[KS] new journal call for papers

Mon Nov 30 13:03:06 EST 2009

Journal of Korean Religions
Edited by Kim Seong-nae, Chief Editor, Institute for the Study of Religion, Sogang University, Seoul, Korea; Co-Editors: Don Baker, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia, Canada; Kim Yun-seong, Department of Religion and Culture, Hanguk Theological University, Korea  

Call for Papers

Introducing a new international journal, 
Journal of Korean Religions

Aims and Scope

Institute for the Study of Religion at Sogang University, Korea, will begin publishing a new journal, the Journal of Korean Religions (JKR), in 2010. It will be a refereed multi-disciplinary journal dedicated to the study of Korean religions. The JKR will be published biannually in February and August. Published in English by international scholars, this new journal aims to stimulate interest in and discuss the studies of Korean religions in various academic fields in humanities and social sciences. 

The Journal of Korean Religions will publish articles, research notes, and book reviews relating to Korean Religions. We seek to discuss, elaborate, and extend the study of Korean religions. Our concerns include theoretical and philosophical matters as well as more concrete empirical analyses. We encourage contributions from people in many disciplines and from a wide range of perspectives, including religion, philosophy, literature, art, anthropology, history, sociology, political sciences, culture, and science. We are also interested in expanding the diversity of theories and perspectives for producing and presenting the study of Korean religions for international readership. 

All contributions are peer-reviewed and subject to final approval by the editorial committee.

To promote the contribution of the journal to global scholarship in the field of studies of Korean religions, the JKR has decided for a certain period of time to remunerate articles accepted for publication by the JKR with a sum of up to $ 1,000. The exact amount of the remuneration for each contribution is subject to the decision of the editorial committee. 

Background of Publication and Current Situation

This international Journal of Korean Religions is developed from past ten-years of publication of Korean language journal with the same title, since 1999 up to 2008.  Institute for the Study of Religion at Sogang has published 10 volumes of Hanguk-Jongkyo-Yonku (Journal of Korean Religions). Its first volume (1999) reviewed historically one hundred years of academic accomplishments in the study of six main Korean religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Daoism, New National Religions and shamanistic folk religion. The second volume (2000) focused on anthropological and sociological approaches to contemporary new religious phenomenon such as Christian millenarian movements and new age religions. The fourth volume (2002) dealt with inter-religious dialogue among six major Korean religious groups and religious pluralism in Korea society. The ninth and tenth volumes (2007 and 2008) focused on fundamentalism in Korean religious culture in general. They examined the way in which religious fundamentalism is expressed and produced historically in Korean Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and New National Religions. These two volumes raised issue of fundamentalism in Korean religions in the wider context of globalization. 

The religious pluralism and peaceful coexistence among various religious institutions in Korean society has been regarded as a globally unique phenomenon. Although this phenomenon needs much more serious scholarly analysis, there has been no academic journal providing a forum for such analysis in a global context. This new Journal of Korean Religions has two objectives: first, it will promote international and inter-disciplinary communication among the scholars of Korean religions in the world; second, it will promote academic exchange of ideas and perspectives between the Korean scholars and international scholars on Korean religions. To that end, the journal will have an international editorial committee and will build up a regional journal network in collaboration with Korea Journal, Journal of Korean Studies, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, and Journal of Chinese Religions.  

The Journal of Korean Religions is sponsored by and based at the Institute for Study of Religions at Sogang University, Seoul, Korea, associated with the Institute for Religion and Culture at Hanguk Theological University, Osan, Korea. It also invites the support of Korea Religions Group, American Academy of religion, U.S.A. and other major research groups such as Korean Association of Religious Studies, and Korean Institute for Religion and Culture in Korea. 

Mailing Address: The Journal of Korean Religions 
Institute for the Study of Religion
 Sogang University
 1 Shinsudong, Mapogu
 Seoul, 121-742, Korea

Editors: Seong-nae Kim  snkim at sogang.ac.kr,  Yun-seong Kim yskim at hs.ac.kr
       Don Baker   don.baker at ubc.ca, dbaker at interchange.ubc.ca

The Journal of Korean Religions (JKR) Publication Plan

Forthcoming Issues for 3 Years (2010-2012)

Vol.1, no. 1 (Feb 2010) “Problematizing Korean Religions”
Vol.2, no.1 (Feb 2011) “Korean Religions in Global Transitions”
Vol.3, no,. 1(Feb 2012) “The Challenges and Visions in Studies of Korean Religions”

The JKR will be published biannually in February and August. The first issue each year volume will publish articles on special topic as suggested above. The Journal of Korean Religions will publish articles, research notes, and book reviews relating to Korean Religions. Also occasionally the JKR will publish translated articles from Korean language texts which meet the standards of   international journal.    

The first volume (Feb 2010) will deal with opening questions regarding cultural and historical definitions of Korean religions. What constitutes “Korean religions”? Is it relevant to define Korean religions in terms of national and cultural identity or difference in regional context? What are the distinguishing characteristics of “Korean” religions compared to “Japanese” or “Chinese” religions? Under what historical circumstances is the idea of “Korean religions” formulated in the study of Korean religions?  How do we approach the historical variations in the forms of Korean religions? 

The second volume (Feb 2011) will focus on contemporary realities of Korean religions in the context of global politics and cultural diversity. This volume will explore historical and socio-cultural specificity of Korean religions. What is the impact of historical experiences of Korean War and Cold War on Korean religions? How does culture of religious pluralism influence Korean democracy? What is the nature of religious fundamentalism in Korea? How is Korean Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity differentiated from global Pentecostalism? What are the cultural characteristics of Korean diaspora religions abroad and also other ethnic diaspora religions within Korea? 

The third volume (Feb 2012) will deal critically with theoretical and methodological trends in the multi-disciplinary studies of Korean religions up to now. This volume will review the challenging works in the past and explore the future visions for the study of Korean religions as well as in the global situation of religions.    
Submitted by
Don Baker Department of Asian Studies University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z2 don.baker at ubc.ca

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