Page 50 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy
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the cultural traits of this generation to construe contemporary Korean society and her ever-
expanding postmodern ethos.
Postmodernism and Sinsedae Culture
The term “Postmodernism” is an elusive term, difficult to define since it is not “a
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monolithic phenomenon.” It is, however, basically cultural and intellectual reaction to
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modernity and the modern paradigm of accessing and expressing reality. Hence, it affects
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literature, dress, art, architecture, music, ethics, self-identity, and theology as well. Three
characteristics of postmodernism provided by sociologist Zygmunt Bauman are connected with
the Sinsedae culture in Korea: “the decline of the West, the legitimation crisis, and the
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undeniable reality of pluralism.”
Unlike the older generation, young Koreans are expressing a direct challenge to the
power and influence of the West, especially to the United States of America. For this reason
cultural nationalism was embraced easily by the younger generation in Korea. The crisis of
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Hans Bertens “The Postmodern Weltanschauung and Its Relations to Modernism: An
Introductory Survey,” in A Postmodern Reader, ed Joseph Natoli and Linda Hutcheon (Albany,
NY: State Univ. of New York Press, 1993), 1.
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For Stanley Grenz, postmodernism is an “intellectual orientation that is critical and
seeks to move beyond the philosophical tenets of the Enlightenment.” Stanley J. Grenz,
st
Revisioning Evnagelical Theology: A Fresh Agenda for the 21 Century (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 1993), 15.
97 David S. Dockery, “Introduction: The Challenge of Postmodernism” in The Challenge
of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement ed. David S. Dockery (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 1995), 14.
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Zygmunt Bauman, Intimations of Postmodernity (London: Routledge,1992), 35-52, 96-
101. Adams excellently explains the three characteristics in his article, Daniel J. Adams
“Possibility for Theology in the Postmodern Era,” Asia Journal of Theology 10 no.1 (April
1996): 89-104.
