[KS] KOREA JOURNAL Spring 2005 Issue

[Korea Journal]

Dear Listmembers, 


We are pleased to announce the publication of the Spring 2005 issue of the KOREA JOURNAL. This issue consists of two special topics and other articles.
 
I. Korean Buddhist Response to Modernity
 
The concept of “modern” or “modernity” is a significant subject that must be addressed by Korean academics. Many controversial questions have been continually raised, such as when Korean society began to enter the modern period, how Korean modernity has differed from that of the West, and how the modernity that Korea has experienced has taken different forms depending on class, ideology, religion, and gender.
 
KOREA JOURNAL, in this context, deals with Korean Buddhism’s “modern experience” and its response to modernity from various perspectives. Examining modern Korean Buddhist scholarship focused on two representative philosophers, Bak Jong-hong and Kim Dong-hwa, Cho Sungtaek argues that Buddhist scholarship in modern Korea has accepted, without any criticism, Western-centered perspectives, and as such Cho emphasizes that it is time to approach Korean Buddhism under Koreans’ own theoretical framework. Huh Woosung suggests a way for the Korean Buddhist community to move forward in the future, by shedding light on the life and thought of Baek Yongseong, who maintained a balance between mukti and karma during his life. Through a comparative analysis of Han Yong-un’s famous work, Joseon bulgyo yusillon and the “Hanguk bulgyo gaehyeogan,” which until now has not drawn academic attention, Kim Kwang Sik provides an opportunity to make us understand more deeply Han’s thoughts regarding Buddhist reform. Pori Park examines reform implemented by the Korean Buddhist community, which struggled to cope with the dual challenges of modernity and national independence. While assuming that different social roles imposed on different genders bring different experiences of modernity, Jin Y. Park examines the life and thought of Kim Iryeop, a Buddhist nun who has, until now, rarely received academic attention, and then shows how and why she more thoroughly pursued freedom through recourse to Buddhism. According to Park, Buddhism was a path to modernity as well as a means to overcome it. 

- The Formation of Modern Buddhist Scholarship: The Case of Bak Jong-hong and Kim Dong-hwa / Cho Sungtaek (Korea Univ.)
- A Monk of Mukti and Karma: The Life and Thought of Baek Yongseong / Huh Woosung (Kyunghee Univ.)
- A Study of Han Yong-un’s “On the Reform of Korean Buddhism” / Kim Kwang Sik (Bucheon College)
- Korean Buddhist Reforms and Problems in the Adoption of Modernity during the Colonial Period / Pori Park (Arizona State Univ., USA)
- Gendered Response to Modernity: Kim Ireop and Buddhism / Jin Y. Park (American Univ., USA)

Ⅱ. Perspectives on China’s Northeast Project

Yoon Hwy-Tak summarizes the goals of the historical justification found in China’s Northeast Project and then points to many historiographical flaws in the Chinese argument, which prioritizes dealing with the impact of political changes in the Korean peninsula on northeast China. Adopting two ways of addressing the issue of the historical succession of Goguryeo--how the people of Goguryeo saw China and how the Chinese and Koreans regarded Goguryeo after its fall--Lee Sun Keun points oout that while China has made efforts to sever its relationship with Goguryeo, the Korean nation, from Silla to modern Korea, has seen Goguryeo as part of its own history.

- China’s Northeast Project and Korean History / Yoon Hwy Tak (Koguryo Research Foundation)
- On the Historical Succession of Goguryeo in Northeast Asia / Lee Sun Keun (Catholic Univ. Of Korea)

Ⅲ. Others

Kang Jung In points to the philosophical paucity of Korean conservatism, and presents some strategies from which conservatives can choose. Kim Hyoungchan finds a new way of viewing nature in Silhak thought, which is different from both Neo-Confucian and Western philosophy. Thomas Kern argues that anti-Americanism in Korea is a reflection of structural cleavages in South Korean society, that is, a confrontation or tension between vested interests and marginalized groups.

- The Development of Korean Conservatism / Kang Jung In (Sogang Univ.)
- The Modernistic Aspects of Hong Dae-yong’s Axiological View of Nature / Kim Hyoungchan (Korea Univ.)
- Anti-Americanism in South Korea: From Structure Cleavages to Protest / Thomas Kern (Institute of Asian Affairs, Hamburg)

For more information about this issue, please contact:

KOREA JOURNAL

Tel: 82-2-755-6225
Fax: 82-2-755-7478
E-mail: kj at unesco.or.kr
Web site: www.ekoreajournal,net
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