In the last several decades, the spread of ‘being alone’ has become a distinct trend among young people in Korea, especially among those aged in their 20s and 30s. Negative attitude to marriage and activities such as ‘honbap’ (‘dining alone’) and ‘honsul’ (‘drinking alone’) have emerged as the challenge to collectivistic culture that emphasizes the values and goals of collectivity. On the other hand, the search for alternative forms of togetherness (for example, social dining) has also been noted. According to Emile Durkheim’s theory of social solidarity, individual has become more sacred than collectivity in the transition to modern society, so that individualism should be the new basis of social integration. In his concept of ‘moral individualism,’ Durkheim emphasizes that the whole society must make moral individualism a reality through social institutions. From his theoretical point of view, the cultural and institutional support for moral individualism is not yet sufficient in Korean society. The point is that the whole society must seek to create social network of independent and autonomous individuals.

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