It is my pleasure to formally announce the publication of the volume 1, issue 1 of Journal of East Asian Religions and Cultures (JEARC), the international Chinese-language journal of Daesoon Academy of Sciences. We wish to share our joy with everyone who participated in the founding of JEARC, all the people around the world who are devoted to academic research in this field, and all of the scholars and readers who have learned about our journal.

Daejin University is a comprehensive university located in Pocheon, on the northern border of Seoul, where North and South Korea face each other on the Korean Peninsula. The Daesoon Academy of Sciences (DAOS) was established in 1992 to seek the truth of the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence, the founding philosophy of Daejin University, and to contribute to world peace and human co-prosperity through academic research, educational activities, and moral cultivation based on Daesoon Thought. DAOS is an academic research institute that has been steadily promoting academic research, academic exchanges, research support, and publication projects. Through those endeavors, DAOS has established itself as an international academic institution that conducts comprehensive research on Daesoon Thought and East Asian religions and cultures via ongoing exchanges with various universities throughout the East and West.

Recently, at the International Conference on East Asian Religions and Cultures hosted by our academy, scholars from around the world and some 300 researchers gathered together to hold various academic presentations and in-depth discussions on East Asian religions and cultures. In addition, the Daesoon Academy of Sciences has been building a quantitative and qualitative foundation for the study of Daesoon Thought and world religious thought by continuously engaging in academic exchanges and international solidarity initiatives with major academic institutions and scholars in the field of religion around the world. The accumulation of these efforts and the activation of our international academic network have led to the search for a new international academic forum on East Asian religions and cultures, and by gathering the opinions of renowned figures in this field, the Daesoon Academy of Sciences has now taken the next step by launching JEARC.

I believe that in the future, JEARC will prove itself to be a world-class journal dedicated to the study of East Asian religions and cultures. This issue of the journal was completed through constant care and deep passion of many individuals. In particular, I wish to express my thanks and gratitude to everyone who provided us with valuable articles for our debut issue.

The publication of JEARC was made possible through the help of many individuals. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Chairman Yoon Eun-Do(尹銀道) of Daejin University and the Steering Committee of our academy for their generous support and encouragement. Thanks are also due to our highly regarded Honorary Editors, Professor Zhan Shichuang (詹石窗) of Sichuan University, Professor Emeritus Livia Kohn (孔麗維) of Boston University, Professor Emeritus Jung Jaeseo (鄭在書) of Ewha Woman's University, Professor Emeritus Lee Fongmao (李豐楙) of National Chengchi University, and Professor Jin Xun(金勛) of Peking University.

I likewise thank our Editor-in-Chief Li Hongjun (李紅軍) of Yanbian University, China. I am also thankful to Professor Huang Yongfeng (黃永鋒) of Xiamen University, China, who has been of great help in publishing this academic journal centered on the International Conference on East Asian Religions and Cultures, and our Associate Editor Professor Lee Gyungwon (李京源) of Daejin University, who has been supervising the editing practices of JEARC, and Professor Lin Chenyuan (林振源) of the Center for the Study of Chinese Religions as well as the 20 or so others from 8 countries who our part of our editing team! Thank you all again so very much!

With the publication of this journal, I hope that academic research on East Asian religions and cultures will increase and high-level research activities will continue. It is with those hopes in mind that I end my Publisher's Remarks celebrating the debut issue of JEARC.

Bae Kyuhan (裵圭漢)

Publisher of JEARC

The Daesoon Academy of Sciences

Daejin University