Presentation “Wishing for a Good Life in Seoul: Ethics and Economics through the Narratives of Young Koreans”

The seminar was chaired by anthropologist Carolin Landgraf, a lecturer at the Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Goettingen (Germany). The seminar was chaired by Dr. Frank Proschan, a Fulbright scholar currently visiting at the Department of Anthropology.

The presenter was anthropologist Carolin Landgraf.

Carolin’s presentation focused on analyzing the expectations and aspirations of today’s Korean youth about what a “good” life is. Based on her field research in Korea from September 2012 to September 2013, the author shows how Korean youth are pursuing a good life, focusing on four main aspects: education, career, marriage, and housing.

Along with the rapid development of Korean society since the 1950s, a set of standards for what constitutes a good life has gradually emerged in Korean society. The standards for such a life include attending one of Seoul’s top universities, becoming a “white collar” worker in Korea’s leading conglomerates, getting married and starting a family, and owning an apartment. However, Carolin shows that meeting these standards is becoming increasingly difficult for young Koreans, and they are beginning to question whether this is really the good life they desire. Carolin’s research has analyzed how young Koreans adapt to and balance different values ​​and concepts of life, especially how they handle the relationship between moral demands and the pursuit of money.