Han (cultural)

Han
Hangul	한
Hanja	恨
Revised Romanization	han
McCune–Reischauer	han

Han or Haan [ha̠n] is a concept in Korean culture attributed as a unique Korean cultural trait which has resulted from Korea's frequent exposure to invasions by overwhelming foreign powers. Han denotes a collective feeling of oppression and isolation in the face of insurmountable odds (the overcoming of which is beyond the nation's capabilities on its own). It connotes aspects of lament and unavenged injustice.

The minjung theologian Suh Nam-dong describes han as a "feeling of unresolved resentment against injustices suffered, a sense of helplessness because of the overwhelming odds against one, a feeling of acute pain in one's guts and bowels, making the whole body writhe and squirm, and an obstinate urge to take revenge and to right the wrong—all these combined."

In some occasions, anthropologists have recognized han as a culture-specific medical condition whose symptoms include dyspnea, heart palpitation, and dizziness.

Han is a Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word (hèn). Hen means "hatred", "dislike", "animosity", "bitterness", "rancor", or "resentment".

Some scholars theorize the concept of Han evolved from Korea's history of having been invaded by other neighboring nations. Others attribute han to class system structures, such as the distinction between the elite Yangban class and the peasants.Han permeates Korean cultural expression, for example, in Korean shamanism and Pansori.

Japanese scholar Kimura claims that modern history such as the liberation by the surrender of Japan to the Allies rather than to the Korean Liberation Army, the Korean War and the subsequent division of the nation also contribute to the culture as missing glorious history and unresolved han.

...
Wikipedia