By Kim Ga-hoon
Global Student Reporter
Filial piety, which is called ``hyodo'' in Korean, is defined as supporting and serving one's parents, and is a natural duty of a person. From ages ago, morality in oriental society was derived from the ``hyojae'' of Confucianism. ``Hyojae'' means honoring one's parents and intensifying one's brotherly love toward one's siblings, and represents peace and harmony within the family.
In other words, in the Orient, morality originates from one's family and it has been believed that the order of the family is directly connected to that of the nation. Thus, the culture of filial piety can be recognized as the foremost and first principle to maintain the order of a nation. As the expression 'filial duty' implies, in western society as well, filial duty is referred to a basic responsibility of human being. Yet, there is a huge difference between the West and the East in the process that filial piety is established as a concept of culture in society.
In Asia, since B.C. 2500, the culture of filial piety was established by Confucius and other numerous thinkers, who ethically and philosophically analyzed and rearranged the idea of filial piety and how to practice it.
The idea has been taught to children and youngsters as part of morality education for thousands of years. More specifically, an epigram, which has been emphasized in the Orient as the most important item of virtue for an individual, family and nation, says, ``A nation can be peaceful only when families are well governed, which is possible only when individuals have well cultivated their mind.'' It implied that families can be well governed just on the basis of filial piety and that the culture of filial piety can make the whole world peaceful.
However, in the West, parents have recognized the concept of individualism, which regards parents as honorable individuals. I think that the one and only country that has flourished and inherited the filial piety until now as a culture is the Republic of Korea.
This can be proved by the saying of the greatest historian Arnold Toynbee. ``The family system in Korea, which is based on the virtue of filial piety, is the greatest heritage in human history, which I would like to take with me without fail when I go to heaven.'' Also, it can be seen in the traditional custom of Korea that children should live in a mud hut built near their parents' tomb for three years or more after their death and the story of the Korean tale ``Simchung'' who sacrifices her self to gain 300 bags of rice to make her fathers' eyes open. In a word, the culture of filial piety is the brightest cultural heritage handed down from generation to generation in Korea.
I would like to introduce nine main aspects of practicing filial piety in Korea ― protecting one's body, serving parents, respecting parents, obediently listening to parents, supporting parents, remonstrance parents, being successful, remembrance of parents virtue and offering sacrifice to parents.
Today, as the ratio of elderly people is increasing over the world, juveniles living in the Republic of Korea must cherish the culture of filial piety most as a valuable cultural heritage and faithfully practice it.
The practice of respecting older people needs to be more actively promoted to later generations and diffused to each corner around the world. Youngsters, in the Republic of Korea must observe their traditional morality so as to set a model all around the world.
kimgahoon924@yahoo.co.kr
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