Realizing "filiality rights" : the role of filial piety in localizing human rights in the contemporary Korean context

Arguably, contemporary human rights ideas emerged from the European Enlightenment and have been incorporated into the transformation process of South Korean modernity. The tradition of filial piety (respect, support, and care for one's elders) has continuously played a role in maintaining the unique features of Korean ethics and practices within local thinking, religions, and philosophies. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the impact of filial piety on localizing human rights in the contemporary Korean context. A critical documentary review was conducted to analyze and interpret selected results from the recent literature on Korean filial piety and human rights. A case analysis of poverty among older people was used to examine the relationship between filial piety and human rights, and how these two sets of principles have influenced each other. The chapter argues that the welfare rights of older people living in poverty were often ignored, and the ideal of filial piety has been widely used as an excuse for ignorance of this problem during the nation's modernization period. The term filiality rights is suggested to acknowledge the importance of incorporating filial values and relationships into the human rights area.