Rapid Evolution of Emergency Management Culture

• Author: Kyoo-Man Ha,Sang-Hyun Park
• Date: 01 April 2014
• Published date: 01 April 2014
• DOI: 10.1177/0095399712454114
• Subject Matter: Articles

Administration & Society

2014, Vol. 46(3) 318 –335

© 2012 SAGE Publications

DOI: 10.1177/0095399712454114

aas.sagepub.com

454114AAS46310.1177/0095399712454

114Administration & SocietyHa and Park

© 2012 SAGE Publications

1Inje University, Gimhae, Korea

2Haeundae-Paik Hospital, Korea

Corresponding Author:

Kyoo-Man Ha, Inje University (Gimhae Campus), 607, Obang-dong, Gimhae, Gyeongnam 621-

749, Korea.

Email: ha1999@hotmail.com

Rapid Evolution of

Emergency Management

Culture: The Case of South

Korea

Kyoo-Man Ha1 and Sang-Hyun Park2

Abstract

With direct or indirect reference to neighboring countries, this article pres-

ents an investigation into how changes in South Korean emergency man-

agement culture have evolved via three components, namely, (a) emergency

and its impacts, (b) emergency management education, and (c) technological

development against emergencies, during three periods: the 20th century

(1900-1999), the decade from 2000 to 2009, and the decade from 2010 to

2019. The major tenet of this study is that South Korean culture, initially

and later, changed rapidly with the coherence of the above-mentioned three

components during the periods covered, going through the stages, in chron-

ological order, of emergency numbness, emergency awareness, and a more

rational response. Thus, Koreans need to wisely maintain the momentum of

this change by learning from the three stages toward achieving the goal of

emergency management.

Keywords

emergency numbness, emergency awareness, rational response, Japan, Taiwan,

China, North Korea

Article

Ha and Park 319

Introduction

Throughout history, catastrophes have broken out in South Korea (hereinaf-

ter Korea) and in neighboring Japan, Taiwan, China, and North Korea. In

addition, successive Korean governments began implementing modern

emergency management measures at the beginning of the 21st century.

Consequently, many have been analyzing not only the positive but also the

negative issues in the field of Korean emergency management. However,

most of these management measures are related to short-term viewpoints, as

they elaborate on current issues. In other words, the Korean government has

tried to provide visible alternatives for emergency management.

Similarly, very few attempts have been made to study the larger aspect of

Korean emergency management. In particular, no study has tried to examine

the change in the emergency management culture that is not easily visible,

notwithstanding the fact that a revolutionary change has recently gained

momentum in Korean emergency management culture. Neither has any study

examined Korean emergency management culture with immediate or distant

references to neighboring nations. Therefore, it is appropriate to critically

study how the change in Korean emergency management culture has evolved.

In the above-mentioned context, this study will delve into the change in

Korean emergency management culture, and examine the field of emer-

gency management from a broad and unseen cultural perspective. Certainly,

unlike previous researches, this attempt will lead to the exploration of very

different alternatives for Korea. Furthermore, this study will ultimately con-

tribute to the goal of decreasing human loss and casualties, economic dam-

age, and psychological disturbance for Korean victims.

For this purpose, this study will compare three factors, namely, emer-

gency and its impacts, emergency management education, and technological

development against emergencies, during three culture periods. These peri-

ods are emergency numbness until the 1990s (1900-1999), emergency

awareness during the first decade of the 21st century (2000-2009), and a

more rational response in the 2010s (2010-2019). First, however, a brief

theoretical background is provided.

Theoretical background

Characteristics of Emergency Management Culture

Emergency management culture includes the beliefs, behaviors, and other

practices in the field of emergency management (Erickson, 2002; Merriam-

Webster, 2011). Culture change in emergency management has many