Introduction
Culture refers to the manifestation of human intellectual achievement. It is usually collective and can take various forms such as music, art and the way of life of a group of people. Researchers have noted that culture is a very powerful tool for human survival and is in many cases determined by factors such as geographical location and a common historical origin.
People with a common culture share common ideas, attitudes towards various issues, and indicate a common pattern of behavior. For instance, many inhabitants of Asian countries have a culture that features different kinds of cultural heritage that are divided into distinct geographical regions namely central, east, west, south and northern Asia.
The aim of this paper is to propose a research project that will explore a religious aspect of people of East Asia. The research project will explore how Confucianism influences the lives of people of South Korea. The initial assumption is that Confucianism is evident in traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea.
Problem Statement
Confucianism refers to a system of thought based on the teachings of a Chinese man named Kung Fuzi who lived from 551 to 479 BCE. The name was first Latinized and then translated to English to sound “Confucius”. It was claimed by Confucius proponents that his teachings were not original.
However, the same proponents of Confucianism believed that he was a creative wisdom transmitter from the past. A moral code that was based on humanity, ethics and love was created by him. Ideas that are emphasized by this system include the need to live in harmony and order both with other human beings and nature. This project will qualitatively explore evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea.
Objective statement
The main objective of the research project proposed in this proposal will be exploring evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea.
Justification
Understanding the way of life of people is critical when it comes to interacting with them. This is because of the cultural diversity that exists across all the nations of the world. South Korea forms a larger part of the East Asian that has people with a different way of life from the rest of the world. Research on evidence of Confucianism in traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea will go a greater step in helping to understand them thus creating a harmonized understanding between them and people of different cultural values.
Methodology
This is a qualitative research that seeks to explore how ideas of the Confucianism system impact on the general lifestyle of people of the republic of South Korea.
Participants: Participants in this research project will be selected citizens of South Korea who have a strong believe in the system of Confucianism. This will be used as a representative sample of people in the whole country who follow ideologies of Confucianism.
Research tools: In this study, structured interviews, participant observation and review of secondary sources of information will be utilized as primary research tools.
Data collection: Data in this project will be collected by use of tape recorders, video recorders and note taking.
Data analysis: Data collected from this research project will be deeply analyzed through analytic induction, domain analysis, and logical analysis/matrix to establish specific points on how ideas of Confucianism impact on the lifestyles of people of South Korea.
Data presentation: Data in this research project will be presented in form of tables, graphs and percentages that will be accompanied by a detailed discussion.