Social Capital in K orea: Relational Capital, Trust, and Transparency

This article starts by distinguishing two different types of social capital, that is, societal moral resource capital and relational capital. Social capital as a societal moral resource is best characterized in P utnam's works. Social capital as the relational mobilization of information and control is best conceptualized by C oleman. By contrasting these two aspects of social capital, and by contextualizing the peculiarity of social relations in E ast A sian countries, this article explores the characteristics of social capital in K orea. For that purpose, I focus on the working of relational capital, or inmaek , in the creation and reproduction of social inequality. Moreover, I calculate the macro‐level transformation of K orean society in terms of the role of societal moral resources.