The Ethics of Koreans Don Baker In Korean Spirituality, I outlined the tremendous variety of spiritual beliefs and religious practices found among the Korean people today, and showed that over the centuries spirituality on the Korean peninsula has grown ever more complex and diverse. By the beginning of the 21st century, Koreans could choose among a wide variety of options for expressing their spiritual yearnings and pursuing their spiritual goals. They had available to them a broad range of both institutional and informal approaches to addressing their core spiritual concern of transcending the limitations of existence as an independent, autonomous individual, as well as for tackling various unpleasant side effects of such an existence: mortality, sickness, poverty, and loneliness, to mention just some of the obstacles human beings inevitably face as they navigate the turbulent passage from birth to death. Koreans can turn to their folk traditions, to various forms of Buddhism or Christianity, to Confucianism, to new religions, or to other organizations promising them help in their spiritual quest to overcome the frustration, uncertainty, confusion, and even boredom that can result from not having a clear picture of what their role is in this world they live in, why they are here and what will happen to them after they die, or of how they can cope with the multitude of unforeseen intrusions into their personal mental and physical space that are unavoidable as long as they are alive. The various forms of spirituality available to Koreans cover a wide spectrum of doctrinal beliefs and ritual practices. However, they all have enough elements in common to allow us to place them under the umbrella term “Korean spirituality.” For example, they all provide advise on how human beings should behave. Some of them generate their own behavioral guidelines. Others reinforce