Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time Podcast · Behind-the-scenes stories and research on growing up in Korean society.

🎧 Podcast: The Debt That Doesn't Expire (Yu Si-min’s History Part 3)

December 11, 2025·18 min·1 clip

부채감 is the active moral obligation you feel to act because others suffered and you didn't, a debt that can only be paid forward.

The host explores the Korean concept of '부채감' (a sense of moral debt/obligation) through Yoo Si-min's book on modern Korean history. She explains how this feeling, born from tragedies like the Gwangju massacre and the deaths of Park Jong-chul and Lee Han-yeol, fueled the 1987 pro-democracy movement and continues to shape Korean civic action today.

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