Conflict and the nature of the self in contemporary Korean family

This study aims to analyze how, when recalling past conflictual events with other family members, Koreans negotiate their own self. It discusses in which way Korean family memories can reveal pains, conflict, and alienation. It also seeks to reveal if, in their individual and collective family stories, Koreans are able to separate and differentiate him/herself from others (individuality and uniqueness), and further, to regard himself/herself in a «shared» social world (belonging) in order to be able to understand and make the individual understandable as a predictable interaction participant. It also examines family memory, focusing on how the individual works out recollections in relation to other family members, and the individual’s sense of identity and belonging. In dealing with conflictual problems inside the family group or family relations, the sense of belongingness also plays an important role in structuring identity and in implementing fear for conflictual situations. This study has tried to investigate how family memories can play the role of a framework and provide for co-construction between individual identity and family identity among Koreans.