The purpose of this study was to understand grit, which refers to perseverance and passion for long term goals (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007), in the Korean context. Grit is a concept that provides numerous implications to areas such as ...
The purpose of this study was to understand grit, which refers to perseverance and passion for long term goals (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007), in the Korean context. Grit is a concept that provides numerous implications to areas such as satisfactory job choice, career development, workplace adaptation, and personal accomplishment. Recent studies suggest that grit is not merely limited to the domain of goal achievement, but is also related to areas of human flourishing, including environmental adaptation, burnout prevention, meaning of life, and happiness (Blalock, Young, & Kleiman, 2015; Salles, Cohen, & Mueller, 2014; Singh & Jha, 2008). Under such diverse studies, grit is increasingly receiving greater attention.
Grit is also receiving a good deal of attention in the public square due to an understanding of it as a key to success and achievement. While it is encouraging to witness a growing attention toward the construct and see it applied to a greater number of domains, misunderstanding it as a charm that will enable one to overcome any obstacles and experience guaranteed success in life is nevertheless a potential liability. For example, managers who are concerned with newcomers’ turnover rate and people who are concerned with the younger generation’s susceptibility to give up in the face of minor failures suggest that grit is a necessary personal trait (Hamilton, 2014). However, such viewpoints may oversimplify complex phenomena such as failure, attributing them merely to matters of personal traits and only emphasizing the role of personal sacrifice and effort.
As such, this study considered the uniqueness of Korean culture and social atmosphere in order to properly understand and apply grit to it. There are limitations to directly integrating grit into the Korean culture considering the culture’s emphasis on performing societal duties and receiving respect from others, which conflicts with grit’s notion of autonomous choices. Accordingly, in the first year this study aimed to validate the original measure of grit in the Korean culture and check whether it can represent the nation’s cultural uniqueness. Specifically, the aim was to consider the various constructs related to grit and the Korean expression of grit in order to create a measure of grit in the Korean style.
In the second year, the aim was to suggest various applications of the measure based on findings from the first year. Points of special interest were concerns and criticisms toward grit (e.g., grit is indifferentiable from conscientiousness; the measure’s validity should be improved), and participants were recruited from various walks of life: middle and high schoolers, young job applicants, middle-aged employees, mothers with infants, and more. The study produced noteworthy results, including 15 journal articles and 24 conference papers.
Over the last two years, this study provided the foundation for understanding grit, which is the core competency of the 21st century as suggested by the United States Department of Education, in the Korean context in an in-depth and comprehensive manner. Furthermore, through studying grit in participants of various age, job, and other contexts, this study provided a scientific tool that measures grit in a clear and accurate manner. In the past, there have been unscientific attempts to misuse or misunderstand grit as a mystical tool that leads to academic achievement. This study deviated from the narrow focus of previous studies which viewed grit as a factor limited to the domain of school or success, and identified the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions related to grit in situations of socialization or failure. Notably, this study expanded the research on grit by applying it to the domain of organizations, which previously lacked empirical studies.
The results of this study will both solidify the theoretical foundations of grit and strengthen its academic applications through a novel lens by which it is understood. For schools, organizations, and counseling situations this study will provide the grounding materials needed to create systematic and scientific training programs, and not baseless and disorganized interventions. Ultimately, we expect this study to provide both individuals and organizations the necessary components for achieving meaningful goals, as well as the direction of effort necessary.