Blogging through Invitation to Sociology (2020)

After I learned about Society and Culture before, I was very interested in analyzing and studying social phenomena, so I chose to take this class. I wanted to not only get a deeper knowledge of sociology from the high school level but also develop my ability to analyze the trivial and diverse social phenomena that appear around me with a critical attitude, when I finally completed this class. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online classes were held this semester, so there were lots of limitations in learning than in face-to-face classes. Nevertheless, I put more effort than usual because I wanted to study sociology, and I didn't want to just let go of the opportunity to gain basic knowledge of sociology. Because it was an English class, the part that was difficult to understand stopped the video for a while, learned it properly, and then moved on to the next one. As a result, my interest in sociology is still maintained. By taking an invitation to sociology this s...

1.      Summary   Demographics is the study of determining population changes, such as population size, structure, distribution, birth and death. Sociologists should look first at demographic attributes before proposing theories about sociological phenomena. Because demographics effectively explain social phenomena. Demographic calculations began in the 18th century and have steadily developed into modern times. Demographics is largely centered on data sets produced according to population-related surveys and statistics. The indicators that many demographers consider important are birth and death rates. They also pay attention to people's migration. Before industrialization, the population growth was slow because both birth and death rates were high. However, the birth rate and death rate have decreased since industrialization. This shift in speed from high to low is called the demographics transition. Urbanization refers to the physical growth of cities...

1.      Summary Technology is used in the production of goods and services or in the scientific research process. Technology exists in the form of knowledge and is also embedded in machines, factories, or devices. One example of the most widely used technology in modern society is cell phones. Through cell phones we can communicate with others even if no wires are connected. The invention and dissemination of cell phones had a lot of influence on human society. Changes have emerged in various areas, such as social customs and dependencies. Social networks have benefited from the business side and allowed them to overcome the limitations of the streets. However, there is criticism that social networks leave a negative history in human life in one aspect. For example, posting pictures of people drinking or taking drugs. Video games are used by so many people that 68 percent of Americans use them. While there is no evidence that the use of video games can worsen heal...

1.      Summary   Race is classified based on outward appearance, such as skin color and facial characteristics. It is not determined by the nature of the region or group to which it belongs, but by the outward human classification group. Unlike race, ethnicity focuses on group connectivity, such as nationality, religion, and shared culture. The academic debate about race continues steadily. Some sociologists say that race is not based on the natural world, but a human-made concept. In other words, it is a social structure. Therefore, many researchers exclude racial classifications when conducting demographic studies. Instead, they use ethnicity, a group-unit epistemology that shares a common culture, religion, nationality, etc. Racism is a race in which human abilities are determined by race, and there exists a certain race perceived as superior or inferior to other races, and as a result, if people are treated differently or discriminated against accor...

1.      Summary In sociology, "Gender" and "Sex" are distinguished. Gender refers to a culturally perceived masculine or feminine concept. On Gender, men and women are given different roles expected in society. Sex refers to sex divided by biological standards. Scientifically, life with XX chromosomes is classified as female, and life with assigned XY chromosomes as male. Women and men are biologically different. In general, men are larger and stronger than women, and puberty times vary according to gender. Cis sex/gender people follow socially given existing gender concepts and maintain the gender assigned at birth for a lifetime. Trans sex/gender people do not follow socially injected gender. They may wish to switch to the will of the individual against the designated sex at birth. Due to the influence of the social structure, there are differences in the social psychology of women and men depending on gender. An example is what appears in the labor and educati...

1.      Summary Social inequality occurs when limited existing social resources are not evenly distributed. Most of the time, differences in power, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, etc. are factors causing discrimination. The equality of opportunity as well as the equality of results is also the concept of social inequality. Social inequality appears in almost every society. Especially today, as our society is more complex than ever, social inequality tends to vary and the gap between the poor and the rich tends to increase. Social inequality is classified into three categories: egalitarian society, Franked society, and Stratified society. And there are five types of social inequality. There are two kinds of positions in society: wealth quality, treatment and reliability quality, political quality, life quality, and membership quality. There are two kinds of positions in society. The ascribed characteristics are innate characteristics and the achieved characteris...

1.      Summary Social stratification is a word to describe the relative status of the members of a social unit. In modern society, social classes are mainly divided into upper class, middle class, and lower class. In order to understand social stratification, your principles must come first. Social stratification is recognized as the property of society and is reproduced from generation to generation. Social stratification is also universal, but it varies depending on time and place. Social stratification includes not only quantitative values but also qualitative beliefs and attitudes. Every society with complexity has its own characteristics of stratification. And between social strata, individuals and groups sometimes move from one class to another. In Open Stratification systems, you can move to higher layers according to individual achievement. However, in closed strategy systems, moving between tiers is impossible or rarely takes place. The scholars who esta...

1.      Summary   Dramaturgy is a concept used in micro sociology, developed by Erving Goffman. Dramatic sociology describes social interaction with elements of play. Goffman described the process of human beings expressing their identity, cultural values, norms and beliefs to others by metaphor of the play. The stage he talks about refers to areas where individuals can be distinguished based on different roles or information, and is divided into three categories: Front stage, Back stage and Outside. Front stage is the place where an actor gives smoke to people, a place of expression that an individual intentionally or unconsciously performs. Here it contains the difference between individual settings and personal aspects. In the Back stage, it is a space where an actor can relax and escape from acting and setting. Likewise, people can do things they didn't want to show in Front stage and have secrets. Outside, it is a space where individuals are separat...

1.      Summary Symbolic interactionism notes that individuals use symbols to interact with others to form a society. What affects people's interaction is the meaning and understanding of the situation they share. Symbolic interactionism was first studied by George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. Herbert Blumer, Mead's student, also used the term for the first time and added a meaningful summary. Not only these but also many sociological theorists have explained the concept of Symbolic interactionism and provided various perspectives. Many symbolic interactionists react to reality based on social understanding because they are social realists. Their research has three themes in common. First, man acts according to the meaning of things. Second, the meaning of such things stems from or arises from the social interaction one person has with others. Third, meaning is processed and modified through the analytical process used to deal with what the other party ...

1.      Summary A social network is a social structure created by social actors, their ties, and other social interactions. Social networks have academic characteristics in relation to social psychology, sociology, statistics, etc. Emile Durkheim and Ferdinand Tonnies spoke of social networks through their social group studies in the late 1890s. By the 1930s, social networks were studied in various disciplines, including psychology, anthropology, and mathematics. From the late 1990s, research began on online social networks as well as face-to-face networks. Social networks are so complex that they are analyzed primarily by size according to the level of analysis. Micro level focuses on individuals or minorities in social contexts. Meso level is medium scale, and analyzes the organization between micro and macro-levels. Macro level tracks interaction results from a macroscopic perspective, rather than tracking individual relationships. Theoretical frameworks for so...

1.      Summary A social system in which patterns of behavior or relationships exist continuously in groups with distinct relationships or where social institutions and norms determine the behavior of members is called a social structure. The social structure is seen as systems related to the economy, law, politics, culture, etc., which have an important impact on the social system. Family, religion, and law are all examples of social structure. People sometimes make structural decisions, which refers to making certain decisions based on the system of the society to which the individual belongs. The social structure is divided into Microsociology microstructure and Macrosociology macrostructure. Microstructure refers to the pattern of relationships that appear as the most basic element of life. And it is no longer divided and social structure does not emerge. Macrostructure is a pattern of relationships shown within a group of members with their own structures, ...

1.      Summary Deviation is an act that goes against the cultural norms that people generally share. Deviation behavior appears mainly in two forms: formal deviance and informal deviance. Formal deviance is an act of violating what is stipulated by law, such as murder or robbery. Informal deviance is an act that violates what is not prohibited by law but is accepted as a social norm. Examples include picking your nose or burping loudly. Deviation can also be seen in different forms depending on the culture. Because the norms of each culture are relative. According to Robert K. Merton's Social-Strain Typology, to distinguish the type of deviation, one's motivation or adherence to a goal, and one's belief in how to achieve it must be based. According to this, it is the result of ignoring other norms to pursue one value. Structural-Functionalism believes that deviant behavior plays an important role in shaping society. According to the Conflict Theory, deviant beh...

1.      Summary The process of preparing social members to live in society is called socialization. Socialization is different for each cultural situation. The important thing is that socialization is a relative concept, so it cannot be judged that any particular socialization process or outcome is superior or inferior to that of any other culture. Socialization is generally divided into two parts. Primary socialization is practiced in the early stages of human life. It is accepted that the basic and core identity of the individual is formed through this process. Secondary socialization refers to additional requirements as a result of joining a new group. In this process, people are able to adapt to their roles in groups and new social structures. There are cases in which young children are not educated by adults or society and have become adapted to the wild. Children who have not experienced socialization, such as how to walk upright and how to speak, have acqui...

Voting over the Internet has the advantage of making it easier for voters to vote and increasing voter turnout. But electronic voting has many problems. For citizens who do not own electronic devices such as computers or smartphones, it becomes rather difficult to access the vote. For older people who do not have digital devices and are having difficulty acquiring information, it can be seen as being deprived of their right to vote. This goes against the principle of general election. There is also a possibility that voting over the Internet will violate the principle of secret elections. If a vote is held at a designated place, the equipment can be installed in advance to prevent voter choice from being revealed. However, if you vote through the Internet, there is no practical way to prevent the leak of votes from those who vote in each household. Besides this, there is a possibility that depending on the devices an individual has, technical problems such as network errors wi...

I think the system should be supplemented so that I can have greater participation in political decision-making than now. In other words, I think the suffrage of Korean citizens should be expanded. When I was a high school student, voting rights were not granted to teenagers under the age 18. So I always thought it was wrong. Since South Korea adopts a representative democracy, lawmakers and other politicians should reflect the public opinions in state activities on behalf of them. However, I, who had no right to vote, felt that I was not always represented because I could not elect a politician by my own hand to meet my needs, and decided that I should have more opportunities to participate in political decision-making. Even in the field of education, which had a huge impact on my life at the time, I couldn't find a representative to replace the opinions of me and my friends. So politicians seemed to use education-related policies as a tool for their power struggles, not ...

1.      Summary A government refers to a system or group that governs a state or community. Governments can make laws and are legally entitled to enforce them. The government developed rapidly mainly thanks to the development of agriculture and water resources. This is because agriculture has increased the number of people settling in certain communities, and it has become necessary to control and govern a growing society. From the end of the 17th century, the republican forms of government grew through Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. Free democracy has become more common than ever since the reunification of East and West Germany, while countries with communist governments like the Soviet Union also exist. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the number and size of national governments increased through corporate regulations and the development of welfare states. There are many different types of government. Autoc...

1.      Summary Politics is the process in which members of a group make decisions that affect the community. Politics is not only about governing a country, but also in various groups where human social activities occur such as businesses and religions. There are many types of government. Monarchy grants monarch the supreme power of the state. It can be absolute or nominal. Monarchy is adopted in many countries, including Britain and Thailand, but the political power of monarchs is also limited. Democracy is a form of government in which the sovereignty of a nation is given to its citizens. In democratic countries, citizens have equal power and they can enjoy freedom. It is Totalitarianism that controls private acts for the benefit of the whole country. The group adopting this maintains power through propaganda and restricts individual freedom. Oligarchy is a form of politics in which a small elite group owns political power. Communist State is based on communi...

1.      How is the Korean society changing? Recently, South Korea has seen overall changes across various fields. Attempts to revolution are notable along with interesting phenomena in the areas of culture, society, economy, unification diplomacy and politics. Korea's cultural influence on the world has grown. Now, the Korean boy band BTS, which is famous not only in Korea but also in the world, is leading the way. They feature lyrics that criticize society and console teenagers. Their success was assured by well-organized choreography and high-quality music, as well as lyrics completed with a unique approach, such as including psychoanalysis and Greek mythology. While BTS sold out concerts around the world and topped various music charts, experts abroad are surprised that their success has been made irrelevant to the government's plan. Starting with BTS, Korea's cultural development will continue in the future. Korea's social changes are also noteworthy espec...

Unlike globalization, in which global countries show strong interactions and interdependencies with each other, there are also moves to reduce cross-border exchanges and take the opposite path to integration. It is also called deglobalization. It appears in various ranges, including politics, economy and culture, but takes particular economic forms. Changing the direction of policy from free trade to protectionism and coming up with a new pump-priming policy are examples. Of course, such moves exist, but I don't think globalization will collapse. This is because many countries already have deep interactions with many countries and think they will fall into economic crisis around the world if they disappear. In particular, such risks will do more harm to countries with high trade dependence, such as South Korea. Nevertheless, I think it is better to come up with a solution at the national level because the movement for globalization will continue to emerge. Revitalizing the...

Now we are having a symbiotic relationship, interacting with each other with many of the countries that make up the earth. As the country actively interacts with other countries, we can benefit and grow economically as well as in cultural aspects. Globalization has been promoted since the past due to the development of transportation and communication, but there is a factor that reduces it again. I think DIPLOMATIC DISCORD between countries could be a factor that undermines globalization. Korea has recently been economically affected by foreign affairs or has had an impact on other countries. In 2016, China, which protested South Korea's announcement of the THAAD deployment, had taken economic retaliation. In 2019, Japan also tightened export restrictions on Korea and excluded Korea from the whitelist. Japan made the choice because the South Korean Supreme Court acknowledged the responsibility for damages to Japanese war criminals companies in its ruling on the issue of forc...