Korean Religion, Culture, and History | Anton Scholz

At the age of sixteen, Anton discovered Taekwondo in his native Germany. From there, he began exploring Buddhism only to be told by a visiting monk that if he wanted to truly understand it, he would have to visit Korea. Anton then embarked on a journey of practice and discovery in Korea in 1994, initially intending to stay for just a year. This conversation took place in 2024, thirty years later. Anton has regularly appeared on television during his time here. He has also worked as a producer for the German public broadcaster ARD, offered his expertise as a business consultant, taught at a university, and sought to capture the essence of Korean society as a documentary filmmaker. He has also just written a book in Korean, 한국인들의 이상한 행복, which sheds a critical light on many of the country's social problems. This book was what prompted our discussion today. Anton's Book: https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000001297085   Discussion Outline  0:00 Foundations 1: Taekwondo 11:02 Foundations 2: Buddhism 54:10 The Strange Unhappiness of Korean People 59:17 Education  1:31:27 The Home 1:41:08 Seoul 1:52:22 Korean History 2:23:00 Anton Speaking Korean   Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard ▶ Get in touch: [email protected] ▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/ ▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873 ▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/ ▶ Music: Hack to Work by Disorientalz