February 1, 2012
To Combat Modern Ills, Korea Looks to the Past
By CHOE SANG-HUN
YEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA — When he looks out from the time-frozen world of Korea's oldest private Confucian academy, Park Seok-hong sees the rest of the country "turning into a realm of beasts." He points to recent news as evidence: young people swearing at elderly passengers in the subway and children jumping to their deaths to escape bullying or the pressure of hyper-competitive school life.

"We may have built our economy, but our morality is on the verge of collapse," Mr. Park said. "We must revitalize it, and this is where we can find an answer."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/world/asia/to-combat-modern-ills-korea-looks-to-the-past.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print