The Social Position of Fishers: South Korea and Poland Compared
The Social Position of Fishers: South Korea and Poland Compared

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the social position of fishers in contemporary South Korea and Poland. By looking into thehistorically embedded social structural transformations in the two countries, this paper identifies the followingthree facts. Firstly, fishers both in South Korea and Poland currently hold low social position. However, unlikeKorean fishers whose low social position has hardly changed, Polish fishers enjoyed relatively higher positionfrom the postwar period of World War II through to 1989 when both market economy and democracy systemwere adopted. Secondly, the low social position of fishers in Korean society is mainly caused by the historicallydeep rooted generic ideology of Confucianism that played a paramount role to control society members during theChoson period (1392-1910); and has paved through up to contemporary times as a basic guiding rule for socialpractices in Korean society. The Confucius belief system dictates that such physical activity as fishing is only topursue material interest out of self-centered purpose; therefore lacking virtuous quality. Thirdly, diverse factorsare at play to structure fishers’ relatively decent social standing in the socialist state of Poland between 1939 and1989: the socialist ideology to emphasize physical work; fishers’ capacity to travel overseas being allowed to carryforeign currency and goods; and their being resourceful by owning seaside resorts as their estate property.However, when the country transformed into a society with market economy and democracy, the structuralfactors that favor fishers are no longer limited to them; accordingly weaken fishers’ value as a decent job holder.

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