparents, and great grandparents) several times a year, particularly on Chuseok and NewYear's Day.
• On Chuseok, people cook and set out food to celebrate their ancestors.