This project discusses how personal traumas and fears can be passed down through generations, resulting in compulsive and obsessive behavior such as academic elitism, materialism and lookism that become ingrained in South Korean society. In order to accomplish this, this thesis zooms in on the traumas within a family and explores their relationship to previous generations.
Specifically, the study reflects on how the historical events of colonialism, war, and financial instability in South Korea have shaped fear, deficiency, and anxiety across generations, ultimately impacting the expectations of how individuals should behave in order to avoid dangers. It is argued that the fear of instability and oppression experienced by previous generations has had a lasting impact on contemporary South Korean society, resulting in a strong desire for stability and an environment of high-risk avoidance.
This project aims to offer insights from a previously overlooked perspective that emphasizes emotional knowledge, which is often disregarded in academic discourse and South Korean society. Lastly, this study investigates the correlation between risk reduction and attaining high socioeconomic status in contemporary South Korean society. The argument emphasizes the importance of comprehending how intergenerational 'echoes of fear' reverberate across individual lives and generations down the line. By looking at this connection, the study aims to provide a deeper understanding of how individuals are affected by intergenerational trauma.
