This research provides basic data in the form of subjective expressions by Korean adults which help them grasp the meaning of human dignity in Korea. The participants’ reflections on recognition of human dignity allowed for exploration of the diffusion of the concepts of human dignity which satisfy the needs of Korean society today. In this study, the authors used a qualitative approach to explore the concepts that compose Korean adults’ experience of human dignity. Literature in other sciences in Korea has contributed in great measure to basic knowledge about human dignity, but because most research related to human dignity has presented only quantified data ( Na and Cha, 1999 Kim and Im, 2005 Kim et al, 2007), it has been difficult to determine the relationship between a person’s concept of human dignity and that person’s social and cultural background. Research about human dignity in Korea, however, can be found only in philosophy, law and theology nursing research on human dignity in Korea is lacking. Additionally, there is a literature on dignity and health ( Jacobson, 2007) and on dignity for older adults ( Anderberg et al, 2007). Research on human dignity has often focused on palliative or end-of-life care situations ( Johnson, 1998 Street and Kissanne, 2001 Chochinov et al, 2006 Pleschberger, 2007) and some research has focused on cross-cultural analysis of dignified dying ( Doorenbos et al, 2006). From this point of view, a study of the human dignity at the essence of caring activities is timely, particularly during this period of rapid change in Korean society. Nurses are responsible for fostering human dignity through their interactions with their patients and with other healthcare teams. Health care should focus on respect for the human being cared for ( Jo, 2007 Lee and Kim, 2007), especially at the end of life. Yet this important aspect of care is challenged by the mechanization of medicine. Human dignity is highlighted as an essential value in nursing practice by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), which states that inherent in nursing is the respect for human rights, including cultural rights, and the right to be treated with dignity and respect ( ICN, 2006). Human dignity is of substantial value in health care ( Kim et al, 1991 Milton, 2008). The cry for the recovery of human dignity is gradually being heard in many parts of Korean society. In Korea, new materialistic values appear in society first through scientific development and industrialization. Korean society is entering an era of self-loss in which the human character has changed because of the desire for material things. ‘The notion of “basic dignity” has been described as a universal moral quality that is internally held and inalienable from life itself’ ( Chochinov, 2006 p92). Recent advances in biotechnological health care promise to extend human life, but may impair human dignity.
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