This study investigates the meaning and usage of the term wang-ta and other terms for bullying-like phenomena in an Eastern culture, South Korea. Data were obtained from 113 participants, ranging from young children to adults. Age-related differences in usage were found, in part developmental, but also suggesting some recent historical changes perhaps due to fashion in usage of terms especially in adolescence. Nevertheless, the term wang-ta and related terms all emphasize social exclusion, and this is argued to reflect the collectivistic nature of South Korean society.
BjörkqvistK.LagerspetzK. M.KaukiainenA. (1992). Do girls manipulate and boys fight? Developmental trends in regard to direct and indirect aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 18, 117-127.
2.
EckertP. (2003). Language and adolescent peer groups. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 22, 112-118.
3.
HofstedeG.HofstedeG. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (2nd ed.). London, England: McGraw-Hill.
4.
KanetsunaT.SmithP. K. (2002). Pupil insights into bullying, and coping with bullying: A bi-national study in Japan and England. Journal of School Violence, 1, 5-29.
5.
KanetsunaT.SmithP. K.MoritaY. (2006). Coping with bullying at school: Children’s recommended strategies and attitudes to school-based interventions in England and Japan. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 570-580.
6.
KooH. (2005). The nature of school bullying in South Korea (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Goldsmiths, University of London, England.
7.
KooH.KwakK.SmithP. K. (2008). Victimization in Korean schools: The nature, incidence and distinctive features of Korean bullying or wang-ta. Journal of School Violence, 7, 119-139.
8.
LeeS. (2011). Bullying-like behaviours in South Korea: Terms used, origins in early childhood, and links to moral reasoning (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Goldsmiths, University of London, England.
9.
LeeS.SmithP. K.MonksC. P. (2011). Perceptions of bullying-like phenomena in South Korea: A qualitative approach from a lifespan perspective. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 3, 210-221.
10.
MoritaY.SoedaH.SoedaK.TakiM. (1999). Japan. In SmithP. K.MoritaY.Junger-TasJ.OlweusD.CatalanoR.SleeP. (Eds.), The nature of school bullying: A cross national perspective (pp. 309-323). London, England: Routledge.
11.
OjalaK.NesdaleD. (2004). Bullying and social identity: The effects of group norms and distinctiveness threat on attitudes towards bullying. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 19-35.
12.
OlweusD. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford, England: Blackwell.
13.
RainivaaraS. (2009). Workplace bullying relationships. In KinneyT. A.PörhöläM. (Eds.), Anti and pro-social communication: Theories, methods and applications (pp. 59-70). Oxford, England: Peter Lang.
14.
RigbyK. (2002). New perspectives on bullying. London, England: Jessica Kingsley.
15.
SmithP. K.MonksC. P. (2008). Concepts of bullying: Developmental and cultural aspects. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 20, 101-112.
16.
SmithP. K.SharpS. (Eds.). (1994). School bullying: Insights and perspectives. London, England: Routledge.
17.
StraussA.CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). London, England: Sage.
18.
ZapfD.EinarsenS. (2001). Bullying in the workplace: Recent trends in research and practice: An introduction. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10, 369-373.
