What Is Sociology? How to See the World with a New Perspective

We live every single day in society.
From the home we share with our families, to school, the workplace, the streets, and even the virtual space of the online world, our lives are filled with relationships with other people.

Then what exactly is the society we live in?
Why are some societies peaceful and stable, while others are full of inequality and conflict?
Why do we see the same phenomenon yet interpret it differently, and propose completely opposite solutions to the same problem?

These are precisely the kinds of questions where sociology begins.

Sociology is often called a discipline that cultivates “a special way of seeing the world.”
It helps us to capture the hidden social rules and forces operating within phenomena that appear obvious on the surface, and to develop the ability to connect individual problems to social structures — in other words, the sociological imagination.

C. Wright Mills described it in The Sociological Imagination:

“The attempt to understand personal lives and the history of society, simultaneously — that is the sociological imagination.”

In other words, my worries may not simply be “my personal problem,” but rather the result of how the structure, culture, and institutions of the society I belong to operate.

This perspective has become even more important in today’s fast-paced and complex era.
Digital technology is replacing human jobs, climate crisis threatens the survival of the Earth, conflicts between genders, races, and generations are deepening, and the pandemic has brought about social isolation — new challenges are constantly emerging.

These phenomena cannot be easily explained by individual choices or abilities alone; only by understanding them within the structure and context of society can we grasp their essence.
That is why sociology today is expanding into wider and deeper areas than ever before.
From the platform economy, big data society, and ecological crisis to the digital surveillance society, sociology’s subjects of analysis are evolving into ever more complex and multifaceted forms.

Especially for younger generations, sociology holds even greater significance.
It raises their sensitivity to social values such as fairness and justice, diversity and inclusion, sustainability and equality, and helps cultivate critical thinking and a practical attitude to change society.
The social issues that today’s university students and young people are concerned about — such as youth unemployment, housing insecurity, climate crisis, gender conflict, and platform labor issues — can be seen more deeply and accurately through a sociological perspective.

However, for those encountering sociology for the first time, it can feel somewhat unfamiliar.

Questions such as “What is sociology?”, “Isn’t it the same as philosophy?”, or “Isn’t it similar to political science?” naturally arise.

To properly understand the identity and role of sociology, it is necessary to carefully examine how it began, what it studies, and why it is even more important today.

Now, through the lens of sociology, we will try to see society anew and understand ourselves and the world more deeply.

This article will guide you kindly and thoroughly through the definition and subjects of sociology, its fundamental characteristics and values, and why we need to study it.
We hope that as you take your first step into the world of sociology, you will broaden your perspective and gain the meaningful experience of understanding yourself and society anew.
The change that a sociological perspective brings is greater than you think — and it can be the starting point for making our lives more meaningful.

The Definition and Research Subjects of Sociology - A Special Lens for Reading the World

1. The Birth of Sociology: A Discipline Born of the Needs of Its Time

What we take for granted today as the academic field of “sociology” is, in fact, historically a very young discipline.
Its origins go back to 19th-century Europe.

At that time, Europe was undergoing the unprecedented upheavals of the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution.

First, the Industrial Revolution:
With technological advances enabling mass production, factories arose in cities starting in Britain, and countless rural people flocked to cities in search of jobs.
But cities expanded unprepared, and as a result slums, worker exploitation, child labor, disease, and crime became rampant.
People were at a loss, confronted with problems they had never seen in the rural community life of the past.

On top of this, the French Revolution shook political and social order to its core.
With the fall of monarchy, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the rise of citizen sovereignty, society began to advocate reason, equality, and freedom instead of tradition and authority.
However, these changes were not beneficial to everyone — and conflict and confusion intensified as well.

Amid such confusion, Auguste Comte proposed sociology as an attempt to scientifically understand social phenomena and restore order.
He called sociology “social physics” and believed that just as in nature, society also has laws and order.

Following him, Émile Durkheim established the scientific foundation of sociology by proving that even a personal issue like suicide could be explained by social factors.
Karl Marx emphasized social transformation by criticizing the contradictions of capitalism and class struggle.
Max Weber expanded sociology by stressing the importance of individual subjective motivation and cultural elements.

In short, sociology was born out of the needs of its era — to understand and improve society amid rapid social change.
And even today, this nature remains alive.

2. The Definition of Sociology: Exploring Social Relationships and Structures

The core definition of sociology is to explore the relationships humans form within society and the structures surrounding them.
Here, society does not simply mean a group of people, but a network of relationships organized by norms, values, and institutions.

Sociologists never see humans as isolated individuals.
Rather, even an individual’s thoughts, actions, and desires are shaped under the influence of society.
For example, the way one pursues the goal of “success” can vary greatly depending on the educational system, labor market structure, and gender norms defined by society.

One representative example of the sociological approach is Durkheim’s Suicide.
At the time, people saw suicide only as a psychological problem of the individual, but Durkheim demonstrated through statistical analysis that suicide rates varied according to the level of social integration and regulation.
In this way, sociology excels at uncovering the social causes hidden within individual actions.

3. What Does Sociology Study?

The range of research subjects in sociology is very broad.
Because society is the largest structure created by humans, and the phenomena occurring within it are countless and complex.
Sociologists seek to discover meaningful patterns and laws within this.
Let’s look at representative research topics:

Family: the smallest society, yet the greatest influence.
Family is the first social group we experience, where we interact with parents and siblings and learn values and norms.
Sociology studies how family fulfills social roles and how it changes over time.
For example, traditional extended families have transformed into nuclear families, single-person households, and cohabiting households, giving rise to issues such as declining birth rates, aging, and care gaps.
Education: does it reproduce class or dismantle it?
Education is often called “the ladder of social mobility,” but sociologists point out that it can also solidify class structure.
Pierre Bourdieu explained this with the concept of “cultural capital” — the more cultural resources a family can provide, the higher the educational achievement, and thus the upper class maintains its status.
In Korea, the intense competition for elite university admissions and private education also hinders social mobility.
Economy and Labor: more than just a market issue.
Labor is not only a means of livelihood, but also shapes social identity and status.
Sociologists critically analyze inequality in employment structures, gendered division of labor, and the conflicts between regular and irregular workers.
Recently, with the rise of the platform economy, the rights and welfare of gig workers have emerged as social issues.
Automation and AI-driven job insecurity are also important topics.
Politics and Power: the dynamics of domination and resistance.
Sociology analyzes how power and domination are legitimized and maintained, as well as the social movements and collective actions that resist them.
For example, large-scale protests like the candlelight demonstrations in Korea are understood not as simple chaos, but as collective expressions of social discontent.
Gender and Diversity: the fight over “difference.”
Gender inequality, sexual minorities, and multicultural issues are among today’s most acute social conflicts.
Sociology explains why wage gaps exist between men and women, why certain groups are discriminated against, and seeks ways to resolve them.

4. The Main Characteristics of Sociology: Why It Is Special

Sociology explores social phenomena while retaining distinctive characteristics that set it apart from other social sciences. Let us look at these one by one.

First, sociology emphasizes scientificness.
Sociology analyzes social phenomena not based on subjective intuition or speculation, but grounded in empirical data. To do this, it collects reliable evidence through various methodologies such as large-scale surveys, statistical analysis, in-depth interviews, and field observations. Thanks to this scientific approach, sociology has established itself not as a utopian discourse but as an objective inquiry.

Second, sociology possesses criticality.
Sociology does not merely explain society, but also reveals the hidden power relations and inequalities within it. It critically analyzes why issues like the wealth gap created by capitalism, gender inequality perpetuated by patriarchy, and racial discrimination occur, and it suggests directions for building a better society.

Third, sociology takes a holistic perspective.
Since society is a complex whole interwoven with economy, politics, culture, and psychology, sociology views it in an integrated way. For example, the youth unemployment problem is not simply explained by economic factors alone, but is analyzed together with the educational system, cultural values, and societal expectations.

Fourth, sociology aspires to comparability.
Sociology does not confine itself to just one society, but instead crosses time and cultures to make comparisons. Through this, it discovers both universal patterns and specific characteristics, allowing us to view our own society more objectively. For instance, comparing the welfare systems of Sweden and Korea helps us understand the differences in values and social agreements each society pursues.

In this way, sociology is an original discipline that reveals the essence of society in a multi-layered way through its scientificness, criticality, holism, and comparability.

5. The Sociological Imagination: The Power to Connect the Individual and Society

One of the most important tools in sociology is the sociological imagination.
The term was first proposed by C. Wright Mills, who said:

“The personal troubles we experience are, in fact, public issues arising from social structures and historical contexts.”

For example, if a young person fails to get a job and interprets it only as “a lack of specs,” the blame is shifted entirely onto the individual.
But if one applies the sociological imagination, they can recognize that economic recession, employment structures unfavorable to younger generations, and the concentration of power in older generations are all part of the background.
This kind of understanding reduces unnecessary self-blame and prompts one to think about solidarity and structural reform as solutions.

The sociological imagination is not merely knowledge but a new way of seeing the world and a tool that links an individual’s life to society. Through it, we come to understand our own pain as a social problem — and to empathize more with the pain of others.

6. Why Sociology Matters Even More Today

Modern society is changing much more rapidly than in the past, and more and more complex and uncertain problems keep emerging.
In this historical context, the need for sociology has grown even stronger.
Let us take a closer look at the reasons.

First, sociology is essential for understanding the problems of the digital society.
Although SNS, big data, and AI seem to make information transparently shared, in reality, a few platform companies monopolize data power and create a society where individuals are monitored and manipulated.
Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA’s mass surveillance and China’s social credit system vividly illustrate this risk.
Sociology analyzes how this digital power operates and offers insight into how to respond to it.

Second, sociology plays an important role in discussing the climate crisis and ecological justice.
Climate change threatens the global environment and exacerbates social inequality. In disaster situations, it is always the socially vulnerable who suffer most, a phenomenon explained by the concept of “climate justice.”
Through sociological analysis, we can reflect on the fairness and sustainability of environmental policies.

Third, sociology is a tool to understand and resolve the problem of diversity and inclusion.
A society that does not guarantee the rights of various groups — gender, race, immigrants, people with disabilities — cannot develop.
Sociology studies ways to recognize and institutionalize these “differences,” reduce hate speech and discrimination, and create a more inclusive society.

Fourth, sociology enables us to directly confront the problem of deepening economic inequality.
As wealth concentration intensifies globally and the middle class collapses, social conflict and political instability increase.
Sociology dissects the mechanisms of inequality and searches for alternatives to alleviate it.

In this way, sociology is indispensable to understand and respond to the major challenges of contemporary society — digital surveillance, climate crisis, diversity and inclusion, and economic inequality.
Through a sociological perspective, we can better understand the complexity of the world and gain the ability to make better choices.

7. Why We Learn Sociology: To Understand Ourselves and the World

Lastly, why should we learn sociology?
Studying sociology gives us more than just knowledge — it brings transformation.

Enhancement of critical thinking: You gain the ability to see society differently and penetrate the hidden sides of phenomena.
Improvement of community spirit: You realize that what you thought was your personal worry is actually a social problem, and come to understand the importance of solidarity.
Cultivation of problem-solving ability: Understanding the structure of social problems helps you find more effective and fundamental solutions.
Better decision-making: Understanding the structure and context of society enables you to make wiser choices in your personal life as well.

Ultimately, sociology nurtures the power to understand ourselves and the world we live in — and to change it so that everyone can live a better life.
This is one of the most essential abilities in today’s confusing and uncertain era.

Seeing the World Anew Through Sociology

The world we live in flows as if it is all too natural.
We walk the same roads every day, go to the same schools and workplaces, and continue life in familiar relationships.
But within all of this daily life, unseen social forces are at work.

Why are some people rich and others poor?
Why does one gender have more opportunities, and certain groups face discrimination?
Why is one society peaceful while another suffers endless conflict?

Sociology asks these questions and seeks answers.
In the process of finding those answers, we come to understand ourselves and see the world we belong to more clearly.
The sociological imagination helps us view our individual worries and pains in a social context.
This is not an excuse to avoid responsibility — rather, it is the first step to understanding the essence of the problem and finding better solutions.
Furthermore, sociology fosters empathy for others.
If my pain stems from social structure, then the pain of others can also be understood in the same way.
We no longer see “you” and “me” as separate, but instead seek solidarity and change within the community of “us.”

In a time when society changes rapidly and uncertainty grows, sociology becomes even more important.
Digital technology and surveillance, climate crisis and ecological justice, diversity and inclusion, economic inequality — these are all enormous problems that individuals alone cannot handle.
To understand and respond to these historical challenges, we need insight into social structure.
Sociology shows us that path.

It also helps us make wiser choices.
It makes us reflect on what values and norms are necessary for ourselves, our families, and society, and leads us to take action to create better systems.

Demanding fairness and justice, respecting diversity, and striving for a sustainable society — these are the true reasons why we learn sociology.

Ultimately, learning sociology does not just mean accumulating knowledge — it means gaining new eyes to see the world.
It means questioning the rules we have taken for granted, seeking better paths, and nurturing the will to build a society where everyone can be happy together.
That is the greatest gift sociology gives us.

Now, start practicing seeing the world through the special lens of sociology.
The world we live in holds far more stories and possibilities than we realize — and discovering and realizing those possibilities is the very path of sociology, and the path to a better “us” and a better future.