Globalization is reshaping the relationship between countries and the social structure in the economic, political, and cultural spheres, and the growth of transnational financial capital and the spread of Western culture are having a significant impact on Korean society. The globalization of financial capital undermines economic sovereignty, while the influx of Western culture leads to the transformation of traditional culture and a cultural gap between generations. Therefore, it is important to respond to globalization through an open nationalist perspective.
For mankind in the 21st century, globalization represents a major historical transition. Discussions related to globalization, such as unlimited competition, national competitiveness, and market opening, have also become of great concern to individual countries. In particular, these discussions go beyond mere economic benefits to promote political and social change, calling for a shift in norms and values around the world. Internationalization is simply the increase in interactions between individual countries. Globalization, on the other hand, goes beyond the quantitative expansion of exchanges and refers to the process of reorganizing the social structure of individual countries and the relationship between countries to a new level.
First of all, globalization in the economic sphere refers to the phenomenon of increasing economic interdependence between countries as trade, investment, communication, and exchanges between countries expand, and international multilateral consultation, coordination, and cooperation are strengthened. A recent development in this area of economic globalization is the rapid growth of transnational financial capital. As of the late 1990s, transnational financial capital dominates financial transactions that are many times larger than world trade transactions. Moreover, through its global contacts and strategic alliances, it exerts significant influence over national economies. This growing influence of transnational finance capital undermines national economic sovereignty and limits the autonomy of economic policy.
The growing role of transnational organizations is also an important aspect of globalization. Transnational organizations, which are formed to address issues that cannot be addressed within the framework of individual countries, continue to grow in importance. Intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have become increasingly influential, and their policy decisions have a major impact on the direction of individual countries’ policies. In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International, Green Peace, and others have become increasingly important. These organizations are expanding their scope of work to address global issues such as human rights, the environment, and peace, transcending the interests of specific countries.
The globalization of culture is also something to watch. As the production, distribution, and consumption of culture is increasingly interconnected at the international level, the culture and lifestyle of individual countries are spreading rapidly around the world. For example, news, movies, television programs, popular music, and computer software produced in different parts of the world are now available on the global market for everyone. On the other hand, however, this also deepens cultural dependence on the developed world. In particular, as Western-centered culture spreads around the world, local traditional cultures and values are threatened. This cultural subordination can lead to the confusion of national identities and weaken the cultural independence of countries.
So how is the current rapid restructuring of the world order affecting Korean society? First and foremost, it is worth noting that globalization is significantly changing the quality and structure of our lives. The globalization of financial capital and the globalization of culture are prime examples. The activities of transnational financial capital were one of the main factors that led to the recent foreign exchange crisis, and the resulting economic policy management of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has a decisive influence on our national economy. In addition, the influx of Western food and clothing culture, as well as popular culture represented by American Hollywood movies and pop music, has greatly influenced our daily consciousness and life. With the acceleration of this cultural influx, our national culture is being rapidly transformed. At the same time, this transformation is also leading to a clash between traditional and modern cultures, and widening the cultural gap between generations.
These facts call for us to accurately recognize the ongoing globalization and respond more actively to it. Since globalization is reorganizing social life in a new dimension that has previously been organized by ethnic groups, we should have a more open nationalist view of globalization. Open nationalism means actively accepting the phenomenon of globalization in each area, such as politics, economy, and culture, but rejecting the inequality between individual countries. In other words, it can be embodied in rejecting political, economic, and cultural subordination and actively embracing liberalism, egalitarianism, and humanism. This open nationalism, which seeks new relationships among individual nations that break away from traditional national egoistic ideas, is a basic condition for the establishment of a regional and global order of reciprocal equality in the future. Furthermore, open nationalism will play an important role in addressing the many global challenges we will face in the coming 21st century.
