The Review of Korean Studies
- P-ISSN1229-0076
- E-ISSN2773-9351
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1229-0076
The Process of the Metric System’s Acceptance in Korea and Its International Context
Abstract
In July 2007, the Republic of Korea finally pushed forward the exclusive usage of the metric system, prohibiting the customary use of pyeong, the Japanese unit of area, and geun and don, Korean traditional weight units. The Gabo Reform (1894) was the first overall reform of the metrology system, and in 1902, the metric system was introduced in Korea, adjusting the traditional base units of cheok, seung, and nyang to meter-based scales. As the influence of the Japanese colonizers increased, weights and measures gradually resembled those used in Meiji Japan. In 1926, the metric system was adopted as the legal metrology. Nevertheless, customary weights and measures were still allowed “for the time being” in everyday life. Such a compromise continued after liberation, even after the introduction of the Measurement Law in 1961. The reasons the Korean government adopted the metric system seem to be the general trend of international society and the export-oriented tactics of the Korean economy, rather than a demand by civil society. Thus, while the government has made an incessant effort to adopt the metric system for nearly a century, the related laws have not been efficiently executed. The use of customary weights and measures was not completely eradicated until 2007 even though their use was outlawed in 1961. This prolonged process of accepting the metric system seems to be the result of a lack of public discussion and social consensus on the metrology system.
- keywords
- weights and measures, metric system, legal metrology, modernization, internationalism, global standard
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