Ⅰ. Introduction

The shocking social scandals brought on by the moral laxity of certain Korean Wave stars, such as the recent Burning Sun affair, seem to call for a serious reexamination of the Korean Wave. For when, as many Korean Wave experts have noted, the background of the Korean Wave is said to be morality,^[1] the moral laxity of Korean Wave stars becomes a grave problem that shakes the very foundation of the Korean Wave. The moral laxity of Korean Wave stars does not remain merely a matter of individuals but calls for a scholarly analysis of the Korean Wave and morality. It requires a more in-depth analysis of what the moral background of the Korean Wave is. Although there have been various studies of the Korean Wave, research on its moral background has been relatively lacking. This is because, although it has been emphasized that the background of the Korean Wave is morality, cases in which a Korean Wave star gives rise to moral laxity, as in the present affair, had until now been entirely absent.

This paper is an attempt to link the Korean Wave (Hallyu) to Dangun Thought and thereby to seek the moral background of the Korean Wave. The aspects on which this paper focuses as the moral background of the Korean Wave that is linked to Dangun Thought are Dangun's economic thought and the history of the Western Korean Wave. This is because Dangun's economic thought reveals the deductive structure of Dangun Thought, while the history of the Western Korean Wave presents concrete cases.

A review of prior research on Dangun's economic thought shows that it has been carried out largely at a macroscopic level, while structural analysis has been lacking.^[2] Prior research on the history of the Western Korean Wave is vast in content, but recent research trends have advanced very rapidly, so that its research findings need to be organized.^[3] Recent research trends on the history of the Western Korean Wave likewise develop rapidly, but their structural analysis is weak, and their connection with the moral background remains insufficient.

This paper proceeds by first attempting a structural analysis of Dangun Thought in Chapter Ⅱ, "Dangun Thought as Economic Philosophy," and then seeking historical cases in Chapter Ⅲ, "The Western Korean Wave." Since it is in economic thought that morality is put into practice, a study that seeks the moral background through the structure of economic thought has practical value. Moreover, comparing the Western Korean Wave with the structure of Dangun Thought has the scholarly value of tracing the historical origins of the Korean Wave.^[4] I begin this paper in the hope that this study may contribute to restoring the morality of the Korean Wave.