| dbo:abstract
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- The Korean ruling class refers to persons in contemporary South Korean society known for holding multiple offices in government, education, and the chaebol, stressing degrees from elite (especially American) universities, and reserving important positions for one another and their family members. According to social theory, this class protects and perpetuates itself by valuing family background, prestigious education, loyalty to friends/classmates/hometown, and chaebol wealth, while those excluded from the class are unable to access these prerequisites for class membership. Leaders of admired institutions, such as Samsung, are often insulated from criticism, but there is occasionally popular backlash against the perceived abuses of the elite class, such as the 2014 Korean Air "nut rage" scandal. The idea of a contemporary Korean ruling class has an important basis in the historical stratification of Korean society, but the exact function of the historical connection is a topic of debate. Prior to the 20th century, the dynastic traditions of Confucianism and the historical legacy of the yangban shaped the Korean aristocracy. On the one hand, the parallels can be seen today in the prestige of elite educational credentials, the wealth of landowners in South Korea's tight real estate market, as well as Confucian ideals of paternalism and loyalty to social connections formed during youth. On the other hand, the parallels are at best symbolic and at worst misleading. As a result of over 35 years of Japanese occupation and the subsequent Korean war, the older Korean polity and its traditions were broken off. (en)
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| rdfs:comment
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- The Korean ruling class refers to persons in contemporary South Korean society known for holding multiple offices in government, education, and the chaebol, stressing degrees from elite (especially American) universities, and reserving important positions for one another and their family members. According to social theory, this class protects and perpetuates itself by valuing family background, prestigious education, loyalty to friends/classmates/hometown, and chaebol wealth, while those excluded from the class are unable to access these prerequisites for class membership. Leaders of admired institutions, such as Samsung, are often insulated from criticism, but there is occasionally popular backlash against the perceived abuses of the elite class, such as the 2014 Korean Air "nut rage" sc (en)
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