Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on Social Sciences Studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
[PDF]
Cosmopolitanism, as a New Cultural Capital in Korean Society
Hansae Jeong (Hanae Jeong)
ABSTRACT:
In recent decades, cosmopolitanism has been considered a key to the challenges of emerging globalization. Some scholars, however, view cosmopolitanism as a new form of cultural capital. Therefore, this study investigates whether cosmopolitanism functions as cultural capital in South Korean society, based on data collected from 15 individual interviews. The subjects were limited to individuals born in the 1990s with experience in the field of global public values. As this study aims to examine not only the distinctions that differentiate inside and outside the field but also those that exist within the internal domain, the practice field of global public values was divided into three clusters—IGOs, public agencies, and national NGOs—based on the hierarchy of the field. Five people from each group were interviewed. According to the findings, cosmopolitanism was naturally internalized from a young age. As respondents grew up, the degree of their internalization varied according to their parents’ capital and the level of cosmopolitanism provided by them. To enter the practice field of global public values, respondents were required to demonstrate their embodiment of cosmopolitan attitudes by presenting their language proficiency and international experiences. Additionally, respondents occupy certain positions within the field according to the degree of cosmopolitanism internalization. However, by framing English proficiency and the quality of experiences, which are heavily influenced by capital, as cosmopolitan attitudes, the hidden class nature within it is concealed. The study provides evidence that the cosmopolitanism works as cultural capital and a hidden mechanism of class reproduction in South Korean society.
keywords: class reproduction, distinction, Youth, Global Public Values Field, grounded theory