This study intends to conduct not a direct survey of human rights situation of the country, which is easily obtainable through reports of various human rights organizations, but a first-hand analysis of underlying currents of human rights discourse and practice in contemporary Germany. It will serve a double purpose: on the one hand it can be a valuable contribution on the understanding of this subject in its own right; on the other hand it will have a comparative lesson which can be gainfully utilized to reflect on the state of human rights discourse in today�s South Korean society. Therefore the objective of this study is not to document the state of affairs in human rights of today�s Germany in great details. Rather it aims to provide a succinct contour of the human rights discourse, the characteristics and challenges of human rights, and its implications for Korean readers.