The primary purpose of this chapter is to conceptually sort out different types of
individualization in East Asia and demonstrate their salient characteristics based
on survey data collected from three cities of Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo. We want
to show that individualization in East Asia is a Janus-faced, dual individualization,
involving a tendency of individualization of the West on the one hand and
characteristics of “community-oriented individualization” (Shim and Han 2013)
on the other. We also want to reveal that different types of individualization we
develop are linked to different styles of liberalism in the context of East Asian
development.

We shall begin by noting two aspects of individualization. One is individualization from the perspective of social change, or individualization in society in general. The other is individualization in the context of the family. The reason why we divide these two aspects of individualization is because in East Asia it is questionable to define individualization exclusively in terms of self-interests. In contrast, collective interests can be a strong motive of individualization. For instance, individualization in the context of the family might be different from individualization in society in general. This study attempts to reveal the individualization in society in general and individualization in the context of the family in three cities, utilizing a typology of individualization, focusing on "community-oriented type" of individualization."