- P-ISSN0023-3900
- E-ISSN2733-9343
- A&HCI, SCOPUS, KCI
ISSN : 0023-3900
Vol.54 No.4
Abstract
The modern ideology of romantic love is a prominent theme in Korean television dramas (K-dramas). In this paper, I focus on one particular drama, Autumn in My Heart (2000), and the real life love stories of young Korean women. By examining the moral discourses of love within the drama in conjunction with the personal experiences of my informants (echoing the ways my own informants spoke of their love stories in the context of the dramas), I argue that the melodramatic form that emerges from such a study exposes a certain ambivalent attitude to the ideal of modern romantic love. My informants and the narrative plot of the drama in question articulate an embodied moral discourse that conceives of illness as a moral consequence of romantic love with a consequent detachment of the individual from the moral community of kin.
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to identify the relation of the school of Seon (Zen) taught by the Korean master Seung Sahn to both Korean Seon and its Japanese counterpart by focusing on the three innovative devices he employed in his teachings. These are “don’t know” mind, the Ten Gates gongan practice, and the systems of hierarchy and authorization he established, each representing Seung Sahn’s perspective on Seon thought, practice, and authorization of teachers, respectively. As for “don’t know” mind, I analyze its relation to Korean Seon and Huineng’s Chan, and investigate the reasons for its popularity among the Western public. Then, I examine the purpose of the gongan approach known as Ten Gates and determine its relation to the Japanese Rinzai koan curriculum. Finally, I focus on the unique features of the hierarchy and authorization systems, especially the inclusion of lay practitioners in leadership and the authorizing function of the practice community.
Abstract
Scholars of Korean religions have commonly held the view that Christianity and Buddhismhave deliberately tried to exclude one another as they struggled to win popularfavor over the previous three decades of radical socio-economic change in Korea. Theauthors of this article argue that, contrary to the existing view, the two religions havebeen broadening a common ground of understanding and creating an allied actionfront. At the core of this positive engagement has been the environmental movement. Christian and Buddhist environmental activists have set a model agenda and viableaction plans, and share a conception of the meaning of life and human happinessrevolving around various environmental issues. To show how the environmentalmovement has brought the two parties closer, this article examines how ecologicalconcerns emerged within the two religions in the first place, explores the ways theymanaged to cooperate on concrete environmental issues, and assesses the extent towhich those common efforts have been successful. It concludes with the implications ofsuch cooperation for the present and future relationship between Korean Buddhismand Christianity.
Abstract
The Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) is a symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Although there have been many political challenges, the complex is still expectedto reduce security concerns in the Korean peninsula by providing opportunities forNorth Korea to open doors to international society. In the field of law, the two Koreangovernments recognize the uniqueness of the KIC and have tried to establish legaltools for the complex. The complex is subject to certain inter-Korean agreements aswell as laws and regulations established by the South and the North. The Korean governmentsalso provide many types of support under inter-Korean agreements andnational laws. Almost every South Korean FTA has preferential provisions to recognizeKIC products as originating from South Korea, considering the special andunique relationship between the two Koreas. The laws for the KIC are open to changebased on internal or external influences. To keep the special project running, however,laws need to be in line with principles to avoid political interferences. Better legal solutionscan be found to improve the provisions of inter-Korean, domestic, and FTA lawswith new industrial policies.
Abstract
Wellington Chung (1927–1963) was a Korean American doctor born and raised inHawaii, striving all his life to move to Korea, and dying in despair in Czechoslovakia. Chung received medical education at Charles University and practiced pathologyin Czechoslovakia for eight years. Chung’s life, however, ended tragically when hecommitted suicide. This study recounts the untold life story of Chung as well as hisKorean American family. Reverend Hyun Soon, Chung’s grandfather, was a nationalistmovement leader. Alice Hyun, Chung’s mother, was labeled Korean Mata Hari. This study argues that Chung was a son of the Korean independence movement whoperished amidst the Cold War. The lives of his mother, grandfather, and uncles influencedChung’s life path. He joined political organizations, wrote essays, and organizedfundraisers in support of North Korea, and wanted to return there afterbecoming a doctor. However, his mother was executed in North Korea around 1956as an alleged U.S. intelligence spy. His uncles were summoned to the U.S. HouseUn-American Activities Committee hearings and harassed with the threat of deportation. Chung himself lost his American citizenship. He had nowhere to return. Hewas trapped in rural Czechoslovakia by the witch hunt of the Cold War regimes.