“Uri, Korean We”

For those who want to further explore the philosophical implications of the “Uri,” I would like to introduce a thesis dealing with “Korean We” from a phenomenological perspective.

KIM Hye Young argues that:

The focus of Western philosophy was on the ‘I’ as subject, which was considered to be the basis of our understanding of the self and the world…….the Korean ‘we’ as an extended self is not simply the plural of ‘I’s. It is rather closer to the concept of Gemeingefühl, which enables an individual to have his or her own self consciousness as an extended self……This ‘we’ as an extended self is not a collection of ‘I’s and someone else or other ‘I’s, nor is it a plural of ‘I.’

If you want to read more, refer to the following: “Phenomenological ‘We’ and Korean ‘We’ in Phenomenology: A Study in Social Intentionality,” Frontiers of Philosophy in China, Volume 12: Issue 4

This thesis is quite a big jump in difficulty compared to what we’ve discussed so far, so don’t worry if you don’t understand this just yet. I hope that if you continue your journey into not just Korean philosophy, but Western philosophy as well, you’ll be able to appreciate the thesis by Dr. KIM.